Chronicle Editor
Fairness Moyana in Victoria Falls
WORKERS have expressed concern over the increase in mental health challenges and occupational fatalities, which have seen the country recording 70 deaths and over 4 000 injuries amid calls for collective action to improve workplace safety and health.
Workers under the banner of organised labour through their representatives told delegates attending the 61st national conference on Safety and Health at Work here that the loss was greatly impacting families and the economy.
“We are concerned dear distinguished delegates on the increase in continued occupational fatalities. The country has so far recorded 70 deaths and 4 912 injuries at the workplace.
“These figures are only of reported cases, what about some cases that have gone unreported?” asked Mrs Florence Taruvinga, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union (ZCTU) president.
“It’s our demand as organised labour that more focus should be placed on accident prevention, occupational safety and health (OSH) awareness in the workplaces and introduction of mechanical and engineering controls that will see the workplace transiting towards a safe and health work place.
“We are aware that the mechanical and engineering controls come at a cost but human life cannot be bought and cannot be equated to any monetary value. We need to preserve life and to promote the social, mental, biological and physical well-being of workers.”
She reiterated that the success of planned action hinged on collective efforts to implement while calling on the National Social Security Authority (Nssa) to drive adherence to corporate governance practices as guided by the enabling Acts, particularly the NSSA Act [Chapter 17.04] and Public Entities Corporate Governance Act [Chapter 10.31].
Mrs Taruvinga said the labour movement was proposing the review of the National OSH Policy to incorporate the control and management of biological hazards.
“We note that nationally, there is a need to further review our occupational safety and health laws, to directly incorporate provisions that cover biological hazards, especially the non-communicable disease where the link to the workplace may be difficult to prove,” she said.
“It is our considered view that the epidemics and pandemics, which affect the workplace need to be incorporated into national and enterprise emergency preparedness plans.
“It is our proposal that the National OSH Policy should in this regard be reviewed to integrate control and management of biological hazards.”
Workers also expressed concerns on the rise in incidences of mental health cases, resulting from economic challenges leading to reduced productivity.
“We are concerned with the reported high incidences of mental health cases in our constituency and in different respective industries of our economy. Mental health problems are the result of a complex interplay between economic, biological, psychological, social and environmental factors, which could be prevented or minimised if we were to jointly pay attention,” said Mrs Taruvinga.
“Mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse and stress, have become so common and rampant, affecting individuals, their families, co-workers, and the broader community. In addition, they have had a direct impact on workplaces through increased absenteeism, reduced productivity, and increased costs.”
Workers further submitted that there was a need to address their salaries to ensure that remuneration was above the poverty datum line as part of dealing with the economic factor contributing to mental cases.
“Our view is that collectively we should focus on addressing the key factors that cause mental health challenges, especially the payment to workers of salaries below the poverty datum line, non-payment of salaries, wage theft, poor working conditions, poor leadership and communication,” said Mrs Taruvinga.
“It is our view that such conferences as this one should formulate recommendations that seek to advocate for the development of policies and strategies that promote the mental health of employees.
“We are convinced that development and implementation of workplace mental health policies and programs will benefit the health of employees, increase productivity and will contribute to the wellbeing of the community at large.”
Mrs Taruvinga said the labour movement was excited and expectant that the harmonised OSH Bill will be passed soon as they pushed to promote a safety and health culture through implementation of vision zero.
The three day conference, which was officially opened by Vice President Kembo Mohadi on Thursday, brought together employers, organised labour and Government while providing a platform for networking and collaboration amongst OSH professionals, researchers and policy makers from diverse backgrounds and industries.
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