The ASEAN Labour Minister’s Meeting and ASEAN-OSHNET took place in Singapore on 3 September 2017. In addition to the 10 Labour Ministers from member nations, Director-General from the International Labour Organization, president of the International Social Security Association and many other global representatives took part, totaling the number of participants to 3,000 people.
The Ministry of Labour’s Inspector-General and spokesperson Mr. Ananchai Uthaipatanacheep said that in the ASEAN Labour Minister’s Meeting, Labour Minister General Sirichai Distakul delivered a statement supporting the ILO Director-General Mr. Guy Ryder’s guidelines on safety and health which focuses on preventing child labour and president of the International Social Security Association Mr. Joachim Breuer’s priority on prevention over restoration. General Sirichai spoke about the Thai government’s importance on people development and awareness on prevention, whereby after ratifying ILO convention 187, the government announced the national agenda for a safe and healthy workforce.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Labour has joined 10 units for the “Safety Thailand” initiation, where the main affiliate is the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare which ensures enforcement of legislation for equal and fair protection. In parallel, the Ministry of Labour established the Thailand Institute of Occupational Safety and Health which is responsible for promoting academic work on safety. Mr. Ananchai explained that General Sirichai’s statement reflected Thailand’s determination to spread awareness on safety which resulted in many people visiting Thailand’s exhibited boards on safety and health initiatives at the event; Thailand was the only ASEAN member with the exhibition.
The statement that all 10 ASEAN Labour Minister’s signed included the following items:
– The pleasure to see members take initiative and to have made great strides in improving security, and ready to promote a strong cooperation in ASEAN OSHNET.
– Emphasis that occupational safety and health are important components in country development, and is the foundation that will support the ASEAN’s goal of regional economic integration.
– Commitment to the development of preventative safety over regenerative healing by creating awareness and encouraging employers and employees to participate in improving standards and performance.
– Enhancement of cooperation with partners, both international organizations and ASEAN + 3, as well as the sharing of occupational safety and health practices to meet at similar standards.
Thus, for the assigned role of Thailand in the management of ASEAN OSHNET’s information system, the ASEAN member countries will meet again at the operational level to improve and develop suitable indicators for ASEAN in the near future.
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Spokesperson and Publication Sub-Division/
Bureau of Public Relations/
International Cooperation Bureau – Information/
6 September 2017
