Chronicle Editor
Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
THERE is need for organisations to invest in resilient occupational safety and health (OSH) as this is key in increasing productivity and attainment of national development goals.
Public Service, Labour, and Social Welfare Minister Professor Paul Mavima said this while officiating at the annual Safety and Health at Work (SHAW) conference on Wednesday.
The National Social Security Authority (NSSA) organised the conference which started on Monday and was attended by safety and health officers from different organisations across the country.
Prof Mavima said occupational accidents, injuries, diseases, and fatalities remain an unnecessary human and economic burden on the workforce.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that approximately 4 percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP) is lost annually due to work related accidents and diseases. This translates to approximately US$2,8 trillion.
About 2.3 million workers around the world die due to work-related accidents or diseases every year translating to about 6 300 deaths per day.
Many work-related accidents and occupational diseases remain unreported, and a significant portion of the costs cannot be equated to monetary value.
In the Zimbabwean context an average of 4 750 serious injuries and 45 fatalities were recorded per year between 2019 and 2021.
About 3 224 workplace injuries were recorded in the first half of this year.
There is therefore an urgent need to create safe and healthy work environments and prevent worker carnage in our workplaces, said Prof Mavima.
He said these statistics point to the need to upscale prevention of unwarranted human suffering.
“It is therefore very important that we join forces in investing in resilient occupational safety and health systems and creating a resilient and sustainable OSH culture. These will help us to be able to face and respond to crises now and in the future,” said Prof Mavima.
He said it is against this backdrop that the tripartite parties have agreed to ratify the ILO Convention 187 on Promotional Framework on OHS to strengthen the OHS system in Zimbabwe in sync with the thrust of the provisions of the new OHS Bill which is at advanced stages of development.
Attainment of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Number 8 on decent work and economic growth cannot be achieved unless we have sound, properly planned and well implemented OSH systems, said Prof Mavima.
“The most important resource, which is our labour force, should be protected from workplace injuries and diseases. This position also resonates with the inclusive approach which underpins our National Development thrust espoused by NDS1.
“The government of Zimbabwe together with its social partners will work tirelessly and commit itself to putting in place OSH frameworks that ensure that our workers across all sectors of the economy are safe from workplace hazards and risks. I want to encourage the tripartite partners to work together in creating a safe and healthy work environment,” he said.
The theme for the conference was: “Creating safe and healthy work environments through and beyond the Covid-19 pandemic” which Prof Mavima said was befitting because the world of work has been tremendously tested by the Covid-19 pandemic in the past two and a half years.
Social partners had to grapple with the coronavirus and new occupational safety and health risks that emerged because of response measures designed to mitigate the spread of the virus among other challenges
Remote working also brought new form of OSH challenges like psychosocial and ergonomic risks.
Prof Mavima said there is need to strengthen social dialogue between government, employers, and workers’ organisations, not only in responding to crisis and pandemics, but also in promoting good OSH conditions.
OSH was declared a fundamental principle and right at work at the International Labour Conference (ILC) held in June this year.
The need for safe and healthy work environments is enshrined in our Constitution Section 65 (1), (4) and 73(a) that emphasises that every person has the right to an environment that is not harmful to their health and well-being.
Prof Mavima also implored employers to adopt a systems approach in managing their safety and health issues.
-@ncubeleon
Online Reporter