On the 19th of April 2019, the Kazakhstan Building and Communal Workers Trade Union organized their third Occupational Health and Safety Congress, dedicated to the International Workers Memorial Day.
Madiarova Tleules: "Our third OHS Congress is part of the program Safe Work for 2017-2019. This Congress is dedicated to the International Workers Memorial Day. For our union it is a priority of ensure decent and safe workplaces. Due to the fact that 2019 is a year of youth in Kazakhstan we think it is important to involve youth in this process, especially because number of young members is growing in our trade union.”
Zhumabek AIsulu: “Following the guidelines of the year of youth in Kazakhstan we decided to form a Youth Council in our union. The Youth Council should involve young workers in the social and economic processes at the workplaces, motivate workers to propose innovative projects and decisions.”
Serikhaliev Salamat: “Digitalization is a very important issue for the construction industry. We monitor all latest developments in this area. For example, today we know that it is possible to use smart cameras in construction which could detect workers without personal protective equipment (PPE) or identify workers crossing dangerous zone. I think this is a good example how new technologies could be used in construction for better protection.“
Dudareva Alena: “How can we organize young workers? I think that the trade union motivates young workers to personal development, to get new knowledge, to develop capacities and skills. We have a lot of trainings and meetings where we can share our experience and get wise advises from older generation. The trade union also organizes social events, international meetings. This is very interesting for young workers.”
Serikhaliev Salamat: “I want to come back to the issue of digitalization. I would like to highlight that digitalization is a tool and workers are the ones who are using this tool. Digitalization is about machines, but workers are the ones who are using these machines and they should serve for the better of workers. Workers are the priority, not machines.”
Zhukenov Baranbai: “Our union considers youth policy as a very important area of our work. We active in organizing young workers and protecting their rights.”
The best occupational health and safety representatives, youth representatives and activists received special awards at the end of the Congress.