COVID-19

ILO and Syria work to instil measures to prevent spread of COVID-19 in the workplace

The ILO and partners spread knowledge of sanitation and safety best practices through workshops with employers’ and workers’ organizations.

Press release | 27 July 2021
Colleagues from different sectors hold discussions an ILO workshop on COVID-19 protective measures in Damascus, Syria ©ILO
DAMASCUS (ILO News) – The ILO and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour (MOSAL) have joined together to begin to implement a framework to effectively monitor workplace compliance with COVID-19 protective and preventive measures in the country. The partnership was inaugurated at a training workshop entitled “Tripartite Workshop on effective monitoring of compliance in the workplace with preventive measures for the innovative COVID-19 pandemic”, with the participation of  employers’ and workers’ organizations from across Syria.

Training sessions lasted three days and aimed to enhance over 30 participants’ knowledge and skills relevant to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as well as its effects on the labour market. The workshops sought to set standards and guidelines to address the issue of the COVID-19 virus at the national level and tailor international occupational safety and health standards to protect workers from the pandemic. Participants also received skills required to monitor compliance in the workplace with pandemic control measures, in addition to addressing the pandemic through joint efforts at the national level, and the effective use of the ILO’s Work Reference List on preventing and mitigating the effects of the virus through direct action.

The workshop was launched by Dr. Rakan Al Ibrahim, Deputy Minister of Social Affairs and Labour, who acknowledged the ILO’s role in assisting Syria with facing the epidemic, noting that the subject is of paramount importance on the Ministry and ILO’s respective agendas.  Referring to the gravity of the COVID-19 on the world of work, Al Ibrahim highlighted the ministry’s commitment to the fight against the epidemic and cited the important role of the Institute of Social Insurance in the field. He also called for the continued tripartite collaboration, which he said was important to develop and implement emergency preparedness policies in the face of the epidemic.

On the second day of the workshop, the Secretary of Labour Affairs in the General Federation of Trade Unions, Mr. Jamal Al-Hajali, spoke about the role of trade unions in improving the work environment and raising the level of productivity through social dialogue, which the ILO considers the appropriate framework for improving the conditions of its workers to realise decent work.  Al-Hajali pointed that small and medium enterprises were the most affected by the economic effects of the pandemic, and touched on the role of trade unions in guiding workers on work sites to cooperate with the government committee formed to address the epidemic.

On the third and final day of the workshop, the employers’ representative Mr. Oby Roshan, spoke about the role of employers’ organizations in combating the COVID-19 pandemic and their participation with government officials and employers to facilitate effective inspection visits and ensure working conditions adhered to COVID-19 protective and preventive measures.

The workshop concluded with a number of recommendations, including considering COVID-19 pandemic as an occupational disease in all sectors, speeding up securing the vaccine rollouts for all facilities in, not least sectors that include a large number of workers and auditors. Other recommendations included activating remote work in government and private agencies while securing the necessary means of protection, in addition to working to establish an occupational health and safety centre in Chambers of Commerce and various federations to act as a reference for employers. Increasing  labour and health inspection visits was another recommendation, which also included the need for all visits to be documented with pictures.

Al Ibrahim further commented on the recommendations of the workshop and highlighted that  some of recommendations had already been stipulated under the provisions of the Labour Law No. 17 of 2010. In addition, the deputy minister noted the intrinsic role of social dialogue and tripartism in Syria, and acknowledged the government efforts to pursue a comprehensive COVID-19 strategy based on equity of vaccination and health coverage for all.