Nepal Trade Union Congress (NTUC), Occupational Safety and Health Cell organized a Discussion Program to observe International Occupational Safety and Health Day on 28 April 2024 at its central office in Kathmandu. The discussion program was organized under the title: “The Impact of Climate change on OSH” & Implementation Status of OSH Policy. NTUC officials and representatives of NTUC affiliates participated in the program where representatives from JILAF, ILO, CNI were present as the guest. Mr. Dinesh Prasad Sah, OSH Expert delivered a power point presentation on the said topic.

The program was chaired by NTUC President Mr. Yogendra Kumar Kunwar. Chairing the program, he said that the trade unions need to be aware of the implementation status of the National OSH Policy 2076. He highlighted on the need of such policy referring to the incidents during COVID 19 when the enterprises with policy in place had less impact than those who did not have such policy. Similarly, NTUC Vice-President Mr. Tejendra Jang Karki highlighted on the objectives of the program and welcomed the participants. He said that trade unions can raise awareness on the issue while the government and the employers are responsible for the arranging the necessary packages and implementation of existing provisions on OSH. ILO NPC Ms. Bandana Aryal spoke on the need of developing OSH as a culture. NTUC Treasurer Mr. Sanjaya Kumar Dahal facilitated the discussion program.

NTUC had developed a placard during this occasion covering its demands that included: implementation of National OSH Policy; ratification of ILO Convention 155 & 187; formulation of separate Law for OSH; urgent action to tackle "Impact of Climate Change on OHS" and effective implementation of OSH provisions in Labour Law.

Mr. Dinesh Prasad Sah, OSH Expert delivered a power point presentation to facilitate the session and shared the most recent information on the status of implementation of the National OSH policy. The first part of his presentation included general introduction of the climate change and its impact followed by the second part of the presentation on the status of the implementation of the National OSH policy. Overall, the presentation focused on the poor implementation of the National OSH policy. There had been very few examples of incorporation of the strategies of the said policy and that was due to initiation from the employers themselves. He highlighted that OSH should be linked with the productivity of the workers and should not be taken as additional investment. Mr. Sah recommended trade unions to collect and publish data on accident, diseases in national newspapers; engage in bargaining with government for separate OSH Laws and; enhance the skill of employees.

After the presentation, floor was open for questions and answers. NTUC President spoke on the need to provide trainings to employers and employees on basic issues covering provisions of workers' rights and existing legislations among others. NTUC Treasurer spoke on the need of urgent actions to nominate the members from Trade Union on the Monitoring and Evaluation Committee as provisioned in the National OSH Policy. CNI representative said that industries will also be benefited if the provisions of OSH will be implemented.

The program was closed with remarks from the NTUC Vice-President Mr. Ganesh Bahadur K.C. He also highlighted the need to develop OSH as a culture and the questioning role of trade unions in implementation of OSH.