for Safety and Health at Work, Tzaneen, Limpopo
Province
4 May 2006
Honourable guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
We are gathered here today to celebrate the World Day for Safety and Health
at Work. This is very important to me because not only do we want to celebrate
this day but we also want to remember those who lost their lives during their
execution of their work, as well as those who lost limbs or are suffering from
an occupational disease. We salute all of them!
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) and indeed the whole
international community started celebrating this day as from 28 May 1996 and
the objectives are:
1. To create awareness of the dimensions and consequences of work related
incidents, injuries and diseases,
2. Promote basic protection of all workers inline with basic international
labour laws and standards, and
3. To enhance the capacity of member states and industry to design and
implement effective preventative and protective policies and programmes.
So clearly the emphasis has been prevention of illness and accidents at work
and this include prevention of illness and accidents in the Agricultural
Sector, which is a sector that is usually neglected in favour of other sectors
resulting in workers within this sector becoming victims rather than
beneficiaries of the products of the democratic dispensation that we are all
enjoying.
Agriculture is one of the three most hazardous sectors of activity, both in
industrialised and developing countries. According to estimates from the
International Labour Organisation (ILO), at least 170 000 agricultural workers
are killed each year. This means that workers in agriculture run at least twice
the risk of dying on the job as compared with workers in other sectors and due
to the widespread under-reporting of deaths, injuries and occupational diseases
in agriculture, the real picture of the occupational health and safety of farm
workers is likely to be worse than what official statistics indicate.
Millions of agricultural workers worldwide are injured due to workplace
incidents while using agricultural machinery; some are poisoned by pesticides
and other agrochemicals. The situation is exacerbated by:
* Lack of sufficient training of agricultural workers and their employers
which result in lack of knowledge on how to manage hazardous chemicals,
equipment and machinery,
* Lack of knowledge of preventative and protective measure to be put in place,
and
* Lack of understanding of hazards identification.
In order to guarantee sustainable agricultural development, farm workers and
their families should have access to adequate working and living conditions,
health and welfare. An adequate balance between agricultural growth and the
protection of the environment is also crucial for the future of our food
production and for its sustainability. Agricultural Occupational Health must be
integrated into a rural development policy with a well-defined strategy placing
an emphasis on prevention and on environmental protection consistent with
current and future trends.
I have taken keen interest in the farm workers and my department will work
very closely with them and the farmers as well as their representatives to
ensure that there is greater compliance with the requirements of Occupational
Health and Safety Act as well as all other labour laws that are meant to
protect workers. My Department is at this moment conducting a pilot project in
farms situated in Western Cape and Northern Cape respectively and the aims are
to:
* Prevent fatal incidents and injuries arising out of, or linked with or
occurring in the course of work by eliminating or controlling hazards in the
agricultural working environment,
* Promote co-regulation in agricultural sector and to ensure that workers are
involved in the decision-making on issues affecting their health and
safety,
* Ensure compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 and other
relevant health and safety standards, and
* Improve co-operation between government and the farming community at
large.
To ensure that the workers in the agricultural sector are protected and to
build capacity for effective service delivery and to promote health and safety
within the sector, my department had to train 40 inspectors with a view to
undertaking preventative actions, education and where necessary enforcement of
control measures.
My department in partnership with the Primary Agriculture Education and
Training Authority will be training certain agricultural workers on health and
safety issues so that they can identify the hazards associated with their own
work environment and to use protective clothing and equipment in the right
way.
Programme Director, we all know that agricultural workers are amongst the
most vulnerable workers, this calls for government to take steps to protect
them. I am glad that in South Africa the agricultural workers are covered under
different pieces of Labour Legislation including the Occupational Health and
Safety Act. This Act not only requires employers to safeguard the health and
safety of their employees but also require employers to safeguard the health
and safety of other people who might be affected by the business of the
enterprise. This broad formulation extends the legislation protection to any
person who may be working in whatever capacity for the employer including
temporary, seasonal and contract employees as well as family members.
Children make up a significant and a growing proportion of the agricultural
workforce, in our country it is prohibited to engage children below the age 14
years and children in the age group ranging from 14 to 18 years are prohibited
from performing certain hazardous work including night work and work at
heights. Of particular relevance to agriculture are provisions that prohibit
young people from performing work involving exposure to chemicals such as
fertilisers and pesticides and work involving lifting of heavy loads. My
department in conjunction with Towards the Elimination of worst forms of Child
Labour programme (TECL) are working on Child Labour Action Programme (CLAP) and
are investigating the possibility of coming up with a set of new regulations
aimed at protecting children who are employed.
