compliance
11 May 2007
The iron and steel, construction, agriculture, food, drink and beverage
sectors were the four main contributors to the 47 percent of reported workplace
injuries and fatalities countrywide, Labour Director-General Vanguard Mkosana
said this week.
In an opening address of the third KwaZulu-Natal Workers' Parliament in New
Castle on Thursday, Dr Mkosana said this was based on statistics compiled by
the department on its day-to-day recording of reported workplace accidents.
The Director-General warned employers that the departments' strategy to
conduct focused inspections in high-risk sectors would continue to intensify
throughout the year.
"National roving and blitz inspections will make sure that an inspector
walks into a workplace at anytime. Our visibility will be at a high level," he
said.
Dr Mkosana urged the hundreds of delegates from all three major trade union
federations - Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), National Council
of Trade Unions (Nactu) and Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa) - to
form health and safety committees in their workplaces, adding it was the right
of every worker to refuse working in a dangerous place. The Director-General
also called on all employees to become whistle-blowers for the department's
inspectorate.
Through its efforts, the department had reduced the fatality rate by 18,4%
nationally in 2006/07, while out of 156 483 inspections conducted, 119 988 (78
percent) employers were found to be complying.
A total of 1 230 prohibition notices halting workplace operations were
served on employers with imminent health and safety risks.
A further 10 949 notices were served for contraventions in health and safety
requirements where employers were given 60 days to get their house in
order.
The 85 percent compliance rate that KwaZulu-Natal is currently credited with
is due to interventions by inspectors who visited 29 161 employers.
"We want clean workplaces; we do not want fatalities and accidents.
Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) is one of the areas that needs
co-operation to the maximum in order to reduce accidents and contribute in this
way to the economy of the country," said the Director-General.
Initiatives like the signing of the OHS Accord, the establishment of fora to
deal with eliminating silicosis in the workplace and regional electrical safety
has been spearheaded by the department.
Praising the holding of the Workers' Parliament, Dr Mkosana urged workers to
organise and unionise themselves to make compliance easier at all
workplaces.
Enquiries:
Zolisa Sigabi
Cell: 082 906 3878
E-mail: Zolisa.sigabi@labour.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Labour
11 May 2007
Source: Department of Labour (http://www.labour.gov.za)
