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Takudzwa Chiwereweshe Mutare Correspondent
GOVERNMENT accords high priority to occupational safety and health and will regularly engage all stakeholders to cultivate a culture of safety that preserves human life as well as workers’ rights, an official has said.
Speaking at the World Day for Safety and Health held in Mutare over the weekend, Manicaland Provincial Affairs Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said Government was concerned with the spiking rate of occupational deaths and accidents, which are still alarmingly high despite intensive efforts to reduce occupational hazards.
“In 2017, there were 5 007 serious injuries and 65 fatalities recorded. This year in the first two months, 434 injuries and six deaths have been recorded,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.
She said the cost of unsafe work was grave, adding that every employer and employee should recognise and treat occupational safety as a top priority.
“Every employer and employee should recognise that good safety and health performance add value to business ventures and enhance productivity, hence the national thrust should be to integrate safety and health into all economic initiatives,” she said.
Minister Mutsvangwa said statistics of occupational safety and health in the country were painting a disheartening picture.
She added: “It is important that we cultivate a culture of safety by making sure that the work environment is hazard free. Workers’ right to safe work environment is a prerequisite to fulfil the principles enshrined in the decent work agenda. No one should be injured when creating wealth for the country.”
She said it was disappointing that despite the continued increase in stakeholder efforts to curb the problem, occupational deaths, injuries and accidents were still increasing.
“It is saddening to note that despite intensive efforts by regulatory authorities such as the National Social Security Authority (NSSA), the number of occupational accidents and diseases is still depressingly high for the size of our economy. The cost of injuries, diseases and deaths to business, societies and businesses is unacceptable” she said.
She said that occupational accidents and deaths represented an economic burden to individuals, employers and society hence the need to adopt the ‘Vision Zero’ strategy to reduce them.
Minister Mutsvangwa added that Government was committed to ensuring that workers were protected through responsive legislative provisions.
“The Ministry of Labour in conjunction with NSSA and Zimbabwe Occupational Safety Health Council (ZOHSC) will continue to embrace and develop comprehensive strategies for promoting continuous improvement in national and health standards,” she said.
According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), over 313 million workers suffer non-fatal occupational injuries each year, translating to 860 000 people injured daily at the workplace.
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