Labour Protection Information Centre starts operations

In April 2002, a new Labour Protection Information Centre (ICOP) was launched in Slovakia, based on a decision of the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and the Family and as a result of the EU's PHARE project. ICOP specialises in providing information to employers, employees, experts and the public on occupational safety and health, plus employment relations. It is the first body of it type in Slovakia and operates under the aegis of the National Labour Inspectorate.

From 10 April 2002, a new Labour Protection Information Centre (Informacné centrum ochrany práce, ICOP) has started to provide the Slovak public with the most up-to-date information in the areas of occupational safety and health and employment relations. Every employee and employer can obtain information from ICOP by personal visit, telephone, e-mail or fax. The main aim in establishing ICOP is to address the public's insufficient knowledge about the impact of various harmful factors at work. ICOP's role is to draw up scientific, professional and public documents and information, and to support their dissemination. In processing the information, the Centre’s staff is to contribute to an improved information flow in the area of occupational safety and health, applying international standards.

The establishment of a new information centre operating in the area of the working environment, and arranging for the collection and dissemination of information mainly in the area of occupational safety and health, was announced in the Slovak Republic's national programme for the adoption of the 'acquis communautaire'- the body of EU law which must be adopted and implemented by the candidate countries for membership. This programme was approved by the Slovak government and submitted to the European Commission. On the basis of the programme, a project was drawn up under the EU's PHARE programme, entitled 'Improvement of the labour protection system in the Slovak Republic' (SR 99/IB/SO/01), which is conducted by means of 'twinning' cooperation with Swedish and German experts. Part of the project was a proposal to establish a Labour Protection Information Centre. At the beginning of January 2002, the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and the Family decided to establish such a centre as part of the National Labour Inspectorate (Národný inspektorát práce).

The philosophy of ICOP's activities is based on the interconnection of three elements of the labour protection system: information, cooperation and prevention. The main idea of ICOP's operation is to provide for an information flow in the area of occupational safety and health towards the public, with the aim of influencing significantly public awareness in this area and thus contributing to a decrease in the industrial accident and occupational illness rate. In addition, ICOP also provides information in the area of employment relations. Information about the ICOP activities is available at its website.

The aims and main tasks of ICOP are as follows:

• to establish an information system for providing the latest information and advisory services for employers, employees, experts and the public about occupational safety and health and about employment relations;

• to facilitate the harmonisation of national legislation with EU law in this area and to support its implementation into practice;

• to establish a contact network of both Slovak and international institutions that operate in the area of occupational safety and health;

• to develop a database of documents in the area by using the PROFLIB application programme system;

• to provide free-of-charge information to professionals and the wider public by means of electronic and print media, including the internet, about the impact of an array of harmful factors at work, as well as about the results of activities of the labour inspection authorities;

• to propose and issue publications, information leaflets, posters, and educational materials, and to suggest publications about current problems in the area of occupational safety and health and about employment relations;

• to present the issues with which the Centre deals in the sectoral and regional media, and at relevant professional meetings and exhibitions; and

• to promote generally the issues of occupational safety and health.

ICOP has now issued its first two publications: Handbook for implementation of a simple system of management of occupational safety and health in small enterprises in the Slovak Republic and System of management of occupational safety and health. Both publications are available free of charge to interested parties. Thanks to ICOP's activities and publications, the available information suggests that the Slovak Republic is the first of the EU candidate countries in Central and Eastern Europe to have succeeded in supporting the implementation of a system of management of occupational safety and health into company practice.

Finally, it is proposed that ICOP will be the contact point for cooperation with the EU's European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and the International Labour Organisation.