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Friday 28 April 2023 is World Day for Safety and Health at Work as well as Workers’ Memorial Day.

Our latest data shows that in 2022, not less than 75 workers died while more than 4 800 were injured at work in Zimbabwe. 

All deaths that occur at work are unjustifiable. World Day for Safety is a good time to reflect on the importance of safety and health to prevent any work-related fatalities and injuries.

Our theme this year is, “A safe and healthy working environment is a fundamental principle and right at work”. 

 In memory of this World Day, the International Trades Union Congress has coined the theme for Workers’ Memorial Day 2023 as, “Remember the dead, fight for the living”. We should indeed seriously take heed of this theme as well.

   How do you get involved?

We encourage you all to acknowledge the importance of health and safety in the workplace by playing your role in promoting safety and health at work all the time. Here is a practical way that you can get involved:

Look at your accident statistics with a view of preventing recurrence.

Analyse each workstation and each individual job and identify all possible hazards with the involvement of all other stakeholders.

Rank the hazards according to the risks that they pose to workers/property and come up with possible watertight solutions. Use the Hierarchy of Control System to do so.

Task relevant individuals to spearhead the implementation of solutions within given deadlines.

After a given period, evaluate the impact of your actions by comparing new statistics to old figures.

    About this year’s theme

The theme set by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) for this year’s World Day reconnoitres the topic of a safe and healthy working environment as a fundamental principle and right at work. This follows its inclusion in the ILO’s framework of fundamental principles and rights at work.

A person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) has a primary duty of care to ensure the health and safety of workers while they are at work in the business or undertaking and others who may be affected by the carrying out of work, such as visitors.

Good work design supports this right by fostering a safe and healthy physical and psychosocial environment for workers. Employers are duty bound to provide safely designed workplaces. This entails:

·    The work- including how work is preformed, the task duration, frequency and complexity.

·    The Workers-their fears, needs, preferences and capabilities. 

·    The physical environment – including the workplace itself, plant, equipment, materials and substances.

·    The systems and processes involved in the work – including information technology, business management and human interaction. 

   

 ZERO HARM AT WORK MUST BE THE FOCUS FOR US ALL