Government officials and representatives of the private sector at a OHS workshop in Lautoka.  Fiji Times

CIVIL servants and members of the private sector gathered in Lautoka today to mark World Day for Safety and Health.

The theme of this year’s celebration is ‘Workplace Stress: A collective challenge’.

Chief guest, Fiji Trades Union Congress assistant national secretary Rouhit Singh said the impact of work-related stress and the subject could not be dealt in isolation and needed genuine commitment from Government, employers and workers.

“ILO has pointed out that every year some two million men and women lose their lives through accidents and diseases linked to their work,” he said.

“In addition, there are 270 million occupational accidents and 160 million occupational diseases each year, incurring US$2.8 trillion in costs for lost working time and expenses for treatment, compensation and rehabilitation.”