OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Thursday 2.50pm.
LABOUR Minister Membathisi Mdladlana said on Thursday that work-related accidents are costing the country billions of rand a year, and that urgent measures are needed to make workplaces safer.
Mdladlana told a conference on occupational health in the North West that there is a need for dramatic intervention, by government, employers and workers in addressing health and safety concerns in the workplace.
He told the conference that his department intends involving all interested parties in efforts to reduce accidents at work. “The absence of health risks at work cannot be ensured through state enforcement of the law alone,” he said.
“It requires collaborative action by the direct involvement of the main role players in the occupational health arena employers, workers and government.”
Amongst the new measures, Mdladlana said the government will look to consolidate structures regulating work safety. He said government occupational health and safety agencies are already being integrated.
But Mdladlana cautioned that business will have to play its part and that too many enterprises have poor health and safety records.
He said it makes business sense for employers to get involved because the cost of work-related accidents and diseases threatens the competitiveness of companies.