ToR - International consultancy to support the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) in improving its national system for the notification and recording of occupational injuries and diseases and enhancing its effectiveness.

Introduction

Over the past few years, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has made remarkable achievements in the field of occupational safety and health (OSH) as a result of a number of initiatives, implemented in conjunction with the launch of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, with the purpose of developing OSH practices and improving working environments in all sectors of the economy in the Kingdom, not only for reducing work-related accidents, injuries and diseases, but also for making the Saudi labour market more attractive to local and foreign talent.

Among the Kingdom’s major achievements in terms of OSH are the ratification of the ILO Hygiene (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1964 (No. 120) and updating the National OSH Profile, in 2020, the development of the National OSH Policy and its endorsement by  the Council of Ministers in 2021, and the establishment of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, in 2022, which is responsible for the review of national OSH legislation, establishment of an effective and comprehensive OSH monitoring and evaluation system, providing technical support and advisory services in the field of OSH, establishment of a national governance framework for OSH in consultation with the workers’ and employers’ representatives and relevant governmental institutions, in addition to the development of a comprehensive training programme for building the capacity of over 18,000 OSH specialists and qualifying them as OSH supervisors at the enterprise level, besides publishing 43 technical guides and manuals on OSH for different economic sectors and occupations. The MHRSD also has been working on  developing a comprehensive mechanism for the collection and recording of occupational accidents, injuries and diseases, including a relevant live online platform.

Within the above context, the ILO is supporting the MHRSD in reviewing the current national system for the collection, recording and notification of data concerning occupational accidents, injuries and diseases and improving it and enhancing its effectiveness in line with the relevant international standards and best practices, which the ILO considers instrumental in the identification and study of the causes of those accidents, injuries and diseases in order to develop relevant preventive measures.

Objective

The main objective of this consultancy is to facilitate the improving the current national system for the collection, recording and notification of occupational accidents, injuries and diseases and enhancing its effectiveness.

Scope of work

The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the Labour Inspection and OSH Specialist of the ILO Regional Office for Arab States to complete the following:

1. Coordinate with the MHRSD to set up a technical working group with relevant institutions, ILO constituents and other stakeholders.
2. Review and evaluate the relevant legal provisions and their implementation, including relevant tools, including electronic systems, data bases, checklists and templates.
3. Review and evaluate relevant available documents and reports, including the National OSH Policy and profile and periodic reports of the main relevant institutions, particularly the MHRSD and General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI), and other concerned institutions, for the last 3-5 years.
4. Conduct interviews with the concerned officials of the MHRSD, GOSI, Ministry of Health, workers and employers’ representatives and other as deemed necessary for better understanding of the current relevant procedures and practices.
5. Based on analysis of the collected information, identify the main relevant strengths and weaknesses of existing procedures and practices, and areas where improvement is needed, taking the Saudi Vision 20230 into consideration.
6. Develop a detailed draft report on the findings and recommendations for improving the system and mechanisms of recording, notification and investigation of occupational accidents, injuries and diseases in line with the relevant international labour standards and best practices, highlighting the priority areas of relevant work. The role of each stakeholder should be clearly identified in the report. Updated relevant tools, including checklists and templates, and recommendations for developing/updating the relevant online platform, should be included in the report.
7. Present the draft report in a tripartite plus workshop, and discuss it with the main relevant stakeholders, to validate its contents.
8. Prepare a final report, incorporating comments of the MHRSD, ILO specialists, social partners and other stakeholders.

All the above-mentioned tasks and documents should be conducted and prepared in a gender-responsive manner with adequate consideration of the need to involve the main stakeholders. The ILO ROAS will provide support in obtaining relevant information from MHRSD and other relevant institutions including timely responses to the questions raised by the consultant.

Data collected under the new system should be disaggregated by the nationality, gender and age group of the injured workers, and the relevant reports and statistics should provide detailed information and classification of occupational injuries and diseases, including on the following, as a minimum:

1. Geographical distribution.
2. Sector of work (Type of economic activity).
3. Sector of work (Public or private).
4. Day, date and time of injury.
5. No. of workers in the concerned workplace.
6. Occupation of the injured.
7. Causes of injury/diseases.
8. Type of injury/diseases.
9. Disability by type and percentage.
10. Body parts affected.
11. Number of working days lost because of the injury/diseases.
12. Outcome of the injury/diseases (Full recovery, permanent disability or death)
13. Relevant costs (including a mechanism to estimate indirect costs).

