Nevertheless, occupational safety and health (OSH) remains an issue of concern because many employers simply do not comply with the laws and regulations governing OSH, and in developing countries lack of human and other resources make policing and monitoring workplaces a difficult task.

According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in general, health and safety in the workplace has improved in most industrialised countries over the past 20 to 30 years. However, the situation in developing countries is relatively unclear largely because of inadequate accident and disease recognition, record-keeping and reporting mechanisms.

ILO estimates that at least 250 million occupational accidents occur every year worldwide. 335,000 of these accidents are fatal (result in death). (Since many countries do not have accurate record-keeping and reporting mechanisms, it can be assumed that the real figures are much higher than this.) The number of fatal accidents is much higher in developing countries than in industrialized ones. This difference is primarily due to better health and safety programmes, improved first-aid and medical facilities in the industrialized countries, and to active participation of workers in the decision-making process on health and safety issues. Some of the industries with the highest risk of accidents worldwide are: mining, agriculture, including forestry and logging, and construction.

It noted further that there is an unlimited number of hazards that can be found in almost any workplace. There are obvious unsafe working conditions, such as unguarded machinery, slippery floors or inadequate fire precautions, but there are also a number of categories of insidious hazards (that is, those hazards that are dangerous but which may not be obvious) including:

* chemical hazards, arising from liquids, solids, dusts, fumes, vapours and gases;

* physical hazards, such as noise, vibration, unsatisfactory lighting, radiation and extreme temperatures;

* biological hazards, such as bacteria, viruses, infectious waste and infestations;

* psychological hazards resulting from stress and strain;

* hazards associated with the non-application of ergonomic principles, for example badly designed machinery, mechanical devices and tools used by workers, improper seating and workstation design, or poorly designed work practices.

Most workers are faced with a combination of these hazards at work. For example, it is not difficult to imagine a workplace where you are exposed to chemicals, unguarded and noisy machines, hot temperatures, slippery floors, etc. all at the same time. Think about your own workplace. Are there various hazards there that you can think of?

In recent years the Ministry of Labour, Human services and Social Security has stepped its OSH campaign on all fronts through training, education and awareness programmes, new and updated legislation and policing and monitoring of workplaces to ensure compliance with OSH regulations.

Labour Minister Manzoor Nadir pointed out that the Ministry has created a database to help with the management of OS&H nationally and to keep track of all incidents at various entities. He said the Ministry of Labour will be using empirical data to prescribe the course of action that will be taken.

The Ministry is moving to ensure the OSH department becomes extremely effective and is on top of related issues. At present, information gathering requires physical effort to go through all records.

The creation of the database is certainly a step forward and is a demonstration of the Ministry’s commitment towards improving OSH at all work sites.

Effective implementation of OSH regulations is crucial to economic and human development because it deals with the protection of life, limbs and health of workers and therefore employers must realise and understand that there can be no compromise on this issue