Occupational Safety Health Division (OSH) leader Lilomaiava. Albert Meredith
By Staff Writer
Safety and health in the workplace came under close watch all weeklong in the lead up to the celebration last Friday, 28th April 2023 of the International Labour Organisation awareness campaign started since 2003.
The Ministry of Commerce Industry and Labour (MCIL) kept a close monitoring eye on the working environment in both the private and public sectors the whole week.
The workload fell on the Ministry’s Occupational Safety Health Division (OSH) leader Lilomaiava. Albert Meredith and his staff of inspectors.
“We started off with a seminar in Savaii for staff workers on the big island and we have followed that up in Apia with inspection visits to some of the workplaces throughout the week,” Lilomaiava said.
Health and safety risk levels vary in each working environments with Lilomaiava giving the example of electrical services to general office administration.
“The Electric Power Corporation field staff for example have much higher safety and health risks because of the nature of their work compared to those doing administrative work in any of our Government Ministries.”
Lilomaiava and his OSH staff of inspectors are responsible for ongoing safety and health watch over a combined total of 24 thousand workers both in the private and public sector in Samoa .
Monitoring the working environment is not any easy challenge and it is providing a major help the use of a computerised system to make it easier for information in both sectors to be loaded up for ready access by Lilomaiava and his staff.
The ILO Pacific Islands Director Mr Matin Karimli highlighted the occasion with a statement on the theme of the day “A Safe and Healthy Working Environment is Fundamental Principle and Rights at Work”
The statement reads :
On 28 th of April every year, the ILO and its member states celebrate the World Day of Occupational Safety and Health.
This year 2023, is a momentum celebration of the decision that was developed in International Labour Conference in 2022 with theme “A safe and healthy working environment is a fundamental principle and right at work”.
This year, the ILO has encouraged the close dialogue of the experts and constituents on how to practically implement the rights in the world of work.
It will promote the works and status of the OSH Convention 55 on “Occupational Safety and Health”, and Convention 187 on “Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health”, that were recognized in ILC 2022 as Fundamental Conventions.
It is recorded that workers are exposed to many risks in the workplace, ranging from biological, chemical, and physical hazards to psychosocial and ergonomic hazards.
Millions of workers lose their lives each year due to occupational accidents and diseases, with many more suffering from debilitating work-related injuries and chronic conditions.
Despite these danger, adequate occupational safety, and health (OSH) measures to prevent accidents and diseases at work are often lacking in many countries.
New dynamics are affecting the labour landscape, with relevant implications for OSH.
The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way we work and has illustrated the critical important of the OSH and protection the global workforce.
Climate Change and an increase in extreme weather events are already having profound impacts on OSH, and it is likely that these challenges will only continue to grow in the coming
years.
Mental health at work is also the theme that is increasing in importance, with unsafe or unhealthy working conditions and environments being shown to undermine psychological well-being.
OSH policies and programme can enhance decent work for all workers by integrating the OSH needs of all groups of workers and addressing inequalities in OSH practice, thereby promoting equal access to safe and healthy working environments, occupational health services and healthcare.
Since ILO founding in 1919, one of the core objectives has been to promote safe and healthy working environments globally.
It has adopted more than 40 OSH specific international labour standards, as well as more than 40 OSH-specific codes of practice.
The inclusion of a safe and healthy working environment as a fundamental principle and right at work calls attention to the mutually reinforcing nature of all such principles and rights.
Lack of adequate OSH conditions are particularly pronounced in populations with deficiencies in other fundamental principles and rights at work.
There is a need for synergic actions to improve OSH conditions in hazardous sectors or those hidden from public scrutiny, where also the prevalence of forced labour and hazardous child labour is often higher.
The promotion of freedom of association is necessary to ensure the meaningful involvement of the social partners in the formulation and implementation of national OSH policies and programmes, at inequalities in OSH practice, ensuring equal access to safe and healthy working environments, occupational health services and healthcare, in order to promote decent work for all workers.
I applaud the effort of Samoa and the Pacific member states every year to commemorate the World Safety OSH Day.
For Samoa they have achieved so much under the Decent Work Country Programme with launching of its light and hazardous list, development of OSH Framework, launching of nine (9) sectors OSH guidelines, OSH and Mediation trainings for the labour Inspectors, development of Samoa national reporting and notification system for occupational accidents and illness is currently underway.
Moreover, the amendments of the OSH Act 2002 to ensure inclusive of principles of the proposed ratification of fundamental OSH Conventions (C187 and C55), and strengthening of the social dialogue of constituents to provide better understanding and awareness of the fundamental principle rights at work on health and safety.
I commend the good Governance of the tripartism in Samoa through Samoa National Tripartite Forum (SNTF), and the coordination of OSH matters and official obligations under the National OSH Taskforce. under the National OSH Taskforce.
The National OSH Conference in 2022 has supported acting together to build a positive safety and health culture while emphasis on the issues of workplaces participation and social dialogue.
This is an important starting point and solid foundation that has continues the further actions in the field of OSH in Samoa this year 2023.
It has improved the effective participation and cooperation in the OSH taskforce and SNTF decision-making and implementation processes at all relevant levels that will ensure the constituents have the potential to improve the lives of workers around Samoa.
Happy Occupational Safety and Health in Samoa and in the World.