Safety Bill should be passed but…
The 7th Parliament of the 4th Republic was sworn into office last two weekends, with everything set to make our legislators start work. So much is expected of our lawmakers as some outstanding bills are yet to be passed into law. One of such outstanding bills is the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) draft policy.
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This policy, which was designed to safeguard workers from accidents and deaths, was reportedly sent to Cabinet for onward submission to Parliament earlier last year (i.e according to the Graphic Business, May 24, 2016). I was personally excited by the bill which is yet to be passed into Law and I crave the indulgence of our newly sworn in legislators to expedite action on it.
Sweet as it was music to my ears, this news was also a worry to my sleep! Sweet music in my ears because it was going to make it legally more binding on employers to ensure that workers are compulsorily protected and compensated in the event of any work related accident, injury or death. A worry to my sleep because many Ghanaian workers would not adhere to safety standards and precautions, based on personal observations and our general attitude.
The Story of Sammy
I once told the story of a Sammy who was given only GH¢30 as first aid by his employers and subsequently lost his job because of his self-induced injury. Though having concluded that the employers have not acted right by not taking full care of him and at the same time laying him off, I also blamed much of the injury on the recalcitrance of Sammy. Some employees believe so much in themselves and will refuse to wear their safety apparel anytime they are working.
The Ghanaian Worker and Safety Consciousness
Like the story of Sammy, I have seen many Ghanaian workers in factories and other dangerous work environments with no protective gears on. As to whether they knew the dangers associated with their work or not, they would often boast of how long they have ‘done this’ and, therefore, expect nothing untoward to happen to them.
Sometime in 2014, a related story was telecast on television in respect of some road construction workers, around the Burma Camp area, whose safety boots, helmets, etc. were worn out and were crying for replacement. In the same story, we were also told that a crane had earlier crashed a worker to death while he was performing his duties.
When an expatriate Project Supervisor was interviewed by newsmen, he lamented that the Ghanaian workers had a habit of not wanting to wear their protective gears even when they were provided with the very essential ones.
It is easy to draw conclusions from afar that it is either some employers are taking their employees for granted or just exploiting their ignorance or the inclination of bemusement as to why many employees are reluctant to use their protective apparel, and whether these employees are aware that their employers are required by law to provide them with a workmen’s compensation insurance policy.
The Workmen’s Compensation Act
The Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1987 (PNDCL 187), Section 1, states as follows: “This Act applies to employees employed by the Republic as well as private persons, except in the case of the Armed Forces.”
In Section 2, of the same Act, it states that “Where an employee sustains personal injury by accident arising out of, and in the course of employment, the employer is liable, subject to this Act, to pay compensation in accordance with this Act.”
What does the workmen’s compensation insurance do?
The Workmen’s Compensation insurance policy provides indemnity for the employer against its legal liability for injuries to its employees resulting from accidents and / or death occurring in the course of their employment.
It is mandatory for all employers of labour to set aside funds to compensate any employee who may sustain injury and / or die at the workplace, whether or not the employer is to blame, as clearly stipulated under The Workmen's Compensation Act, 1987.
Employers pay the premiums for this type of insurance, and shall not require the employee to contribute to the cost of compensation.
It is instructive to note that with the Workmen’s Compensation insurance package, claims are typically paid based on the insured amount and the degree of incapacitation with the final computation done at the Labour Office. With this, the employees feel more secured at all times while working for the company.
The Bill and responsibility of employers
Most employers, to the best of my knowledge, are fully aware of the compulsory insurance cover for their employees, but some play on the ignorance of these employees and do not provide it, all in a bid to cut down cost. Employers should be wary and note that they may be penny-wise today but risk being pound f—since such costs / damages could actually be detrimental to them, in the event of just one legitimate suit against them by an affected employee or his / her next of kin.
The Bill and responsibility of employees
The employees themselves must be interested in what type of protection / compensation is there for them. That notwithstanding, some operations staff in some of the highly hazardous work environments such as the breweries, printing presses and construction firms, for whatever reason (s), refuse to adhere to safety standards, thinking that in the Ghanaian parlance ‘they are doing somebody else’. I will continually doff my hat for Guinness Ghana and most of our mining companies for their exceptional adherence to safety standards.
The way forward
While confident that the new Parliament would expedite action on passing this bill into a law, let us be reminded that most of us know about the need to protect ourselves and its purposeful requirement, but remain silent on compliance until we hear of accidents at the workplaces, with sad records of injuries and/or deaths. I, therefore, wish to propose the following, when the bill is passed into Law:
Law enforcement
The enforcement of the law to provide insurance cover for all workers must be a collective responsibility. The employer, the employee, trades unions, the Labour Department, the Factories Inspectorate Division (FID) which has been mandated to inspect factories, shops and offices with the aim of safeguarding the health, welfare and safety of persons employed on or around the premises and issue licences for the operation of business on such premises) all have a role to play.
Intensive campaign
The various stakeholders, particularly the law enforcement agencies, can collaborate with the Ghana Insurers Association (GIA) in order to intensify their campaigns in this regard so that while employees are financially protected, their employers are also secured, leading to adequate risk management benefits and a marked increase in insurance premiums for overall national development. It is my fervent hope that the Bill would also take care of one-off engagements of artisans such as masons and carpenters!
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