adminOCCUPATIONAL safety and health should concern every employer, manager and employee. It affects every sector of the economy. It requires a safety and health culture in every organisation, big or small.
It may surprise some that the new National Occupational Safety and Health Policy, in setting out what must be done to promote occupational safety, persistently refers to every workplace, every employer and every worker.
It says, for instance, that the highest priority must be given at every workplace to making the job or task safe before undertaking it. It sets out the rights of every worker and the duties of every employer.
Lest there should be any doubt that the policy envisages its being applicable to every employer, employee and workplace in every sector, the policy spells out the safety and health issues in mining, agriculture, forestry, manufacturing, energy, transport and communication, wildlife and fisheries, building and construction, the retail and service sector, small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs), the informal sector and the public service.
The policy recognises that SMEs are found in nearly every sector of the economy and says they usually form the basis of future conglomerates. It acknowledges that the SME sector tends to have limitations in funding, skills training, work knowledge, occupational safety and health (OSH) awareness, professionalism and support services. However, it insists the policy is applicable to all sectors, even small businesses.
“This policy applies to every sector of the Zimbabwean economy, inclusive of the small and medium enterprises,” the policy document says.
It suggests local authorities are best placed to assist with ensuring SMEs carry out the policy, as they may be trading at premises known to and perhaps licensed by the local authority.
It highlights 10 specific areas that every organisation or individual involved in a small or medium enterprise should be required to pay special attention to and monitor.
These are: OSH awareness and training; hiring competent personnel to undertake work; registration of the workforce with the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Fund; registration of factory premises with the inspector of workplaces; hygiene; chemicals and their use; welding; painting; working in confined spaces and dust.
The list is not exhaustive, however. The policy says there are many more areas that may need consideration.
The policy also has a section on the informal sector, which it says is growing, mainly because of the economic difficulties the country has experienced. The policy document says it is suspected the informal sector was employing a huge number of people by 2013, although accurate statistics may be difficult to obtain.
It recognises that funding is an acute challenge in the informal sector and says that, while the occupational safety and health policy is intended to cover all workplaces, the informal sector tends to be fluid in terms of what informal businesses trade in, business locations and other variables.
As with SMEs, it suggests that local authorities are best placed to help with promoting occupational safety and health in the informal sector, as informal businesses may be trading under a registration system administered by them.
Informal sector workers are generally exposed to poor working environments and poor sanitation, it says. The level of OSH awareness is low and technical understanding of the business they are involved in is limited.
The policy lists seven OSH areas that every organisation or individual involved in the informal sector of the economy should be required to pay special attention to and monitor.
These are occupational safety and health awareness; hygiene; technical understanding of the business; formal trading premises; chemicals, including pesticides; HIV and Aids; and waste management.
The policy makes it clear there are many other unlisted areas that special attention should be paid to.
Of greatest importance is occupational safety and health awareness. If business owners, managers, supervisors and employees are all aware of safety and health issues and their importance and keep them in mind in whatever job is being done that is half the battle towards ensuring those working in the informal sector remain safe and healthy.
The same applies to all sectors. The policy talks about the need for an accident prevention or safety and health culture.
A safety and health culture is, the policy says, simply the attitude about safety and culture that pervades the whole organisation, from top to bottom. It is the behaviour norm for every member of staff, from directors down to the newest junior.
A safety and health culture is of paramount importance in the prevention of accidents and diseases in any organisation.
Organisations with a positive safety and health culture are characterised, the policy says, by communication founded on mutual trust, by shared perceptions of the importance of safety and health and by confidence in the efficacy of preventive measures.
Employers should identify, it says, workplace safety and health culture using specific indicators, including the attitudes and behaviour of workers and management, the workplace environment, implementation of systems of work, safety and health discussions, and consultations across the organisation at all levels.
They should develop an OSH culture to ensure that all levels of workers understand that they have a shared responsibility for preventing accidents, injuries, diseases and deaths at work.
Talking Social Security is published weekly by the National Social Security Authority as a public service. There is also a weekly radio programme on social security, PaMhepo neNSSA/Emoyeni le NSSA, at 6.50 PM every Thursday on Radio Zimbabwe and Friday on National FM. Readers can e-mail issues they would like dealt with in this column to [email protected] or text them to 0772-307913. Those with individual queries should contact their local NSSA office or telephone NSSA on (04) 706523/5, 706545/9, or 799030/1.
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