The Ministry of Labor released the health guidelines that companies and workplaces across the country must implement to avoid contagion of COVID-19 to the return to work. Among the recommendations for personnel are to avoid the use of jewelry, ties, beard and mustache that housed virus, bacteria or other microorganisms as the new coronavirus.
An annex in the document with the “ Technical Guidelines for Health Safety in the Work Environment ” established the strategies that the Ministry of Labor recommended to companies and employees. With a series of tables self – assessment of the protocol of health security, the workplace can give sight to the missing elements to fulfill.
The tables are divided into six sectors monitoring health on measures to be taken in the areas of engineering or structural, the administrative or organizational, the personal protective equipment for training, health promotion and the planning and management.
The second table, on administrative procedures, established that all types of companies should limit social events, have a sufficient number of trash cans at various points, and should recommend that workers prioritize mobility options that guarantee social distance. .
This section also suggests to working people to limit the use of jewelry, ties, beards and mustaches; In addition, it established that neither kitchen nor work utensils, such as stationery or pens, nor personal protective equipment should be shared among cell phone workers.
In the specific case of cafeterias or dining rooms, those who work in the cashier, kitchen and waitress areas are recommended to have their hair tied up and wear face masks. In the event that the company cannot implement physical barriers, it must assign staggered schedules for the use of the dining room, the lockers, the dressing room area, in the cafeterias and other spaces that do not allow the crowding of people.
Source: Technical Guidelines for Health Safety in the Work Environment, STPYS.
One of the recommendations of the agency headed by Luisa María Alcalde is that companies have a code of ethics that establishes non-discrimination against people who have had COVID-19 or have lived with a family member who has or had it.
It also suggests necessary restrictions on local or international travel, the agency noted that if necessary, guidelines on preventive measures that must be met before, during, and after the trip should be in place.
In the structural measures, the agency did not recommend the use of disinfecting arches. On April 8, the Ministry of Health disapproved the use of these automated sanitation arches or tunnels with sprinklers that spray a disinfecting solution in aerosol on people, because “there is no evidence on the efficacy of these systems to carry out an effective disinfection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus causing COVID-19 “.
This disinfection system, stressed the Secretariat, could be insufficient to inactivate the virus, while the aerosol generated can facilitate the spread of the virus that may be present in the clothing, hair or belongings of people who pass through the tunnel, increasing the dispersal risk.
Regarding planning and management in companies, specifically medium and large companies, he pointed out that they should guarantee periodic medical examinations that allow prevention, care and control of health problems. Failing that, provide facilities so that workers can go to medical care outside the company.
Health promotion should be considered in the “new normal” at work, which is why he stressed that all work centers must have guidelines for the identification of psychosocial risk factors and workplace violence. In addition, he asked to pay attention to people’s mental load, the organizational environment and other elements of mental health.
For training, companies must have a comprehensive program for their workers that includes healthy habits, lifestyle, family, support for the control of chronic degenerative diseases, hand hygiene, respiratory, clothing, healthy distance, and avoid kisses, hugs or hand greetings.
Personal protective equipment must be provided by the employer depending on the type of risk factor for exposure to the new coronavirus in which the personnel are exposed during their working day. In addition, all workers must have access to water, soap, disposable paper towels, or disinfectant gel.
Cafeterias or cafeterias must have physical barriers on the same table that separate one diner from another (front and side) and establish the distance between tables to ensure the minimum distance between workers of 1.5 meters.
RETURN STRATEGY
For a successful return to work activities, the Ministry of Labor required the participation of all societies. “In applying these guidelines, the following principles should be considered, which will be necessary for correct decision-making and the successful implementation of plans to return to work,” he explained.
Health and life, solidarity with all and non-discrimination, moral economy, and productive efficiency, as well as shared public, private and social responsibility, are the elements that the agency asked to privilege.
Companies, he said, must have a return to work plan, address the risk classification of workers, as well as vulnerable conditions and have specific protection measures.
On May 14, the Ministry of Health published in the Official Gazette of the Federation the Agreement that establishes the steps for the reopening of social, educational and economic activities. The fourth article of the document raised the coordination of the dependency with the Secretariats of Economy and Labor and Social Security and with the Mexican Institute of Social Security.
The guidelines will be in force until the sanitary emergency is declared ended. The platform for the self-evaluation of health safety protocols were available on the website of the plan for the “new normal”.
Source: sinembargo.mx
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