Organizers of safe work received awards

The Chief Labour Inspector, for the fifteenth time already, presented awards and distinctions for organizers of safe work in Poland. It took place during a ceremonial gala held at the Museum of John Paul II Collection in Warsaw on 25 November 2008.

The winners of the National Labour Inspectorate’s most prestigious competition “Employer – organizer of safe work”, held under the patronage of Lech Kaczyński, President of the Republic of Poland, received statuettes “Mecum Tutissimus Ibis”. This slogan, reminding of the words by Ovid, expresses the idea of the competition – “you will be the safest with me”. Moreover, the winners’ names were added to the “Golden List of Employers” [see: http://www.pip.gov.pl/html/pl/konkursy/08_prac/00000004.htm], recommended by the labour inspectorate as examples worth following.

Over 200 entrepreneurs representing small, medium-sized and large companies from all over Poland took part in this year’s edition of the competition. The Chief Labour Inspector honoured 9 of them with awards and 3 – with distinctions.

As the Chief Labour Inspector Tadeusz Jan Zając emphasised in his speech, this year’s winners represent various branches including: construction, woodworking and metal sector, which are typified by a high accident rate. In the said branches labour inspectors for years have identified a significant number of infringements of provisions both in legal protection of labour and in occupational safety and health.

– I am all the more pleased – said the labour inspectorate’s head while turning to the winners – to congratulate you on the achievements which allow me to honour you with awards and distinctions in the competition “Employer – organizer of safe work”. You have overcome a crossbar which was at the highest possible level and it is especially praiseworthy because that level was set by a regulatory institution that, unfortunately, does not have too many occasions to award employers on a day-to-day basis. I would like the guarantee of safe work, confirmed with a statuette “Mecum Tutissimus Ibis”, to be as important as a recognizable brand identified with the product’s quality is important for employers in running business.

Bożena Borys-Szopa, adviser to the Polish President, read the letter from Lech Kaczyński to the gala participants. The President expressed in it a conviction that respect for employee rights in the contemporary world is an important criterion on the basis of which one can judge the level of economic culture and the country’s civilization development.

While congratulating the winners, the Polish President thanked the Chief Labour Inspector for educational and promotional achievements of the competition “Employer – organizer of safe work” and the benefits it brings to employers.

The winners also received congratulations from Deputy Chairman of the Labour Protection Council and at the same time Vice-President of the Business Centre Club Zbigniew Żurek. On that occasion he observed that by organizing such initiatives as the competition, the National Labour Inspectorate – usually strict and just – shows that it also notices true and reliable entrepreneurs. Not only do they have excellent economic results and effectively compete in an increasingly difficult market, but they are also able, in a distinctive way, to create safe and very good working conditions for their employees. He thanked the NLI for that initiative.

The awards – “Mecum Tutissimus Ibis” statuettes and distinctions in the form of diplomas were presented to the winners by Tadeusz Jan Zając. He also gave congratulatory letters to those employers who qualified for the competition’s central phase but did not win awards or distinctions. Besides the Chief Labour Inspector’s prizes, the winners of this year’s edition of the competition were also honoured with special distinctions from the labour inspectorate’s social partners. They were presented by: Jan Guz – Chairman of the All-Poland Trade Unions Alliance, Andrzej Malinowski – President of the Confederation of Polish Employers, Zbigniew Żurek – Vice-President of the BCC, Maciej Prószyński – Director of Vocational Education and Social Issues Team at the Polish Craft Association, and Lech Pilawski – Director General of the Polish Confederation of Private Employers “Lewiatan”.

The solemn summing-up ceremony of the fifteenth edition of the competition “Employer – organizer of safe work” was attended by: Jolanta Fedak – Minister of Labour and Social Policy, Walerian Sanetra – President of the Supreme Court, representatives of: the Labour Protection Council, management of institutions supervising working conditions, employers’ organizations and trade unions. A violin concert performed by “Space Violin” duo added splendour to the ceremony at the Museum of John Paul II Collection.

Foto galery