Minutes of Meeting for the 22nd APOSHO Annual General Meeting
Held at 8.00 AM on Friday, May 12, 2006
At the Rama Gardens Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand

1 Welcoming Remarks
The Chaiperson, Mr. Rungsarit Chantarat, called the meeting to order and welcomed member organizations and honorary members to the Annual General Meeting. The Chairperson opened the meeting by thanking members for their strong support to the APOSHO-22 conference, which attracted 85 papers and over 300 delegates both nationally and internationally.

3 Confirmation of Minutes of the APOSHO-21 Annual General Meeting 2005
Each attendee has a copy of APOSHO-21 AGM Minutes and this was reviewed by all.
Mr. Tang Wah Shing raised a correction to the Minutes, on Page 1 Line 4, to correct the spelling of his name from “Mr. Tang Wah Sing” to “ Mr. Tang Wah Shing”.
Mr. Wong Hou Wang also raised a correction to the Minutes, on Page 2 Line 22, to correct the spelling of his name from “Mr. Wing Hou Wang” to “Mr. Wong Hou Wang”.
The meeting unanimously agreed to confirm the content of the Minutes of the APOSHO-21 Annual General Meeting 2005, Bali, Indonesia.

4 Report from Five Advisory Committees

4.1 Reports and Recommendations by Management Development Committee
The Chairperson, Mr. Rungsarit Chantarat, invited Dr. Dheera Phong-anant to present the report and recommendations by Management Development Committee (MDC):

4.1.1 APOSHO as NGO of ILO: Dr. Dheera Phong-anant reported that the MDC unanimously agreed to support the submission of an application to become an NGO of ILO and that this matter should be proceeded immediately, if it receives acceptance by the AGM. Dr. Dheera Phong-anant invited Dr. K.C. Gupta to explain to the member delegates the procedures involved in the application to ILO.

Dr. K.C. Gupta briefed at the meeting the advantages that APOSHO will gain from becoming an NGO of ILO. The key contents of the supporting letter from Dr. Jukka Takala, Director of the relevant technical department (Safework) of ILO, was read by Dr. Gupta, which detailed 3 main points that AGM should be aware of and discussed, namely, application procedures and benefits to the organization, financial issues and technical assistance. Dr. Yuka Ujita, a representative from ILO, was present for consultation and was invited to give a brief address on what this means to the organization.

The benefits and the status of APOSHO once it becomes an NGO of ILO were discussed. The delegate from IOSH, UK described what is involved when IOSH became an NGO of ILO in January 2006.

Chairman concluded that there is no apparent disadvantage for APOSHO to be recognized as an international NGO of ILO. The meeting unanimously agreed to proceed with the submission of the application to be accepted as an international NGO of ILO.

4.1.2 Funding for APOSHO: Dr. D. Phong-anat reported, to the AGM, the MDC’s opinion that, in view of the current economic situation, we should maintain the status quo and that each member organization continues to be responsible for the funding and sponsorship of their delegates. The expenses for organizing annual APOSHO conference still remain to be borne by the host country.

4.1.3 “Prakarsa Bali” (Bali Initiative): The new spirit for years to come: There was a request for change of the wording in the MDC Meeting Minutes, namely, “Parkasa” to “Prakarsa” and “draft” on line 1 paragraph 1 to “text”. The AGM agreed to the changes.

The committee discussed the status of this document, whether it is a draft or a final document, as some alterations have been made. It was agreed that the document was presented and reviewed for understanding and for discussion in the APOSHO-21 meeting last year and was signed and accepted, therefore it is a final document and not a draft.

The committee agreed that the second sentence of the first paragraph in the MDC Meeting Minutes should be deleted and moved on to discuss the follow-up actions suggested in ‘Prakarsa Bali’ that could be acted on at APOSHO-23.

a. Workshop on OSH related topics: The suggestion by SHAWPAT was discussed and it was agreed that a workshop on a selected topic should be held at APOSHO-23 in Singapore next year and that preliminary suggestions should be sent to NSCS by August, 2006 and final content by April, 2007, at the latest.

b. Exchange of visits among member organizations:
SHAWPAT proposed that each member organization identifies a topic related to OHS for a visit in their countries. The Secretary General is to coordinate the collection of OHS topics for visit. KOSHA volunteered to publish the outstanding OSH topics on the APOSHO website.

4.1.4 Bangkok Declaration 2006: Dr. Dheera Phong-anant read out the statements that formed the Bangkok Declaration as supported by the MDC. The wording and meaning of the statements was discussed extensively. The AGM committee finally agreed to endorse the Bangkok Declaration as it is written.

