LABOUR and Social Security Minister Fackson Shamenda must have impressed workers in Zambia with his advice that they should not perform their duties if their employers do not provide protective clothing.
I know this may have caused shivers in some employers, but, from where I stand, it signifies the importance of occupational safety and health (OSH) in workers’ lives.
As some labour industry experts have put it, OSH is not a question of whether the cost can be borne, but by whom it will be borne. It is a reality wherever work is done.
For this reason, I welcomed the theme for the 2015 commemoration of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work.
‘Join in building a culture of prevention on occupational safety and health’ was an appropriate theme that should encourage everyone – employers and employees – to change their attitudes towards OSH.
The World Day for Safety and Health at Work is an annual international campaign to promote safe, healthy and decent work.
It is held on April 28 and has been observed by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) since 2003.
ILO country director for Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique, Martin Clemensson recently stressed the importance of promoting rights at work, encouraging decent employment opportunities, enhancing social protection and strengthening dialogue on work-related issues.
The organisation is devoted to advancing opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity.
It is indeed sad that every year, some two million men and women globally lose their lives through accidents and diseases linked to their work.
There are 270 million occupational accidents and 160 million occupational diseases each year, incurring US$2.8 trillion in costs for lost working time and expenses for treatment, compensation and rehabilitation.
Zambia recorded 574 occupational accidents in 2014, compared to 878 in 2013.
As for the death rate, the country recorded 66 in 2014 compared to 99 the previous year.
More than 107 occupational diseases were recorded in 2014 compared to 152 in 2013, according to the Labour ministry.
Evidently, there is a downward trend in terms of reducing occupational accidents and diseases, which is as a result of Government’s interventions in scaling up occupational safety and health inspections and awareness.
The Ministry of Labour is still not satisfied as it would like to see a situation where no injuries or deaths in the workplace are recorded.
Researchers indicate that workers down the skills ladder are the most affected, and the real debate has been around those in heavy industry, mining, energy, construction, and agriculture.
They face the risk of physical and chemical injury owing to the areas in which they work and the equipment they use.
Like other observers, I have noticed that safety hazards at work are more pronounced than health dangers.
However, some diseases associated with the work environment impact on productivity. These diseases include high blood pressure, cancer, infertility, respiratory diseases, and psychiatric problems.
Zambia has not been spared from such challenges.
Mr Shamenda, who graced the commemoration of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work at Zambian Breweries in Lusaka, said the country, like the rest of the international community, faces emerging risks arising from a changing world of work.
Think about the radioactive particles and chemicals, and even the changing patterns and working relationships.
These risks threaten the successful management of OSH at work.  In addition to the many well known hazards in workplaces, new health risks are appearing with the development of new technologies.
But the good news is that fatalities, accidents and illnesses at work are preventable, and everyone has an obligation to act.
The Ministry of Labour is doing a lot to address these problems.
As Labour Deputy Minister Alfredah Kansembe says, building and maintaining a preventative safety and health culture requires making use of all available means to increase general awareness, knowledge and understanding of the concepts of hazards and risks, and how they may be prevented or controlled.
Ms Kansembe officiated at the commemoration of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work at Zesco in Lusaka.
There is a lot Zambia could learn – besides what the Government is doing – from practices in other countries on occupational health and safety.
In the African Newsletter on OSH, Volume 19 of August 2009, Pius Makhonge, from the directorate of occupational health and safety services in Kenya, wrote that planning for the prevention of accidents, diseases and ill health at workplaces in developing countries is hardly adequate.
Occupational safety and health experts have argued that an important reason for failure to control health and safety risks is largely an inability to apply existing knowledge rather than an absence of appropriate knowledge.
There is something that has caught my attention. According to Mr Makhonge, research done by ILO indicates that countries with a good safety record perform better economically than those with a poor record.
Many firms and organisations in the industrialised world recognise the importance of OSH in improving productivity and, hence, in enhancing profitability and competitiveness.
However, a common opinion within the business community in the developing countries is that implementation of safety and health measures increases the costs of doing business.
This kind of mindset presents a serious bottleneck to planning for OSH, and hinders the economic benefits that go with improved workplace safety and health.
Elsewhere, Tsuyoshi Kawakami, a senior specialist in occupational safety and health, ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team for East and South East Asia and the Pacific, in Bangkok, Thailand, shares some points on the necessity of solid reporting systems.
In the African Newsletter on OSH, in 2010, Dr Kawakami wrote that the improvement of reporting systems for occupational accidents and diseases is an increasingly important challenge in many African countries.
Occupational accidents and diseases, particularly those occurring in small workplaces, are often left unreported in the government reporting system.
Many occupational diseases emerge long after exposure to health hazards, and may be misdiagnosed.
Countries that are still in the process of developing accident and disease reporting systems receive a limited number of occupational accident and disease reports, and may underestimate the real magnitude of the problem.
Reliable occupational accident and disease statistics facilitate the identification of priority areas for action and the implementation of strategic national OSH policy for prevention.
The ILO Code of Practice on Recording and Notification of Occupational Accidents and Diseases is frequently referred to as a sound guidance.
Some of the points to follow in strengthening accident and disease reporting systems include the following:

•    Employers should know their reporting duties and whom to report to. Frequent campaigns through the mass media, seminars, and training workshops are useful. Busy employers need easy-to-use reporting systems

•    The format of the reporting must be well-structured and concise for timely response. By linking accident and disease reporting to the Employment Injury Insurance scheme, several countries have succeeded in receiving an increasing number of accident and disease reports

•    The reported occupational accident and disease information should be compiled and analysed for identifying hazardous industries and consolidating Government action plans

•    The roles of labour inspectors are vital in all the implementation steps of reporting systems. Inspectors train employers and workers in the system and provide practical assistance

•    Labour inspectors investigate accidents to identify their root causes and implement practical preventive measures; and

•    The data obtained should be analysed by gender, age, type of industry and size of undertakings in order to identify specific support measures.
A point of note is that occupational accident and disease reporting systems should cover all workers in the same workplace, including sub-contractors and part-time workers.
Occupational disease victims need practical support from medical professionals, occupational health physicians and nurses, and other occupational health service providers, for proper diagnosis, treatment and compensation.
I support these views because this is the only way a culture of preventing occupational health and safety hazards could be built, in Zambia and elsewhere.
I end this week’s column by thanking  Robby Mwiinga, from World Vision Zambia, who wrote:
Dear Mr Simengwa, I read your article dated 16th April, 2015 on the subject matter (domestic workers) with interest. It provided useful information which I was not aware of. I request for a soft copy of the SI no 45 you mentioned.
Further, I suggest you package the vital information in a simple to read brochure for mass distribution perhaps with the help of the ILO project you referred to. Regards
This shows many people are beginning to appreciate the important place domestic workers occupy in homes.
Dear readers, let us keep the link open as we share issues on labour and employment.
(This column is an initiative of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. For comments or questions, email info@mlss.gov.zm or niza12001@yahoo.com)