NEWS | Wednesday, 30 April 2008

Concerted action needed for safety at work – John Dalli, OHSA

Marking the World Day for Safety and Health at Work celebrated yesterday, Minister for Social Policy John Dalli said in a press statement: “Decent work is a basic and fundamental human right; a prerequisite for this is working in a safe and healthy environment. An annual event that commemorates those who lost their lives at work should not just be a normal date in our calendar when we make our voices heard and seek media attention. It should serve as a point of reflection on what is going wrong and what still needs to be done to minimise this as much as possible. It should, above all, give the impetus to everyone to move from rhetorical lip-service to real and concrete action.”
A recent study conducted by the World Economic Forum and the International Labour Organisation (ILO/SafeWork) compared the competitiveness of 31 industrial and developing countries, clearly showing that better safety and health standards equal better national productivity.
“The results indicate that a low number of fatal occupational accidents and high competitiveness are directly proportional, making the most competitive economies register the lowest number of fatal accidents. Based on this study, Malta, with an average annual fatality index of 4.6, would indicate a lower competitive index than a number of EU member states, demonstrating that there is still room for improvement in this sector,” Dalli added, before reiterating the importance of concerted action in the field of occupational health and safety, starting from the enterprise level but also including the wider participation of all social partners, including the government, employers’ and workers’ associations.
“As a government, we have always striven for and encouraged social dialogue and participation. Indeed, our electoral motto itself encompassed this. The Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA) has been pivotal in bridging the gap and establishing effective networks on the matter. In the near future, the OHSA will have further resources assigned to it to enable it to better fulfil its role in society,” he concluded.
In a separate comment, OHSA CEO Mark Gauci said: “OHSA has recently launched a five-year strategy with a number of progressive aims, including a 25 per cent decrease in reported occupational accidents. Albeit being ambitious, we are committed towards realising this objective at all costs
“The strategy entails the continued development of an effective legislative framework with the full participation of the social partners, coupled with a transparent enforcement policy. It also foresees the continued creation of partnerships with all stakeholders to foster a greater prevention culture as well as further action to curb known and emerging risks, amongst others,” Gauci continued.
It has been proved in various countries that concrete social dialogue, collective bargaining between employers and unions, enterprise management and commitment coupled with effective legislation and a powerful enforcement authority all contribute towards high safety standards.
In conclusion, Gauci said: “Risking repeating myself to boredom, I cannot but reaffirm the dire need for concerted action. Achievable aims can only be realised if nobody shies away from responsibility.”
The commemoration of the World Day emanates from the Workers Memorial Day started in America and Canada in 1989 to commemorate dead and injured workers annually on 28 April, a date which the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and Global Union Federations converted into a global event endorsing also the concept of sustainable workplaces and work.