4.2 Reports and Recommendations by Membership Screening Committee
The Chairperson, Mr. Rungsarit Chantarat, invited Dr. Dheera Phong-anant to present the report and recommendations by Membership Screening Committee (MSC):

4.2.1 Industrial Accident Prevention Association (IAPA) Application: MSC agreed to support the application by the Industrial Accident Prevention Association (IAPA), Ontario, Canada and accept IAPA as an affiliated member. Dr. K.C. Gupta reported to the AGM that application from IAPA was previously considered at APOSHO-21 and it was agreed that IAPA should show active participation in APOSHO activities.

This year IAPA had shown active participation by presenting technical presentations and fully participated in APOSHO-22. Mr. Leonard Sassano, Director of Internal Affairs, was invited to make a presentation at the MSC Meeting on May 9, 2006. In the light of this participation, the MSC had unanimously accepted IAPA as an affiliated member.

No objection was made and the Industrial Accident Prevention Association (IAPA), Ontario, Canada was officially accepted as APOSHO’s affiliated member. Mr. Sassano made a speech of appreciation and hoped that IAPA could bring knowledge and expertise to share with the APOSHO members and would learn from the experience that APOSHO has in Asia Pacific.

4.2.2 Committee Membership: Dr. Dheera Phong-anant reported that SOSHWE had applied for membership of the two advisory committees, but MSC has no jurisdiction to grant SOSHWE membership as it is presently restricted by the present constitution.

Dr. Shuh Woei Yu, ISHA, was invited to explain his point of view regarding the proposed changes to article 9 and 10 of the constitution. Dr. Shuh Woei Yu proposed that the discussion of the amendments to the constitution should be discussed at the MDC meeting next year.

The Secretary-General informed the MDC of the letter from Mrs. Oormeela Jawaheer, IOSHM, Mauritius, requesting to be accepted as a member of the Education & Training Committee. Permission was requested from the committee Chairperson and no objection was raised. IOSHM was accepted and welcomed as a member of the Education & Training Committee.

4.2.3 Draft guidelines for the acceptance of honorary members: Chairperson of the MSC meeting asked the committee to refer to page 3 of the MSC Meeting Minutes detailing the guidelines for the acceptance of honorary members. Two main issues were discussed, namely, 1) whether a nomination for honorary member can be made only by his/her member organization or by any APOSHO member organizations, and 2) whether the drafted guideline concerns the nomination process or the screening process.

1): It was discussed that honorary membership should be granted to an individual for conspicuous contribution. The majority agreed that any organizations should be able to nominate any individuals, but he or she should also be supported by his or her organization. Individuals should not nominate themselves.

2): There was a discussion that the nomination and screening process are contained within Article 3 and 4 of the Constitution. However, some members thought that this is unclear and that there are different interpretations of the two Articles. Therefore, it was agreed that there is a need for a guideline.

It was agreed that the MSC shall form a sub-committee to draft ‘Honorary Members Nomination Guidelines’ and to develop ‘Screening and Recommendation Guidelines’ of nominees who has been nominated in the nomination process at APOSHO-23 annual conference. The committee confirmed that Article 3 and 4 of the Constitution should be left as is.

The committee agreed that the honorary membership applications by Mr. Lim Boon Khoon and Mr. Abdul Rahman Dalib should be postponed until the new guidelines are drafted and accepted by APOSHO members.

4.3 Reports and Recommendations by Occupational Health and Safety Management System Committee
The Chairperson, Mr. Rungsarit Chantarat, invited the Chairperson of the Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS) Committee, Mr. Eric Curtis, to present the report and recommendations:

4.3.1 OHSMS auditing and best practices workshop: It was reported that NSCS of Singapore has agreed to a workshop on OHSMS best practices, effectiveness and international trends to be included in the AGENDA of APOSHO-23 in Singapore.

4.3.2 Sharing of understanding of OHSMS standards: It was reported that there is a significant confusion over OHSMS standards and ILO guidelines. OHSMS committee proposed that a workshop on this issue should also be included in the AGENDA of APOSHO-23 in Singapore. Dr. Shuh Woei Yu volunteered to submit the request to NSCS for consideration.

4.3.3 Harmonization of OHSMS in the Asia Pacific region: A report was made on the discussion over the concern of OHSMS in the Asia Pacific region, especially in developing countries where H & S standards are only in the early stages. It was suggested that APOSHO should propose harmonization to ILO and ISO to seek a single international standard in order to simplify OHS standards in the region.

