ISLAMABAD, May 19: Pakistan must implement Occupational Health Safety (OHS) system if it desires to gain entry for its exports to the European Union market.

This was stated by Azhar Ali, an environmental engineer associated with Project Management Institute (PMI) of the US, while talking to this reporter after a seminar on ‘occupational health safety system development and management’.

The seminar was organized by the Social Development Policy Institute here on Monday.

The Turkey-based project development and management expert said implementation of the OHS system in an organization was the responsibility of the employer so as to minimize occupational related hazards and risks. It is not only ethically desired but also economically beneficial to increase production manifold, he added.

Mr Ali, however, acknowledged that it did not pay off immediately. He did not agree with a participant that implementing the system required huge costs saying instead it resulted in least (extra) management expenses. “One can save money on remedial measures by investing in precautionary moves,” he said.

He observed that though Britain had a well-maintained system of safety, even then thousands of people died annually of incidents at workplace.

Describing the key elements of OHS system for any organization, he said:” The elements are policy drafting, organizing, planning and implementing, auditing, measuring performance and reviewing performance.”

Mr Ali said an employer should set a standard for measuring performance. Though the standards should definitely vary from organization to organization, they at least qualify as measurable, achievable and realistic, he added.

In reply to a question, he said market would be driving force behind the implementation of OHS system at the industries. Survival in the market will force the competitors to adopt the system, he added.

When asked whether Turkey has adopted the system or not, he said: “Turkey is fully aware that for entry to EU, they must implement it.—Junaid Bahadur