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It is about time workers’ unions put the workers back into the spotlight especially with particular emphasis on health and safety at the workplace instead of the usual focus on economic growth percentages and inflation figures.
Since economic growth is a product of labour, it is only fair that workers are recognised as the goose that lays the golden egg and hence work in safe environments where they are motivated to drive economic growth.
Zimbabwe recently joined the rest of the world in marking World Occupational Safety and Health Day, which is commemorated each year on 28 April, against a background of 29 workplace fatalities between January and March this year, a period that saw 2 216 being seriously injured at the workplace.
Sixty-four people died in workplace accidents in 2009 and that number rose to 95 in 2010 while last year 75 people died at the workplace. These are not just statistics, but mostly bread-winners who died while fending for their families.
There is a common statement that goes “accidents do not just happen, they are caused”.
Chronicle yesterday carried a story in which 178 miners at Mimosa Platinum Mine in Zvishavane were trapped underground for 17 hours and cheated death following a fire incident at the mine. The incident, which must have traumatised the workers and their families, is one of those occurrences that remind us of the need to maintain healthy and safe working environments by keeping our emergency preparedness systems ready through continuous training.
In a few days the country will be commemorating the Kamandama Mine disaster in which 427 miners perished on June 6 in 1972 at the then Wankie Colliery. This day has always served as a sad reminder of what can go horribly wrong at the workplace but it should also spur us to decree that such an incident will never happen through deliberate efforts to improve our safety standards at the workplace, regardless of the sector.
According to the International Labour Organisation global statistics, 337 million work accidents occur every year and work-related diseases affect more than 160 million workers every year. Each year there are 2,3 million work-related deaths, with work killing more people than war or malaria.
While we would like to applaud mines rescue teams for saving the lives of the trapped miners, it is our view that a serious audit of safety systems should be carried out not only to be seen to be meeting requirements of the Government inspectorate, but to ensure that the company preserves its key assets, the workers. In May last year the mining industry reported that 39 people died in 32 mine accidents, and that half of the accidents were attributed to preventable ground falls.
There is a tendency to focus on a firm that has had such an accident at the expense of other firms, big or small, that could be at a higher risk due to a lack of publicity regarding their work environment. The Government’s mining and factories inspectorate should be capacitated to ensure regular checks at companies so that firms are kept on their toes and invest in workers’ safety too instead of focusing on production only.
It is also important to note that health and safety is everybody’s responsibility since firms can provide all the safety equipment required but workers could still be in danger if they do not use the equipment or they are not taught the value of its use and how to use the equipment properly.
Online Reporter