The Occupational Safety and Health Authority (OSHA) has called upon stakeholders of forest resources to comply with prerequisite safety measures at their workplaces.
The authority’s Northern Zone Manager Juma Maneno said it was imperative for the stakeholders to adhere to OSHA’s safety Act of 2003, which among other things roots for ensuring the creation and maintenance of ideal work environments which are free from occupational hazards that may cause injuries or illness to all employees in work environment.
“We should not take anything to chance, all employers have to ensure that workers operate in safe environments,” insisted Engineer Maneno, ahead of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work.
The OSHA zonal boss said the authority will endeavor to educate and encourage employers to create favorable environment, free from any kind of disaster and hazards.
“Our role is to ensure that occupational hazards become history,” he observed.
He equally challenged the stakeholders to be registered with the authority’s Workplace Information Management System (WIMS) that facilitates workplace registration, paying bills, booking training, requesting inspections and reporting accidents.
He said: This is an ideal platform for preventing and mitigating the effects occupational hazards anywhere in the country.
The agency’s services have been enshrined in the Occupational Health and Safety No. 5 of 2003 and other subsidiary legislation which among other things gives the agency the mandate to conduct general workplace inspection as we all as conducting health and safety audit.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that some 2.3 million women and men around the world succumb to work-related accidents or diseases every year; this corresponds to over 6000 deaths every single day.
Worldwide, there are around 340 million occupational accidents and 160 million victims of work-related illnesses annually, according to ILO.