Minister of Employment and Labour, Nomakhosazana Meth, addressing the Construction Health and Safety Conference on Tuesday. Picture: Supplied
Nicola Mawson
Minister of Employment and Labour, Nomakhosazana Meth, has argued for an increase in occupational health and safety standards across the board given that levels of non-compliance were still high in South Africa.
Speaking yesterday at the launch of the Occupational Health and Safety strategy for the period between 2024 and 2029, which has been endorsed by the International Labour Organization, Meth said that the strategy would improve the occupational health and safety of workers in South Africa and serve as a guiding roadmap.
“We want to ensure that prevention principles are inculcated in all work practices,” she said.
At the ceremony, stakeholders from compensation funds, the department, business bodies, and organised labour signed the new accord, which aims to reduce workplace injury and sickness payouts so that the money can be spent elsewhere.
Tshepo Mokomatsidi, the chief director of provincial operations at the department in Gauteng, said that: “We hope that this session this morning will help us have zero incidences at our workplace.”
The previous accord was signed in 2002 when the department only had 60 inspectors, a number that has now increased to 670, said Ntuthuko Sibiya, Deputy Minister for Employment and Labour.
Sibiya stated that health and safety in workplaces were essential for fostering safe economic growth as well as decent employment. Unfortunately, he said, workers continue to be employed at places where there aren’t adequate health and safety protocols.
“One life lost is one too many… We can’t afford to live life as if we are in the 18th Century. If we work together, we can achieve no losses of life,” said Sibiya.
Workplace insurance funds, including the Compensation Fund, Rand Mutual Assurance (RMA), and Federated Employers Mutual Assurance (FEMA), told delegates that billions of rand were being spent each year due to workplace injuries and illnesses. In the past five years, more than R20 billion went to such claims for thousands of employees.
Sibiya added that this money could be spent elsewhere to the benefit of the economy.
“If we don’t deal with poverty, if we don’t deal with unemployment, if we don’t create decent jobs, we will fail our people and if we fail our people, we are sitting on a time bomb,” he said.
Farzana Fakir, acting Compensation Commissioner at the Compensation Fund said: “It goes back to the old adage that prevention is better than cure, but what we are seeing is being penny wise and pound foolish.”
Fakir also noted that South Africa was behind first world countries where the focus had now shifted to mental health, while we were still dealing with physical illnesses and injuries, 51 of which were fatal last year.
“This is quite a concern for us,” he said.
RMA CEO Mandla Shezi added that, as “workers are at the heartbeat of the economy,” the fund had created social solutions to help companies implement occupational health and safety protocols.
He noted that the injury rate in mining, for example, had dropped to 17 per 1 000 employees from 36 in 2015 because of its initiatives.
“The little we do everywhere has an impact,” Shezi said.
The 130-year-old RMA has launched a new prevention programme in 2022, he said. RMA compensates workers in mining and metal industries.
Nazeer Hoosen, FEM CEO, said the organisation was also implementing interventions and had developed a think tank that can aid smaller companies.
However, he noted that only 50% of companies in the construction sector were complaint with occupational health and safety standards.
“We are passionate about creating awareness,” Hoosen said.