Time to update workplace law - Government, workers

Both the government and workers have acknowledged the need to update the regulation that comprehensively and holistically addresses occupational safety and health to better safeguard the safety and health of workers.

This is because though the safety and health of workers is crucial to efficiency, effectiveness and optimises production, oftentimes, employers and employees choose convenience over doing the right thing, which is prioritising health and safety, a less costly price to pay for prevention, and only end up paying a costly price to provide compensation when the unexpected happens. 

From uncomfortable furniture at offices, poor ventilation and lack of appropriate personal protective equipment for field staff, the safety and wellbeing of workers are often taken for granted and the staff invariably pay a price with their health either on the job or after retirement when they do not have enough resources to manage their situation.

While the Trades Union Congress (TUC) is calling on the government to speed up the promulgation of the law, the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, has said the government acknowledged the fact that the national policy and legal framework on occupational safety and health required drastic improvement. 

"Calls for the promulgation of a comprehensive national Occupational Safety and Health Law are not exaggerated. These are genuine concerns that government is acting upon to establish a strong policy and legislative regime,” Mr Baffour Awuah said at an event to mark World Health and Safety Day which fell yesterday. 

20th anniversary

This year's event is the 20th anniversary celebration of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work.

A day set aside by the trades union movement in 1996 to highlight the vital work carried out by people and dedicated to reducing preventable injuries and harm to workers, the day is commemorated to remind all that every individual has the right to a safe and healthy working environment.

It highlights the fact that it is the responsibility of employers, governments and the society as a whole to ensure that this right is upheld. 

It is also marked to remember the workers who lost their lives in the line of duty and who have sustained various forms of disability at the workplace.

The day is further used to advocate better safe working conditions for workers.
This year's theme was: “A safe and healthy working environment is a fundamental principle and right at work.”

Situation

Although workers have a responsibility towards themselves to ensure that they work safely to protect themselves and their fellow workers from harm, they often overlook this and do very little to push for their right or protect their interest, for fear of losing their jobs.

This, according to research, is a source of concern among factory workers and workers within the waste collection industry.  

Data available from the TUC shows that last year,  1,043 workers were reported to have been involved in work-related accidents at workplaces and out of the number, 37 died, while many other sustained varying degrees of injury, resulting in some forms of disability.

Bill

The TUC, yesterday, at an event to mark the day, said the enactment of the law would ensure that no one was denied that right.

The National Occupational Safety and Health Bill, a comprehensive bill that seeks to promote a safe work environment for all stakeholders, was first introduced to Cabinet in 1989, but it was yet to receive the needed attention to be passed into an Act. It was rejected by the cabinet in its current stage, calling for a review.

A Principal Labour Officer, Francis N. Bibuksi, said the bill, when passed into law, would, among other objectives promote the highest standard, the physical, mental and social wellbeing of workers; ensure the adaptation of work to the physiological and psychological needs of persons at work and protect workers against risks and hazards to safety or health arising out of activities of persons at work.

On workplace safety, he said people were killed, disabled and injured at their places of work due to industrial accidents. 

However, he said safety was possible only by knowing those risks and properly guarding ourselves until the risks had been eliminated.

Fundamental right

A Deputy Secretary of the TUC, Andrews Addo Quaye, said workplace safety and health had been designated a fundament right of workers and it was thus important that it was prioritised. 

He also called on local union leaders to prioritise safety over compensations when negotiating collective bargaining agreements, particularly, because no amount of compensation packages in such occurrences could bring about restoration.

Mr Addo Quaye called on employees to put in place measures that would ensure the safety and health of their employees. He also asked workers not to ignore safety risks and make conscious efforts to be safe.

“We have an essential responsibility to ensure that people go to work and come home alive, uninjured and healthy.

“All UN member states are expected to respect, realise and promote the right to safety at workplaces,” he said.

He indicated that locally, there were a number of concerns regarding workplace safety and health that needed immediate attention and that included improving worker participation in occupational safety and health evaluations and decision-making.

He also called for the establishment of systems for reporting and keeping records of work-related accidents at workplaces; the establishment of safety management systems at all workplaces and undertake a worker-centred risk assessment.

“This will guide our reduction of workplace hazards. The experts indicate that for every 600 near misses, 30 will result in accidents and if care is not taken will further result in 10 serious accidents, then finally one fatality. 

Factories must  improve conditions

Mr Baffour-Awuah also at an event to mark the day, charged employers and factory owners to put in place measures to ensure the safety and health of their employees.

Across the globe, he stated, workers were exposed to a plethora of risks in the world of work ranging from biological, chemical and physical hazards, to psychosocial and ergonomical hazards.

The ILO, Mr Baffour-Awuah said, estimated that millions of workers lost their lives each year due to occupational accidents and diseases, with many more suffering from debilitating work-related injuries and chronic conditions. 

In a speech read on his behalf by the Director, Finance and Administration of the Ministry, Hamidu Adakurugu, the Labour and Employment Minister said prioritising occupational safety and health was important to curb the increasing incidence of occupational injuries, diseases and casualties.

He pointed out that the prevalence of forced labour and hazardous child labour should also be of utmost concern to all.

Mental health, violence

Mr Baffour-Awuah also expressed concern about mental health, violence and harassment at the workplace which were rapidly gaining momentum in the world of work, thus the need to strengthen the regulations to protect workers in the line of duty. 

He said in Ghana and many jurisdictions, adequate measures to prevent occupational accidents and diseases were often lacking and as a result, the general safety, health and the minister said workers who found themselves in a workplace situation in which they sensed imminent danger had the right to leave such places without facing the undue consequences as recognised by the international labour organisation (ILO). 

Workers role

The acting Chief Inspector of Factories, George D. Gashon, said safety and health at the workplace was the right of every worker and that employees who worked in unsafe environments must report to the Department of Factory Inspectorate for the necessary action to be taken.

He said the National Occupational Safety and Health Authority Bill, which would soon be passed into law, would accelerate efforts to promote workplace health and safety.

He said the ILO made it mandatory for all nationals to comply with occupational safety and health standards and urged employees to be safety conscious.

"The government is the regulator and it is to ensure everyone in the world of work is protected and the 1992 Constitution guarantees the safety of workers. Employers also have a duty of care and must implement measures for the safety and health of their workers, while employees ensure they take their safety seriously by using safety gear provided to them and complying with safety rules," he said.