200 employers expected at health, safety confab

Employers will have an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the services offered by the CNMI OSHA On-site Consultation at the 2nd Annual Governor’s Safety and Health Conference, to be held from Aug. 17 to 20.

According to the Northern Marianas Alliance for Safety and Health, which sponsors the event, the CNMI-OSHA Consultation will be introduced to the over 200 employers expected to attend the conference.

Led by project manager Reynaldo Deleon Guerrero, the CNMI-OSHA Consultation is a partnership between the CNMI Department of Labor and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. It was formed on June 1, 2003, to provide consultation services to high hazard businesses with 250 employees or corporations with 500 workers.

In an earlier interview, Deleon Guerrero said at least 60 percent of employers in the Commonwealth are now working toward complying with safety and health standards while the remaining 40 percent have yet to step forward.

Aside from the presentation on the CNMI-OSHA Consultation, this year’s conference will feature workshops on various workplace health and safety-related topics.

Trainers and presenters from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Region IX in San Francisco, the OSHA Institute in Illinois and the local CNMI government, will conduct simultaneous construction industry and general industry tracks over a three-day period. Attendees that complete the entire three-day sessions will be awarded OSHA training certification.

The conference will also include opening ceremonies by NMASH co-chairs Richard A. Pierce and Al Johnson, and remarks by Gov. Juan N. Babauta and OSHA Region IX Administrator Frank Strasheim.

To be tackled at the general and breakout sessions are topics that include fire prevention, suppression and evacuation, respirator training, hazardous materials handling, long shoring, public safety for workers, sanitation in food procurement, ergonomics, nursing homes, safe drinking water, hospitals, blood-borne pathogens, First Aid & CPR training in English, Mandarin and Tagalog, and domestic violence in the workplace.

DEQ will discuss its upcoming partnership with the Saipan Garment Manufacturers Association.

Last year’s initial conference drew over 200 participants from the private and public sectors, and a larger crowd is expected at this year’s conference, NMASH said.

NMASH members include the OSHA Region IX Offices in San Francisco, the OSHA Region IX Education Center in San Diego, the Northern Marianas College, the SGMA, the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Saipan Contractors Association, the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, and the departments of Public Safety, Labor, Environmental Quality and Public Works.