Farirai Machivenyika, Harare Bureau
WORKERS can now legally refuse to perform work that puts their lives or health at risk — and their employers cannot fire, demote or punish them for this — under a new law signed by President Mnangagwa recently.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act has introduced new major statutory protections for workers that are aimed at preventing workplace injuries, deaths and occupational diseases.
The law gives workers an explicit right to stop or refuse dangerous work where the risk to their safety or health has not been addressed, while also protecting them from dismissal or other prejudice for exercising their occupational safety and health rights.
“Every worker shall have the right to refuse to do work which is likely to cause imminent danger to his or her safety or health which has not been rendered safe,” reads Section 14(1) of the new law.
The provision represents one of the most significant changes introduced by the new law, giving workers a clear legal basis to decline work where employers have failed to eliminate or adequately address an immediate safety or health risk.
The law also shields workers who exercise their occupational safety and health rights, stating that they “shall be entitled to protection from dismissal and other measures prejudicial to them while exercising their functions in the field of occupational safety and health”.
Meanwhile, employers are placed under a statutory obligation to provide safe working environments and take responsibility for managing workplace risks. Section 13 provides that every employer
“shall provide and maintain a working environment that is safe and without unacceptable risk to the health of the employees and workers”.
Employers must also establish, implement and maintain occupational safety and health management systems as prescribed under the law.
Failure to meet these obligations can result in criminal liability where a contravention causes injury.
An employer who contravenes the provisions and thereby causes a person to be injured can be liable to a Level 14 fine (US$5 000) or sentenced to a maximum of two years in prison, or both.
Employers with five or more workers at a workplace are now required to allow workers to appoint or elect a safety and health representative in every section or department.
Where two or more safety and health representatives have been appointed or elected, the employer must establish one or more safety and health committees.
The cost of implementing these requirements is to be borne by the employer.
Workers are also entitled to adequate information on measures being taken to protect occupational safety and health, appropriate training during paid working hours and consultation on safety and health matters associated with their work.
They may also propose preventive measures and contribute their views on occupational safety and health issues within their organisations.
The new framework establishes a dedicated Occupational Safety and Health Department within the National Social Security Authority (NSSA), giving the country a specialised institutional structure responsible for promoting and enforcing workplace safety.
Among its functions are formulating and enforcing safety and health standards, collecting and recording statistics on workplace injuries and occupational diseases, supporting research and implementing the National Social Security Authority Accident Prevention and Workers’ Compensation Scheme.
The Act also establishes a Medical Bureau of Occupational Diseases tasked with conducting or directing medical examinations, issuing certificates to workers and certifying cases of occupational diseases.
The new law repeals the Factories and Works Act and the Pneumoconiosis Act, consolidating occupational safety and health and occupational disease regulation under a single legislative framework.
Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions secretary-general Mr Kennias Shamuyarira described the enactment as a landmark development for workers, saying it provides a clearer framework for preventing occupational injuries, diseases and deaths.
“The Act strengthens the basis upon which workers and their representatives can demand preventive measures, meaningful consultation, effective inspections and safer working environments,” he said.
The law, he said, gave practical expression to Section 65(4) of the Constitution, which recognises the right to fair and safe labour practices and standards.
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions president Ms Florence Taruvinga also welcomed the legislation, describing it as a harmonised framework bringing together workplace safety and health provisions for both the private and public sectors.
“For us, this means that workers in both the private and public sectors will now enjoy protection of the latest rules and regulations that have also been domesticated from regional and international laws governing occupational safety and health,” she said.
Ms Taruvinga said the creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Department was particularly important because it provided an enforcement mechanism for the new law.
“A law without enforcement mechanisms will allow people or companies or establishments to do as they wish,” she said.
She also welcomed the creation of the Medical Bureau of Occupational Diseases and the enhanced powers given to occupational safety and health (OSH) factory inspectors.
The inspectors, she said, now have powers to enter establishments to conduct safety and health inspections and, where necessary, stop production or close establishments that fail to comply with OSH requirements.
Speaking at the 63rd National Safety and Health at Work Conference in Victoria Falls recently, NSSA general manager Dr Charles Shava said the legislation represented a significant milestone towards establishing a comprehensive OSH framework aligned with international best practices.
Ends//…
