Port accessA delegation from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, headed by its director, Christa Sedlatschek, accompanied by personnel from Osalan (the Basque Institute for Safety and Health at Work) has paid a working visit to the Port of Bilbao facilities where they were welcomed by the Chairman of the Port Authority, Mr. Asier Atutxa, and the Vice Minister for Employment and Social Policy of the Autonomous Basque Government, Mr. Ricardo Barkala.
The Port Authority of Bilbao, which employs 270 workers, has an integrated management system for prevention, quality and environment , which was setup and certified in accordance with ISO 9000, ISO 14000 and OHSAS 18001 norms. In fact, in 2007, Bilbao became the first Spanish port to hold all three certificates, and at present is undergoing the EMAS certification process.
In addition to different multidiscipline actions, the Port Authority forms part of the “Healthy Companies” movement, and will soon sign the Luxembourg Declaration on Workplace Health Promotion.
In this way, the Port Authority is striving to create a healthy workplace atmosphere where workers participate in the continuous improvement process so as to protect and promote health, safety and wellbeing, as well as a sustainable environment.
This working visit has also served for the European Agency to present its new “Healthy Workplace: Manage Stress” campaign, and for the Basque Government to launch its healthy fishing guide.
