Promotion of occupational safety and health and labour inspection in Serbia

The project supports the Labour Inspectorate (LI) and the Occupational Safety and Health Directorate (OSHD) of Serbia through harmonization of occupational safety and health legislation and modernization of training and technical capacities of both institutions, under the overarching framework of the ILO Flagship Programme Safety + Health for All aiming at improving the safety and health of workers worldwide, while recognizing the value added from the partnership with the EU in several other country-level and regional initiatives. The new Law on Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) was adopted in April 2023, setting the stage for the modernization of OSH recording, reporting and notification system. It is expected to be complemented by a new Law on Occupational Injuries and Diseases Insurance and other project-supported secondary legislation which would make it fully effective. The new Law would regulate the establishment of either a special national fund, or a budget line within the existing health/pension/disability insurance funds which would be used for direct compensation of workers injured at work. The project assists both the LI and the OSHD build and modernize their internal training capacities, equips their training premises with modern training tools. The project aims to establish an enhanced national information system E-inspector with additional features and modules, primarily the module such as reporting, planning, etc., as a comprehensive solution to address the identified gaps in reporting policies and processes. In order for the IT systems to yield full results and to properly feed and maintain the registries, the IT equipment of the Labour Inspectorate require substantial modernization and procurement of devices that allow real-time information sharing from the labour inspection field visits. Inspections carried out in previous years have revealed weak points in the application of occupational safety and health measures by employers in high-risk activities, primarily in forestry and agriculture, as well as in construction. Considering the new duties and obligations of the employers in line with the new OSH Law, related to reporting of worksites in the open, the Labour Inspectorate needs adequate vehicles to be more effective in carrying out inspection in high-risk activities, therefore official vehicles be purchased for the Labour Inspection. Thus, with the aim to raise the awareness of the Serbian public about the significance of good OSH practices and support the decent work of workers at risk, the project supports the production and dissemination of awareness-raising materials in different languages suitable to various nationalities of the workforce in Serbia.

Project symbol

SRB/24/01/EUR

Admin unit

DWT/CO-Budapest

Start date

15/03/2025

End date

15/03/2027

Total allocation

474323

Total expenditure

Status

Active

201951

Development Partners

European Commission, DG for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations

Country/Countries

Serbia

Outcomes

Outcome 6: Protection at work for all