ETEK – SPOLMIK Campaign for Safety and Health at Work

and the Civil Engineers Association of Cyprus (SPOLMIK), during the week of April 24-28, 2023.

The campaign is part of the global initiative Vision Zero – Zero Accidents of the International Social Security Organization – International Social Security Association (ISSA) and awareness actions are expected to culminate on Friday 28 April 2023, the International Labor Organization's World Day for Safety and Health at Work – International Labor Office (ILO), which this year sends the message: “A safe and healthy working environment is a fundamental principle and a right to work”.

Throughout the campaign, ETEK and SPOLMIK representatives will participate in various information actions with the aim of raising awareness and creating a culture of prevention by highlighting the serious effects caused by occupational accidents but also the importance of prevention to avoid them and reinforcing that safety and health at work is everyone's responsibility. p>

In addition to the human suffering and costs of accidents for the victims and their families, the state and businesses are burdened with significant economic costs. At the same time, the investment in prevention has a return of 2.2%, according to a study by the European Agency for Safety and Health (EU-OSHA).

As part of the Vision Zero campaign, ETEK and SPOLMIK prepared a short video aimed at both professionals in the construction sector and the general public, with the primary goal of raising awareness and highlighting the importance of ensuring occupational safety and health. The video has already been submitted for participation in the international competition “International Media Festival for Prevention 2023” which is organized by the ISSA Organization, within the framework of the World Conference on Safety and Health at the Work to be held in Sydney, Australia in November 2023.

According to the official data of Eurostat, in 2020, in the European Union, 3,355 fatal occupational accidents were recorded in workplaces, while non-fatal accidents reach almost 2.7 million, for the same year. In Cyprus, the total number of occupational accidents for 2020 amounted to 1527, for 2021 to 1433 and for 2022 to 1335. Regarding fatal occupational accidents in Cyprus, 16 were recorded in 2020, 5 in 2021 and 9 in 2022.< /p>

It is worth noting that SPOLMIK with the support of ETEK, in addition to the awareness campaign, is organizing on May 26-27, 2023, the 8th International Conference and Exhibition of Equipment and Services for Safety and Health in Construction Projects, under the auspices of the Minister of Labor and Social Insurance, on “Respect Human Rights – Everyone has a Role to Play“ and motto ” Focus on People». The purpose of the Conference is to protect and strengthen respect for human rights and focus on people, to achieve the vision of “Zero Accidents”.