Risky work: There is an increased focus in Africa on developing safety systems that meet global standards.
More than 59 000 work-related deaths and four million nonfatal accidents occur across Africa each year, according to International Labour Organisation (ILO) statistics. Although some progress on occupational health and safety is discernible, Africa has catching up to do if it is to retain investor confidence and so achieve its growth imperatives and enhanced levels of industrialisation.
South Africa is still the most regulated country in Africa from an occupational health and safety perspective; other countries, especially in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), are establishing and improving occupational health and safety laws, practices and enforcement systems.
The focus on health and safety in Africa is not recent. Early health and safety improvement initiatives on the continent merit attention.
In 1968 Nigeria was the first country to host a seminar on occupational health for developing countries in Africa. In 2000 there was the World Health Organisation and ILO joint effort on occupational health and safety in Africa. In 2005 Benin hosted a global meeting to review occupational health and safety in Africa. Yet the issue of occupational health and safety is not at the top of Africa’s developmental agenda.
Spotlight on accelerating growth
The focus has exclusively been on accelerating struggling economies’ growth, productivity and profitability. Also, many of the countries’ regulatory and enforcement institutions haven’t been sufficiently equipped to deal with occupational health and safety issues, mainly because of limited resources and historical administrative challenges.
Current economic activities on the continent have put Africa’s health and safety record in the spotlight: countries must act decisively to put processes and procedures in place to mitigate such emerging risks. It has recently been highlighted by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development that the continent has undergone fundamental economic changes largely as a result of foreign investment over the past decade.
This has, in turn, increased the demand for the construction of infrastructural services, including energy, transport, information and communications technology, water supply and urban infrastructure.
Two interrelated factors now impel African governments to invest in occupational health and safety practices: the infrastructure development boom and the growing importance of foreign direct investment.
We are increasingly seeing, in particular, foreign investors insisting on occupational health and safety compliance in accordance with international standards as a prerequisite for investment in construction and engineering projects on the continent.
Business imperative to drive an increased focus on safety
Investors won’t allow investment in countries or regions where non- compliance with occupational health and safety may have detrimental legal implications and financial losses, which affect projects in the form of costly early retirements, loss of skilled staff, absenteeism and high insurance premiums.
Consequently, we see more focus across Africa on developing systems in accordance with international standards for occupational health and safety management practices, employee training and reporting.
Second, SADC member states that have ratified some of the ILO’s conventions on occupational health and safety have also adopted its standards into their domestic occupational health and safety legal and regulatory frameworks. The ILO’s standards provide vital tools for governments, employers and workers to establish occupational health and safety practices and promote maximum safety at work.
Some of the greatest occupational health and safety challenges countries face are inadequate enforcement, a shortage of occupational health and safety data and poor reporting systems. In turn, under- reporting of occupational incidents is common, but continual ratification of ILO conventions and implementation of its standards indicates that reporting levels are improving.
This is in part a result of the ILO’s adoption of the Plan of Action (2010-2016) to achieve widespread ratification and effective implementation of occupational health and safety standards globally. A recent ILO report, Global Estimates of Occupational Accidents and Work- related Illnesses 2014, says more labour force data has been forthcoming from African countries, pointing to more reliable accident and fatality estimates than before.
Some progress in SADC countries
Some SADC countries such as Swaziland, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania have (like South Africa) enacted specific legislation exclusively addressing occupational health and safety. Others, such as Lesotho, Seychelles, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Mauritius and Namibia, have incorporated occupational health and safety provisions into their labour legislation to supplement their specific occupational health and safety legislation.
What’s more, as infrastructure investment accelerates, so we will see the effectiveness of occupational health and safety laws and systems African countries are putting in place being put to the test.
It is one thing to pass a law but another altogether to implement and enforce it. Governments and investors must focus on implementation.
Tladi Marumo is a senior associate, employment and labour, and a health and safety specialist at Norton Rose Fulbright.