UNIDO safety course for leather industry

Vienna, Austria – 28 April is observed as both World Day for Safety and Health at Work and International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers.
As a contribution to the World Day for Safety and Health at Work and harmonizing regulations and spreading best practice for safer working environments, UNIDO has launched a new course, Occupational Safety and Health Aspects of Leather Manufacturing OSHALM).
“The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) considers industrial safety and safe working conditions as a fundamental right and promotes jointly safe working practices. The leather industry provides millions of jobs globally and raising awareness and taking action to strengthen occupational safety and health is crucial to ensure safe and sustainable supply chains”, says Ivan Kral, UNIDO.

The UNIDO course is a modern interactive training programme, suitable for both offline and blended learning. As industrial partners have to act together to promote safe working environments, organizations in the leather supply chain are committed to provide support for industry to enhance safe working environments. UNIDO collaborated with vital industrial partners such as the Confederation of National Associations of Tanners and Dressers of the European Community (COTANCE), Leather Working Group, Sustainable Leather Foundation, and International Union of Leather Technologists and Chemists Societies (IULTCS).

Gustavo Gonzalez-Quijano, Secretary General of COTANCE: “There is no excuse and there is no complacency in front of deliberately neglecting workplace safety in tanneries! We want the appalling images of sub-standard tanneries circulating on the Web to become something of the past. This is why European tanners invested with their Social Partners in the development of the OiRA tool for tanneries and why they are happy to share their experience and resources with the rest of the World. COTANCE welcomes the excellent training materials that UNIDO has developed. There is no better pledge for the World Leather Day than international collaboration for Health & Safety in tannery workplaces worldwide!”

Deborah Taylor, Managing Director of Sustainable Leather Foundation (SLF), commented “The work of UNIDO, and in particular the UNIDO Leather Panel with its training and e-learning resources, is valuable, accessible and necessary to support improvement in the leather industry. SLF is proud to work closely with UNIDO, to endorse and support this training, and to recommend that all leather manufacturers integrate the UNIDO online learning portal as part of their in-house training responsibilities for their workers. This latest updated course ensures that the most current and relevant information and advice is available for all leather manufacturing facilities, free of charge! There really is no excuse for lack of knowledge when it comes to ensuring safe and healthy workplaces.”

Each of us is responsible for stopping accidents, deaths and injuries on the job. As governments we are responsible for providing the infrastructure — laws and services — necessary to ensure that workers remain employable and that enterprises flourish; this includes the development of a national policy and programme and a system of inspection to enforce compliance with occupational safety and health legislation and policy. As employers we are responsible for ensuring that the working environment is safe and healthy. As workers we are responsible to work safely and to protect ourselves and not to endanger others, to know our rights and to participate in the implementation of preventive measures.

At the workplace level, a strong OSH culture is one in which the right to a safe and healthy working environment is valued and promoted by both management and workers. A positive OSH culture is built on inclusion, through the meaningful involvement of all parties in the ongoing improvement of safety and health at work. In a workplace with a strong OSH culture, workers feel comfortable raising concerns about possible OSH risks or hazards in the workplace and management is proactive in collaborating with workers to find appropriate, effective and sustainable solutions. This requires open communication and dialogue built on trust and mutual respect.
It is hoped that the OSHALM course will contribute to the ongoing improvement of safety and health at work within the leather industry.
This course is free and available at https://learning.unido.org/course/view.php?id=141
And www.leatherpanel.org