Esteemed Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
I am humbled by the commitment and understanding you are displaying in tackling this important issue that has a direct bearing on the competitiveness of our companies and therefore contribute positively to the government’s agenda of economic growth and safeguarding of jobs.
Recognising that we need responsible corporate citizens, it is our duty therefore to ensure that we empower companies with the necessary knowledge and incentive to comply with the laws. Our labour market policies seek to provide a favourable and an enabling environment where investment, economic growth could be realised.
Our role as the department is to work towards improved productivity by regulating working conditions and ensure that workplaces reduce lost time due to strikes, injuries or occupational diseases contracted at workplace.
Ladies and gentlemen
Unfortunately, occupational injuries, fatalities and illnesses do not only affect those who are employed. They also cause misfortune in entire families, companies and even a bigger loss to the national economy. Therefore, to prevent this misfortune, we should intensify the activities and raise awareness for Occupational Health and Safety (OHS).
Our message to all and sundry is that we will have zero tolerance to occupational health and safety incidents – which is also the theme of this conference. We must all take the high road to Zero Harm.
The “Road to Zero Harm” concept embraces the need to improve working environment, creating healthier, safer, stable workplaces, sharing responsibility and the need for strong leadership. Our aim is the total eradication of injuries and fatalities and elimination of exposure to hazardous working conditions, in all our workplaces.
For far too long we have accepted that few employees will die or get injured or contract occupational diseases at work as if this was a war where collateral damage is to be expected. The road to zero harm should be one of the strategic goals of any company that values its most important resource: people.
A lot of statistics on accidents/incidents have been bandied about and these figures do paint a rather grim picture. But I am afraid that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Just to drive a point home, over the last few months in KwaZulu-Natal, over five workplace fatalities were reported. What about the incidents that went unreported? It may very well be that we will never know the exact number of people who lost their lives at work.
These incidents could be attributed to a number of things ranging from collapsed trenches, falling from heights, to vehicle accidents on construction sites. The list goes on. But they are all avoidable. Who deserves to shoulder the blame for all this? Before I can even answer this question, I can already hear some of you saying our Inspectorate is ineffective and lack the gumption to force employers to comply with the law.
We are aware of our shortcomings in our enforcement capability. But this will change with time. However, I would like to point out that the department doesn’t operate any business. The most fundamental responsibility for business is to deal with occupational health and safety issues.
Occupational accidents and diseases have their onset at the workplace. Their origin may be traced to the design and layout of premises and workplaces; plant and equipment; machinery and tools; substance, agents and products used; production processes; work organisation or the individuals themselves; most often, several of these factors are involved.
So even if the department were to increase its inspectorate tenfold to 10 000, I am convinced that accident/incidents would still occur. The reason for that is because most employers are of the view that occupational health and safety must be complied with because the legislation says so. They don’t understand the’ value add’.
Most of these employers have yet to understand that inadequate health and safety causes enormous costs which harm competitiveness. If these employers were to take the time and read Section 16 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 85 of 1993 they would understand that health and safety requires strong leadership hence section 16(1) and (2) provisions. It must be the leadership of the organisation that influences the organisational performance on occupational health and safety.
Yukl defines leadership “as a process of influencing others to understand and agree about what needs to be done and how to do it, and the process of facilitating individual and collective efforts to accomplish shared objectives”. Health and safety is not an issue to be handled by the safety officer/manager only rather by the entire leadership”.
If leadership cannot integrate occupational health and safety into its business strategy, it cannot expect to influence others in the lower rung of the organisation.
It is common knowledge that whatever happens at a workplace permeates through to the society. It is therefore not far-fetched for the society to expect companies to be socially responsive to issues that might adversely affect them. When fathers, daughters, mothers, sons contract occupational diseases, are maimed at work, society is adversely affected as levels of poverty rise.
To stem this tide I call upon our companies and business community to be good, socially responsible citizens.
Our political system has permitted business to assume the productive role and as partial fulfilment of the social contract; it has also established laws under which business is expected to operate such as Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993. Legal responsibilities reflect society’s views of “codified ethics” in the sense that they embody basic notions of fair practices as established by our lawmakers. It is business’s responsibility to society to comply with these laws.
Ethical responsibilities are needed to address issues related to prevention of occupational diseases, injuries and fatalities at our workplaces.
It therefore becomes imperative for companies to adopt ethical values that embody integrity, occupational health and safety, quality of work, treatment of people, accountability and profitability. This order implies that if companies can focus on these core values, profitability will be realised automatically. I don’t think it is necessary to compromise your values for short-term economic gain.
The primary responsibility for doing something about the present levels of occupational accidents lies with those who create risks and those who work with them. That means both employers and employees have a responsibility to ensure that a healthy and safe work environment is created at a workplace. Hazards can be controlled only when their nature and effects have been recognised and when adequate attention is given to them.
The solutions depend largely on all of us who are key players and interested parties in as far as Occupational Health and Safety are concerned. But it would be amiss to heap blame only on companies. Organised labour also has a responsibility to fulfill and strong leadership is needed to improve compliance with occupational health and safety at our workplaces. The Department of Labour will actively engage all of you to forge a much better partnership into the future.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are fully aware of the role that our department as the regulator has to play in supporting and providing leadership with regards to occupational health and safety in the country. As the department, we have placed occupational health and safety at the top of our priorities.
We are aware that, in order for us to play our regulatory role well, we need to build a strong competence base. I can share with you that we are well on our way to build capacity and competence. A considerable proportion of our resources will be devoted to this with an emphasis on prevention.
This includes providing information, advice and guidance together with conducting inspections and assessments. Our inspection plans are sector based thereby placing emphasis on dealing with those sectors that continue to, through their non-compliance with the law, to kill and maim workers at will.
Our focus for this year will largely be on full compliance audit through our radar screen the so called high risk sectors which includes construction, chemical and iron and steel. We continue to investigate complaints and incidents robustly. Where appropriate we enforce the law in line with our mandate.
Continued development of our partnership with other stakeholders such as local municipalities, government departments, professional bodies, approved inspection authorities, employer organisations and organised labour will indeed stand us in good stead.
We are challenged to work collaboratively. In our plans you will see that we are using a broad spectrum of tools and techniques to influence stakeholders. Equally, it will be recognised that our focus is on the key levers offering the greatest potential impact for the achievement of our strategic goals.
The department is seized with finding new ways to make health and safety legislation that is not only in keeping with the spirit and letter of our Constitution but also provides adequate protection of workers against hazards associated with the workplace. If it means doing this through repealing legislation, we will do so.
The requirement for companies is to implement a comprehensive health and safety management system. This will ensure that occupational health and safety is not pushed to the periphery but becomes an integral part of business strategy to improve production and increased profit.
Lastly, ladies and gentlemen, one of our esteemed writers, Mziwakhe “Phinda Madi”, in his book entitled The Leadership Lessons from Emperor Shaka Zulu The Great writes that “if you are a leader that seeks to build enduring monuments, you must be consumed by nothing else, but your sense of mission”.
Our sense of mission is to eliminate injuries, diseases and fatalities at our workplaces. Our mission is to ensure zero non-compliance with the occupational health and safety and its regulations. We are on the “Road to Zero” non-compliance. Let us all march together ladies and gentlemen.
I thank you.
