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Michael Tome Business Reporter
Industry must uphold safety precautions to minimise fatalities in workplaces as occupational accidents are detrimental to productivity, Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Sekai Nzenza has said.
Officially opening the ongoing NSSA engineers workshop on occupational safety and health in the capital, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry Dr Judith Kateera, who spoke on behalf of Minister Nzenza, said industry must practice self- precautionary measures and adopt best practices for the upkeep of the country’s labour force.
Running under the theme “Engineering into the future working towards zero harm”, the workshop brought engineers from various economic sectors of Zimbabwe together to formulate strategies for the protection of workers, plant equipment as well as natural resources from occupational incidents
Mining, agriculture, forestry, basic metal and fabricated metal production, transport, storage and manufacturing are the leading sectors in causing workplace accidents.
Dr Kateera indicated that workplace accidents have far reaching consequences such as loss of income and incapacitation for the employed.
“My Ministry, NSSA and the Zimbabwe Occupational Safety and Health Council (ZOSHC) all encourage industry to undertake self-regulation by adopting international best engineering practices for the good of industry, the labour-force and our beloved country.
“These injuries and fatalities bring along with them complications which among others lead to loss of working capacity, loss of income and rejection by employers and family members,” said Dr Kateera.
She indicated that the Government was aligning its laws to match modern day innovations and working space systems.
Furthermore she warned firms and their workforce to abide by stipulated safety measures as set by the Government laws.
“It is in this vein that I am very concerned about employers and employees who continue to ignore the minimum safety standards set by government through legislation.
“It is my ministry’s intention to ensure that the said legislation is revamped to bring it abreast with the current production systems and technologies. As you know the draft is in place and public consultations were done so the waiting is coming to an end soon,” she said.
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