Key Deliverables:

The consultancy has three deliverables as follows:

1. A detailed workplan, with timelines and a proposed outline of technical report, including scope of work and overall technical questions, methodology of work, list of stakeholders and informants, consultation tools, list of data sources.
2. A gender-responsive draft report on improving recording, notification and investigation of occupational accidents, injuries and diseases in line with relevant labour standards and best practices at the international level.
3. Final report incorporating relevant comments and inputs of the ILO, MHRSD, GOSI and other stakeholders, including workers’ and employers’ organizations.

All reports should be provided in electronic Word versions, in Arabic and English, to the satisfaction of the ILO.

Please refer to the attached ToR for the Tasks, Deliverables, Estimated number of days and Payment Schedule

Completion criteria

• All reports submitted to the ILO must be relevant to the outputs mentioned in the TOR.
• Provide information and update progress as requested by the Project team of the ILO.
• Provide the reports in line with ILO house style and agreed upon outline with ILO
• The consultant has to follow the guideline of ILO to ensure quality of the reports/documents.
• The consultant should be proactive, timely report on the progress, and undertake visits to the project partners’ site, participate in meetings as and when necessary.

Special terms and conditions

• Intellectual property: The documents prepared by the consultant under this contract will abide by ILO terms and conditions applicable to contracts and /or any other conditions agreed upon between ILO and the government of kingdom of Saudi Arabia (MHRSD). Therefore, the consultant cannot publish these without explicit written permission of the ILO and MHRSD.
• Insurances: The ILO accepts no liability in the event of death, injury or illness of the External Collaborator. The External Collaborator attests that he/she is adequately covered by insurance for these risks. In no circumstances shall the External Collaborator be covered by any ILO insurance and it is his/her responsibility to take out, at his/her own expense, any personal insurance policies he/she may consider necessary, including a civil liability insurance policy.

Duration of the assignment and duty stations

The duration of the assignment will be for 30 working days over the period of 4 months, 20th November 2023 to 20th March 2024. ILO shall NOT provide office space in Riyadh and necessary logistics (i.e. laptop, printer, paper, internet, local travel, etc.) to carry out day to day jobs of the consultant. The ILO shall cover the cost of two rounds tickets to Riyadh and Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) during the required missions as per ILO rules and regulations, The DSA will cover accommodation, local travel, and other per diem costs and will not exceed the amount listed in ILO regulations. Final decision for missions will be agreed upon with selected consultant prior initiation of contract arrangements.

Fees and payment terms

Fees are commensurate with the consultant’s qualifications and experience as well as with the previous acceptable rates for similar assignments. Terms and conditions are as per the ILO rules and procedures for the purpose. The consultant’s financial proposal should include all the costs to be incurred on travel and logistics. The consultant should also enclose any recent/latest contract to substantiate daily fee requested.

ILO’s responsibilities

The responsibility of the ILO will be to:

a) Provide all the documents and other related literature available as relevant to the task.

b) Assist in coordination with relevant stakeholders.

c) Review progress of the work and provide feedback as necessary.

d) Ensure payment of agreed amounts, based on performance.

e) Any other tasks/supports as required and agreed by the ILO.

Qualifications and experience of the Consultant

The assignment will be contracted to a person with demonstrated knowledge and understanding of the OSH system and best practices in addition to experience in reviewing and developing mechanisms for the recording and notification of occupational injuries and diseases.

Academic Qualification:

a) An advanced University degree in OSH, Occupational Hygiene, Public/Environmental Health or any other related discipline; M. Phil or PhD in the relevant field will be an added value.

Experiences:

b) At least ten years of professional experience in OSH, including relevant policy research and reviews.

c) Technical expertise in developing, reviewing and updating mechanisms for recording, notification and investigation of work-related accident, injuries and diseases at the national level.

Competencies:

e) Excellent knowledge of national OSH systems and ILO Conventions on OSH

f) Excellent knowledge and skills of reading, writing and speaking in Arabic and English.

g) Knowledge and ability to use computer for research and report writing.

h) Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment.

i) Must display a high standard of ethical conduct and exhibit honesty and integrity.

j) Gender-sensitive behaviour and attitude.

Recommended Presentation of Proposal

Interested individuals must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications.

• Personal CV, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references;
• Technical Proposal will specify the candidate’s qualifications and relevant experiences, and portfolio packages or samples of works in similar assignments authenticated/certified by relevant authority.
• Financial Proposal shall specify the professional fees for this assignment. Financial Proposal has to be submitted using the below table.
• To substantiate daily fee, any recent contract to be enclosed.

The ILO promotes equal opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive employment in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity.

Please refer to the attached ToR for Breakdown of costs supporting the all-inclusive financial proposal