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ePaper created 2015-12-01, 11:32:17 | version 1.43.00
11akzente 2/15 N orway’s rugged landscape is blanketed in snow when the Mongolian delega- tion arrives. Boris Buyannemekh, a safety inspector who works for the govern- ment, sees the snow glistening in the low-ly- ing sun as their plane approaches Oslo. ‘Fi- nally! We’ve all been missing the snow at home,’ he says, after stepping foot on Euro- pean soil for the first time. He explains that there has been no snow in Mongolia this win- ter. ‘Finding some here in Europe is a good start to our trip.’ But even as they embark on their first tour of the Norwegian capital, the thrill of be- ing a tourist quickly fades as the nine experts for occupational health and safety cast a criti- cal eye around the city. Buyannemekh and the other members of the delegation are surprised by the ice on the pavements, which have only been strewn with coarse gravel: what happens if someone slips? Who is liable? Doesn’t the state have to spread salt on the pavements to keep pedestrians safe, as is the case in the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator?Two women jog past the group over the ice – and the spikes on soles of their shoes offer a clue to help solve the mystery. The Norwegian people set great store by decisions negotiated by society as a whole: because it is better for the environment to use less salt, they accept responsibility for their own safety underfoot. The delegation, led by Mongolia’s Depu- ty Minister for Labour Jamiyandorj Batkhuy- ag, encounters this basic principle every- where they go, be it Norway’s largest employ- er association, the umbrella organisation for trade unions or the national research institute for occupational health and safety. Govern- ment, employer and employee representa- tives form a kind of trinity and base their ne- gotiations on scientifically determined facts. Decisions on occupational health and safety are also made using this process. Getting employers on board For more than 100 years, rights and obliga- tions have also been determined through a process of negotiation between employers and employees – once accepted, all parties abide by these decisions until the next round of negotiations, and Norwegian employees are not permitted to strike. Norwegians be- lieve that this is the key to a productive work- ing environment. » Norwegian safety standards are based on the guidelines of the International Labour Or- ganization and the EU. However, as ex- plained to the guests, since 1977 the right to a safe working environment has been more firmly embedded in Norwegian employment legislation than anywhere else in Europe. Moreover, the Norwegian system is based on knowledge and information: through a na- tional monitoring body, a research institute, company doctors, safety managers and train- ing courses, efforts are made to continuously raise awareness of the relationship between work, illness and health. Luvsandanzan Urgamal is especially in- terested in what the Norwegian employers’ association has to say. Urgamal, an engineer, advises the Mongolian employers’ association on occupational health and safety matters. She is curious to know which occupational safety regulations are negotiable and which are not. Do Norwegian employers readily en- gage in efforts to raise awareness and improve safety management and, if so, how is this funded? She discovers that the umbrella asso- ciation is proud of its high safety standards and, as such, provides funding from its own budget. As a result, if Norwegian employ- Back-to-back appointments: ten jam-packed days awaited the delegates in Oslo and Berlin. Engrossed: Luvsandanzan Urgamal (left) and Boris Buyannemekh (cen- tre). She advises the Mongolian employers’ association; he works for the inspection authority.