RIYADH — The International Labor Organization (ILO) has praised the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's achievements in the field of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH), noting the key efforts made in the past few years by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) and a number of relevant entities.

The efforts in this respect have resulted in a significant positive transformation in the OSH field, and contributed to its advancement nationally, and in cooperation with the ILO.

ILO’s Regional Director for the Arab States Dr. Ruba Jaradat said: "We are following with interest the continuous developments that Saudi Arabia is making to enhance occupational safety and health and prevent work-related accidents and injuries nationally, and some of their achievements include forming a national council for occupational safety and health and preparing training and recruiting programs for thousands of specialists in this field.”

She added that Saudi Arabia is closely working with ILO in the OSH field, and the cooperation has resulted in the Kingdom’s recent signing of ILO Convention No. 120 of 1964 on Health Rules in Commerce and Offices, as well as their preparation of the national file and the development of the national policy on OSH.

“We in the ILO value these efforts and hope other countries follow Saudi Arabia’s example, especially after seeing how this year's ILO conference established that a safe and healthy work environment is a fundamental right and principle of work”.

This international recognition reflects Saudi Arabia’s strong interest in developing the work environment, especially in terms of OSH, as it launched the Strategic National Program for OSH to enhance work conditions.

The ministry also launched the OSH promotion initiative within the labor market strategy, and one of the significant outcomes of these initiatives is the establishment of the national council for OSH as the region's first of its kind, to promote a comprehensive national vision in the field, confirming this is one of the Kingdom's top priorities. — SPA