Tawanda Musarurwa
THE Public Service Commission (PSC) is building occupational safety and health into Government management, tying workplace protection to leadership accountability, annual planning and budgets.
The change moves occupational safety and health, or (OSH), from a compliance matter to a leadership and performance issue, PSC general manager Mr Langton Ngorima told the 63rd National Conference on Safety and Health at Work.
“The Public Service has made a deliberate shift:. OSH is now being positioned as a leadership, performance, planning and risk-management priority,” Mr Ngorima said in his presentation at the conference.
Mr Ngorima said the effort followed legislative gaps and fragmented responsibilities. Social media exposure of workplace incidents added urgency.
“OSH must be visible in management systems long before it becomes visible online,” he said.
Risks range from chemical and biological hazards in hospitals to unsafe schools and poor air quality in records offices.
The commission approved a Public Service OSH Policy on September 17, setting a framework for risk assessment, incident reporting, training and monitoring.
The commission assigned OSH duties to directors of wellness in ministries and agencies and is creating OSH officers for technical support.
Permanent secretaries and chief directors now have safety indicators in their performance expectations.
“This is more than a policy statement — it changes the incentives around OSH,” Mr Ngorima told the conference.
Every ministry, department and agency must include OSH priorities in its annual strategic plan, backed by identifiable budget lines.
Monthly reports on hazards, incidents and near misses will guide decisions. Senior officials, including permanent secretaries and directors of wellness, have been trained in hazard identification and risk assessment so institutions can address their own risks.
OSH is not being delegated away from leadership; leadership is being equipped to own it,” added Mr Ngorima
Government and worker representatives also sit on a joint technical committee that feeds into the State’s bipartite negotiating panel.
The commission has benchmarked its systems against selected private-sector enterprises.
“The public service does not need to reinvent good practice — it can learn, adapt and build partnerships around what works,” Mr Ngorima told delegates.
Gaps, however, remain. More technical specialists are needed, and OSH committees must work at every level, from national to workplace.
“Functionality will be measured by action and risk reduction, not by the existence of a committee on paper,” Mr Ngorima said.
The commission is building internal systems ahead of proposed national OSH legislation, so readiness does not depend on when it is finalised.