Women workers need to be protected as well, especially when they are
pregnant against lifting of heavy loads or exposure to hazardous chemicals and
ionizing radiations. It will be prudent for employers to transfer such women
from work that is hazardous to work not involving such health and safety risks.
In South Africa the women agricultural workers should be provided with paid
maternity leave and other health benefits. I am hoping that the employers are
practicing this, there should not be any gap between what stands as law and
what is practised.
HIV and AIDS is posing a huge challenge in the agricultural sector, this
epidemic affects everyone, every individual, every family, every social
institution, every organisation and indeed every business, big or small. The
epidemic claims some of the best business leaders, managers, and great number
of workers at all levels of the production system. HIV and AIDS related
absenteeism, loss of productivity and the cost of replacing employees lost to
HIV and AIDS threatens the survival of a number of businesses, industrial
sectors and agricultural sectors in the increasingly competitive world market.
HIV and AIDS impoverish families and communities and it also affects the market
base of the African business.
Programme Director, it is clear that no one sector alone can make a
significant inroad in the fight against the epidemic. A true partnership
involving the government, the private sector and the community is essential to
face the problem, the workplace, whether it is agricultural or otherwise
provides an excellent environment to implement a comprehensive HIV and AIDS
programme and policy reforms.
Employees in the agricultural sector:
* Avoid infection with HIV Virus, take responsibility for your own
health,
* Ensure that the people living with HIV and AIDS are treated fairly by
all,
* Ensure that confidentiality is maintained and respect the privacy of those
living with HIV and AIDS, and
* Take the lessons you learn at the workplace to your home community.
Employers:
* Develop and implement an HIV and AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases
(STD) policy and programme, which should be run not only for the farm workers
but also for their families as farm workers and their families often stay
together on the farm,
* Show your commitment to the programme,
* Allow time for your employees to take part in the programme,
* Ensure that resources are made available to the programme,
* Farm education programme should be established and should take note of the
special issues for farm workers such as migration, low level of literacy and
lack of recreational facilities,
* Farm peer educators should be established who are able to work with the other
workers providing them with information and support, and finally
* Farmers should start considering the problem of HIV and AIDS orphans and look
at the best approach to a situation where following the death of both parents a
child is left orphaned on the farm
Clearly, Programme Director, HIV and AIDS issues must be integrated into the
everyday activities of the farm, induction programme should include a module on
HIV and AIDS to raise awareness. If there are social events organised in the
workplace they must involve an aspect of HIV and AIDS, e.g. a stand giving out
information on how to prevent HIV and AIDS.
The workplace remains the best place to deal with HIV and AIDS simply
because:
1. HIV and AIDS has a huge impact on the world of work, it is reducing the
supply of labour and available skills, increasing labour cost, reducing
productivity, threatening the livelihoods of employers and employees and
undermining rights;
2. Standards are set for working conditions and labour relations. Workplaces
are environments where people come together and they discuss debate and learn
from each other. This provides an opportunity for awareness raising, education
programmes and protection of rights; and
3. Employers and trade unions are leaders in their communities, leadership
is crucial to the fight against HIV and AIDS.
We will never achieve our goal of promotion of opportunities for men and
women to obtain decent and productive work in conditions of freedom, equity and
security and human dignity unless we stop compromising the basic human rights,
including fair treatment in recruitment and job security by not discriminating
against people living with HIV and AIDS. The spread of HIV and AIDS has been
helped by the culture of silence imposed by the stigma against people living
with HIV and AIDS and by the reluctance to discuss issues such as drug use and
sexual behaviour. This culture must stop and we must encourage and we must be
amendable to frank discussion leading to co-operative solutions
Programme Director, let me conclude by borrowing the words of the
Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan when he saidâ All to often
lives are shattered unnecessarily because of poor working conditions and in
adequate safety systemsâ¦,â let me encourage every one present here today to
join me and my department in promoting health and safety at work. That is not
only sound economic policy but it is a basic human right. This will eventually
pay not only in human terms but also in a better performance by business and
the economy at large. Together we can make sure that decent work is safe
work.
I thank you!
Issued by: Department of Labour
4 May 2006
