A round table titled "Modern Methods of Occupational Safety and Health - Priority Tasks for Trade Unions" was held on November 18 by experts from the General Confederation of Trade Unions. This event was the third module of the GCTU's educational program "Promising Areas for the Activity and Development of Trade Union Technical Labor Inspectorates." Participants shared their experiences working in technical labor inspectorates and answered questions from GCTU experts.

The round table was opened by Ilya Udovenko, Deputy Head of the GCTU Department for Labor Protection, Health, and Social Security of Workers. He highly appreciated the work of the GCTU member organizations and expressed gratitude to the participants who are directly involved in investigating industrial accidents and protecting workers. Udovenko thanked them for sharing their experience with such a broad audience:

"Our meeting is attended by over 200 occupational safety specialists from the Commonwealth of Independent States. We all speak the same language - the professional, labor language of trade unions. Technologies are changing, but the need to protect decent working conditions for working people remains. Occupational safety issues are now being discussed at the highest level. In particular, the topic of labor protection was addressed last month during the meeting of the President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, with trade union activists, and in the conversation between the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and the Chairman of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia, Sergei Chernogaev, which took place yesterday," noted Ilya Udovenko.

Six labor inspectors delivered reports via video conference and answered questions from GCTU experts in Moscow: Lyudmila Koval and Konstantin Kovalyov, Chief Technical Labor Inspectors of the All-Russian Electrotechnical Trade Union and the Trade Union of Workers of the Oil, Gas Industries and Construction of Russia, respectively; and Mikhail Ganichev, Head of the GCTU Department for Labor Protection, Health, and Social Security of Workers.

Zafar Aliev, Chief Technical Labor Inspector of the Council of the Trade Union of Healthcare Workers of Uzbekistan, spoke about providing medical workers with special clothing and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Daniyar Bekkulov, Chief Legal and Technical Labor Inspector of the Trade Union of Aviation Industry Workers and State Enterprises of Kyrgyzstan, discussed occupational safety at aviation industry enterprises. Valery Onisenkov, a Technical Labor Inspector from the Federation of Trade Unions of the Primorsky Krai (Russia), shared his personal experience in investigating accidents. The Chief Technical Labor Inspector of the Belarusian Trade Union of Transport and Communications Workers expressed concern over the sharp increase in injuries on the Belarusian Railway. Rajab Ulmasov, Deputy Chairman of the Committee of the Trade Union of Healthcare and Social Protection Workers of Tajikistan, Candidate of Medical Sciences, raised the issue of psycho-emotional burnout among medical workers due to additional workloads they have undertaken.

The GCTU educational program "Promising Areas for the Activity and Development of Trade Union Technical Labor Inspectorates" enhances the qualifications of relevant trade union specialists in the field of occupational safety. The program consists of four modules: a series of lectures, practical and interactive sessions with leading CIS experts in occupational safety, and testing. Participants who successfully pass the final test will receive GCTU certificates. Over 200 technical labor inspectors from GCTU member organizations are undergoing training in this program.