4.4 Reports and Recommendations by Technical Committee
The Chairperson, Mr. Rungsarit Chantarat, invited the Chairperson of the Technical Committee, Dr. Kwon Hyuck-Myun, to present the report and recommendations.

4.4.1 APOSHO homepage rebuilding progress: Dr. Kwon Hyuck-Myun reported on the progress of the re-building of the new APOSHO homepage including the Individual Member’s Technical Expert Database, the e-newsletters, and the Membership Information Page.

4.4.2 Sharing of information through APOSHO website: Dr. Kwon Hyuck-Myun emphasized that the APOSHO homepage is still limited on the amount of information and data and the critical issue is how to enrich the data on APOSHO website. He strongly encouraged each member organization to provide information on technical practices to be included in the APOSHO website.

4.4.3 The 18th World Congress on Safety and Health at Work, 2008: Dr. Kwon Hyuck-Myun expressed his gratitude to the APOSHO members for their support and that participation of APOSHO members will be highly appreciated.

4.5 Reports and Recommendations by Education and Training Committee
The Chairperson, Mr. Rungsarit Chantarat, invited the Chairperson of the Education and Training Committee (E&TC), Mr. Yang Shuhong, to present the report and recommendations:

4.5.1 OHS education and training activities: Mr. Yang Shuhong reported that each member had conducted a very effective training program and activity. The meeting agreed that all OSH activities should be submitted to the Chairman so that this information can be shared amongst members.

4.5.2 Program for fighting HIV / AIDS: Mr. Yang Shuhong reported that this issue was raised in the E&TC and it was agreed that the public, especially the workers, should be provided with background information on HIV / AIDS and code of practice. Each member organization is encouraged to promote code of practice and program for fighting HIV / AIDS in their own way and own conditions.

4.5.3 Managing risk against the outbreak of Avian bird flu: Mr. Yang Shuhong reported that this issue was discussed and it was agreed that member organizations should promote good hygiene practice in workplace, especially in poultry business, via, for example, website or workshops, to raise awareness of Avian bird flu and any health risks associated with it.

5 Reports from APOSHO Member Organizations

5.1 Activity Reports
The Chairperson thanked all member organizations for having prepared the activity reports, which were collated in a folder and distributed to the delegates. The secretariat received 24 activity reports from member organizations giving a thorough view of the work and programs in the year under review.

The Chairperson invited Head Delegates to present highlights on the respective reports.

Highlights of some members were presented. No further issues were raised on the reports

6 Announcement

6.1 Host Countries for APOSHO-23 and APOSHO-25
The Chairperson confirmed to the committee that APOSHO-23 will be held in Singapore and will be hosted by NSCS. He also announced that Mr. Eros Zuniga from SOPI, the Philippines, has volunteered to host APOSHO-25 in The Philippines in 2009. The meeting welcomed the news.

The meeting was informed that the 36th National Safety and Health Convention is being held in The Philippines in 2007.

Dr. Chaiyuth Chavalitnitikul from SHAWPAT, requested member organizations to share their best practices and experience in implementing OSH management systems on small enterprises with SHAWPAT, so that some of these practices may be successfully adapted in Thailand.

IOSHM, Mauritius encouraged other member organizations to share their OSH best practices on the software that IOSHM has created to be ready by October 2006.

7 Closing

The member organizations congratulated SHAWPAT on the well-organized meeting and its warm hospitality shown to the delegates and participants of APOSHO-22.

The Chairperson thanked members for their support and contributions to APOSHO-22. He apologized for any shortcomings and inconveniences that might have occurred during the event. He also paid tributes to the current and former Honorary Secretary Generals for their contributions to APOSHO. He informed the meeting that the APOSHO-23 is being held in Singapore from October 30, 2007 to November 2, 2007.

The APOSHO-22 Annual General Meeting was then officially adjourned at noon.

8 After the Closing

APOSHO-22 Chairperson and President of SHAWPAT, Mr. Rungsarit Chantarat, presented a token of remembrance to each member organization.

Mr. Rungsarit Chantarat presented the APOSHO flag, the APOSHO gavel and the memorial box to Mr. Tan Jin Thong of NSCS of Singapore (Host of APOSHO-23, 2007), symbolizing the transfer of APOSHO chairmanship. This important ceremony was warmly applauded by all delegates present.

Group photographs of all delegates were made.