Workplace injuries rate high

NSSA4Auxilia Katongomara Chronicle Reporter
WORKPLACES in the country have been described as “dangerous” following the death of 98 workers last year. In addition, more than 5,000 people were injured in work related accidents in 2014.

The National Social Security Authority (NSSA) Director of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH), Rogers Dhliwayo said workplaces in Zimbabwe are generally hazardous to work in.

Statistics released by the agency show a slight decrease of three percent from injuries recorded in 2013. NSSA revealed that 5,491 people were injured at the workplace in 2014 compared to 5,666 in 2013.

“Injury statistics slightly decreased in 2014 by about three percent compared to 2013. However, the rate of occupational injuries is still very high, standing at 2.27 in 2014 against an expected standard of less than one. This means that work related accidents are still too high,” said Dhliwayo.

He attributed the high injury rates to a number of factors among them companies’ failure to value occupational safety.

“The high incidence of occupational injury can be attributed to, among others, low investment in occupational safety and health, non-compliance with rules and regulations and low levels of awareness on OSH issues,” said Dhliwayo.

In 2012, 107 fatalities against 5,141 injuries were recorded, with 16,298 injuries being recorded in the last three years.

Dhliwayo said there is a procedure to be followed by employees once a worker is injured at the workplace.

“The employer reports the accident to our Inspector of Factories using the fastest means available. He or she must activate the emergency preparedness and response procedure to limit the impact of the injury and surrender the injured worker to medical practitioners soonest,” he explained .

Dhliwayo said the Inspector of Factories should immediately carry out an accident investigation to find the cause and prevent a recurrence of similar accidents.

The Inspector, said Dhliwayo, may close operations based on the preliminary results of the investigation or prosecute the employer for causing the accident at the conclusion of the investigation.

“In the meantime compensation and medical costs issues are considered by other arms of NSSA,” he said.

In total, Zimbabwe has recorded 24,866 work-related accidents which resulted in the death of 446 people over the past five years.

Last year, NSSA crafted the Zimbabwe National Occupational Safety and Health policy which encourages self-regulation by employers through the adoption of a systems approach to managing safety and health at work.

The policy urges greater efforts to improve occupational safety and health through various approaches, chief of which is the application of occupational safety and health management systems. Accidents at work are a recognised cost to business, workers and society, it points out.

It stresses the need for a concerted effort by the government, employers and labour to promote and maintain the highest degree of occupational safety and health in all workplaces.

The policy states: “Every worker has the right to fair and safe labour practices, to know the occupational safety and health risks that he or she is likely to be exposed to and their effects, to be consulted in the development of mitigating mechanisms for identified occupational safety and health risks and to refuse to undertake any work that has not been rendered safe.”

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