“The aim is to further modernize the Code of Laws on Health and Safety at Work”
Athens, 14/02/2024
A visit to the Elefsina Shipyards was made yesterday by the Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Security, Costas Karagounis, accompanied by the General Director of Labor Relations, Occupational Health and Safety and Integration, Konstantinos Agripidas, the Commander of the Independent Labor Inspection Authority, George Tzilivakis and the Professor of Labor Law at the Athens Law School, Dr. Dimitris Ladas.
In the context of the visit, Mr. Karagounis was informed about the health and safety measures being followed and stressed the interest of the government and the Minister of Labor, Niki Kerameos, who has set these issues as a top priority.
Mr. Karagounis stressed that, in recent years, Greece has shown significant progress in the field of Health and Safety at Work, while, at the same time, he announced legislative intervention for the further modernization of the Code of Laws on Health and Safety. The new bill, which is being prepared by the Ministry of Labor, constitutes a set of measures that will jointly strengthen prevention and ensure the effectiveness of controls and the transparency of procedures.
Referring to the main interventions being promoted, Mr. Karagounis stated that the way in which safety technicians perform their duties is to be standardized and rationalized, in order to ensure the implementation of health and safety measures at work. In addition, the risk categories per sector of activity will be tightened.
At the same time, as the Deputy Minister of Labor pointed out, the framework for technical and construction projects will be tightened, “where occupational accidents frequently occur, strengthening the role of the coordinator for health and safety issues” and other interventions are being launched.
Mr. Karagounis also added that, in close cooperation with the Labor Inspectorate, data will be channeled to the “IRIDANOS” Information System, in order to facilitate the audit work of Health and Safety Inspectors, while, at the same time, bureaucratic procedures will be reduced. Finally, emphasis will be placed on emerging psychosocial risks, as well as on particularly protective health and safety measures related to the gender or vulnerability of employees.
For his part, Panos Xenokostas, President and CEO of ONEX Shipyards & Technologies Group and President of the Association of Hellenic Shipyards, stated that the close cooperation with the competent ministries and the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis led to the miracle of the rebirth of Greek shipyards.
“Among them is the Ministry of Labor, with the Minister, Ms. Kerameus and the Deputy Minister, Mr. Karagounis, who visited us today at our shipyards, together with the Ministry’s staff and the Independent Authorities.
The person, the worker and his safety, are at the center and the meaning of everything we do daily. Our shipyards are our own workers and we do everything possible and impossible to ensure their health, safety and well-paid jobs.
Moreover, at the forefront of the regeneration of our shipyards are our own employees.
But greater proof of our people-centered model is that ONEX, both in Syros and Eleusis, repaid tens of millions of euros in debts to employees from previous owners. We are committed to the continuous development of our shipyards and our people, with the sole aim of achieving the national goal of reindustrializing our homeland, through the blue economy,” added Mr. Xenokostas.
Emphasis on prevention
At the same time, the Deputy Minister of Labor stressed that the Ministry emphasizes the development of a culture of prevention of occupational accidents. “For the government, a key project is to create a culture of prevention of occupational accidents, combined with effective controls and transparent procedures, in order to achieve the goal of zero accidents,” Mr. Karagounis said. He even added that according to the data of the Independent Labor Inspection Authority, which records occupational accidents nationwide, as provided by the European Statistics on Accidents at Work (ESAW), for 2021, fatal occupational accidents were 46, for 2022 they were also 46, for 2023 they were 47, while for 2024, the collection and recording of data is underway and it is estimated that they will fluctuate at the levels of 2023. “Therefore, in the last four years, that is, the era after the economic crisis and the pandemic, during which there is a rapid growth in the economy and an explosive increase in construction activity in the country, occupational accidents have shown remarkable numerical stability. On the contrary, during the decade 2001-2011, before the economic crisis, a period of economic growth comparable to today’s, the average number of fatal occupational accidents, under the responsibility of the Labor Inspectorate, was 100,” commented the Deputy Minister of Labor.
