Falling behind on safety?

Government must speedily revamp the health and safety policy and ensure strict regulation enforcement to avoid occupational incidences and consolidate the country’s health and safety record.

There is growing fear that the Health and Safety Regulation Act of 1997 has proven to be narrow in scope, outdated and inappropriate to deal with the expanding industrial sector.

In addition, critics of the this piece of legislation argue that many local companies especially those involved in the construction industry have failed to place a great premium on health and safety concerns for their employees. The rampant corruption that has also blighted this sector is also to blame for the failure of some firms to meet workplace safety targets.

The Health and Safety Regulation Act, which set out regulations relating to the health and safety of employees at work, came into force in 1997 following the promulgation of the Labour Act of 1992. However, since it was implemented about 15 years ago and despite the industry being riddled with modern machinery, tools and new working methods, Government is yet to make changes to the health and safety policy to keep up with modern trends in occupational health.

“The healthy and Safety regulation act needs to be reviewed so that it can be brought on par with modern practices in the industry,” said Johnny Johnson Doëseb of JJD Earthmoving and Construction.

“Human life is at risk here. Safety is a continuous thing and we need to move with the current trends. We need to be pro-active and re-look at the current legislation.

“The enforcement part is very important and that is the thing that is lacking at the moment.”

Overlooked laws

A safety officer who preferred anonymity bemoaned the fact that a host of safety features detailed in the 1997 Act are being overlooked by some local companies who simply fail to adhere to occupational health and safety regulations.

“We are so fast to point fingers at foreign companies like the Chinese, yet our own Namibia companies are operating without health and safety plans, safe working procedures, risk assessment, untrained and incompetent employees. This is affecting the economy of the country. Tenders are being awarded to companies with the involvement of the line ministry.

“A project should never start without the company submitting the required documentation of health and safety plans. Labour inspectors should go more often in the field and see what is going on there,” said the safety officer. Doëseb noted that it was highly disturbing to see local firms not conforming to health and safety laws.

“If the workers are not trained, how will they be able to detect or identify risks? In South Africa, they have annual inductions conducted by certified and competent trainers and that is why our Government must come in and ensure that changes are made to the current legislation.

“When it comes to the construction of roads, you still find workers doing duty without respirators and dusk masks. People are still doing that here and that is very dangerous. The enforcement part is very important and it is crucial that labour inspectors are present at all times during projects. But for now we are sitting on a time bomb,” he said.

The consequences of not meeting health and safety standards at the workplace can be catastrophic.

Occupational death

Last year, Elias Paulus a construction worker employed by HH Schultz Namibia died after he was buried alive in a trench at a construction site. Media reports indicated that Paulus fell into the five-metre-deep trench. It took the Police at least eight hours to remove his body from the trench.

Although the Police preliminary investigations suspected no foul play, the incident was an eye-opener to the authorities responsible for regulating and encouraging high standards of health and safety at the workplace. The Prosecutor-General is yet to pronounce itself on the matter.

“It was an eye-opener for us,” said Andries Smit, Deputy Director of Occupational Health at the Ministry of Labour.

According to Smit, it was a pity that some employers don’t realise the link between health safety and productivity.

“People see health safety as a nuisance and not as necessity,” he said. “Employers should communicate properly with their employees on safety and labour-related matters. Sometimes when you are production-oriented, you lose focus on health safety.

“We should never operate a business at the expense of the workers. There are definitely companies who are pulling their weight and they are very positive. They call us constantly.”

Smit added that it is also not possible for labour inspectors to be present at every single project due to a shortage of manpower, while he also dismissed the notion that there was rampant corruption involving labour inspectors.
“We have only about 20 inspectors and that is why we are concentrating on priority areas. The chances of bribery are less in the area of safety because we have dedicated people who submit quarterly reports,” he said.

Amendments

Smit admitted that there are parts in the current legislation that are outdated and needs to be revisited. In fact, the ministry has already started the process of making amendments to the 1997 Act.

“We are in the process of revisiting it and we are working closely with the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The working group is a tripartite and it consists of employers, employees and the Government,” said Smit.

A consultant will be roped in to conduct a base-line audit and determine whether there have been improvements, or shortcomings in the health and safety performance sectors.

“The funds are a major problem at the moment since its going to cost us more than what we have. You also never know what the baseline audit will reveal. “Anything can come up. After the audit, a national policy on health and safety will be implemented,” he said.

click to enlarge SAFETY FIRST: Adhering to health and safety regulations is critical at the workplace.

click to enlarge ENCOURAGING: Health and safety norms should be adhered to all the time

click to enlarge DANGEROUS: Some local companies still ignore basic safety features such as the wearing of helmets at construction sites.

click to enlarge OCCUPATIONAL DEATH: The body of Elias Paulus, a construction worker is removed from the trench in which he was buried alive.