Are we
complying with the Framework
for Health & Safety of the ILO's 93rd Conference since DoL has removed OHS
Specialty from the Enforcement & Inspection Service? July 2005. I think
not. RHL.
Item 4 on the Agenda. 'Inspection systems and ensuring compliance'.
Ensuring compliance with OSH legislation is a major
challenge for all countries, and multiple approaches are required,
including enforcement and self-compliance. The task of enforcement
falls to the labour inspectorates or to
specialist
OSH inspectorates whose functions are described in the
Labour Inspection Convention, 1947
(No. 81), and the Labour Inspection (Agriculture)
Convention, 1969 (No. 129). Inspectors gain much valuable expertise
about risks and how to avoid them through the inspection and
investigation of accidents. They are thus in a good position to share
that expertise with others through their educational and promotional
activities and by giving practical advice on preventive measures.
Inspectorates may also have the duty to carry out statutory technical
examinations of workplace equipment, such as pressure vessels. Such
The pillars of a global strategy for occupational safety and health'.
Click
here for more.
For more click on
http://www.ilo.org/
Click here
for
the ILO's
Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981
Mobile
labour department offices launched today. SABC of 4 July 2005. 'The
Department of Labour will launch its mobile offices countrywide today to
make the department's services more accessible to the people, especially
those in rural areas. Membathisi Mdladlana,
the minister of labour, will be in Jane Furse in Sekhukhune Limpopo to
launch the project. The mobile units will
render labour-related services, including the registration of job
seekers and compensation claims. Page Boikanyo,
a labour department spokesperson, said: "Some of the offices are
instituted very far away from where people live, therefore the mobile
offices will enable people to easily access them without having to
travel long distance by taxi." He added that
basically the department is trying to bring their services closer to
communities.
M Mdladlana to deliver keynote address at 18th
annual Labour Law Conference.
DoL. 24 June 2005
Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana
will deliver a keynote address at the 18th annual Labour Law
Conference to be held in Johannesburg on Wednesday next week.
Representatives of labour, business, legal profession and non-governmental
organisations will be among delegates attending the three-day gathering
whose theme “Brokering a fair deal” will provide a platform for discussing
the various aspects of South Africa’s labour legislation.
Hazardous
working conditions fall under ILO Spotlight. 6 June 2005.
The 93rd Session of the International
Labour Conference has revealed shocking statistics of work-related injuries
and fatalities. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) tabled a report
that points to the high incidence of unsafe and unhealthy work environment
worldwide to the Committee on Occupational Safety and Health. According to
new estimates the number of job-related accidents and illnesses claim more
than 2 million lives annually, while 270 million accidents and 160 million
illnesses occur over the same period worldwide. This costs the global
economy four percent of the GDP annually. The ILO says these figures appear
to be rising because of rapid industrialisation in some developing
countries. South Africa listed Mining, Construction, Steel and Agriculture
as high-risk areas.
The South African delegation to the OHS Committee of the ILO
told the Committee, that the government was giving the OHS high priority,
and that advocacy and awareness campaigns as well as inspection blitzes were
being carried out regularly. This was coupled with continuous training of
Inspectors.
Full Text.
Nedlac in peril - Mdladlana.
Busrep. 'Geneva
and Cape Town - Nedlac could soon find itself unable to function
effectively as it seemed to have been unable to bring all key
stakeholders together in the past few weeks, labour minister Membathisi
Mdladlana said yesterday. He was speaking to
Business Report at the 93rd session of the International Labour
Organisation in Geneva about a recent government call to assess the
efficacy of the structure, which functions as a negotiating forum for
government, business and labour. "There has
been a tendency to request ministers to attend meetings at Nedlac but
when they go there most labour and business bosses are not there. Often
if there is anyone present from those constituencies it's junior
officials with no power to make any decisions.
"What we then have to ask ourselves as government is whether it's
necessary attending such meetings. Take Sydney Mufamadi, the minister of
local government. Do you expect him to go to the Democratic Republic of
Congo and attend to his ministry and attend Nedlac's meetings that are
not honoured by social partners?" Vic van
Vuuren, the chief operating officer of Business Unity SA (Busa),
disagreed that captains of industry had been absent from Nedlac
discussions. "When the ministers are there, senior business people are
there like [Busa chief executive] Bheki Sibiya, [Busa president] Patrice
Motsepe and [Busa chairman] Bobby Godsell."
Van Vuuren said there had not been a big appetite for ministers,
Mdladlana excluded, to debate issues at Nedlac. "We are requesting
ministers [to attend] because some key issues are not being dealt with
at short notice, and some legislation is not coming to Nedlac."
Busa management committee member Frans Barker said the business
body shared Mdladlana's concerns about where Nedlac was going.
"There are a number of issues potentially to look at. The level
of representation is one," he said, indicating that all constituents
faced capacity pressures. Mdladlana said it
was important for those in charge of Nedlac to ensure it served all
social partners. "Nedlac is not a bargaining
council. It's a structure for social dialogue. People must stop using it
as a place to bargain because if that is what it has become, then it
will require experts in various fields. We have set up a task team to
look at how to strengthen the structure and hope things should be sorted
out soon." The minister reiterated his call to
labour unions to use section 77 of the Labour Relations Act "sparingly".
The section allows trade unions to embark on strikes for socioeconomic
reasons. Mdladlana said: "It looks like when
everyone wants to go on strike, they go to Nedlac, and I find this
unfortunate. "I also wish to say the employers
in South Africa are the most relaxed, particularly those in the private
sector. "Trade unions find it easy to target
the public service than deal with the private sector and I don't know
why." He was referring to the current litany
of section 77 notices at Nedlac dealing with the strength of the rand,
job losses in the clothing and textile sectors, and Cosatu's demand that
clothing retailers should source most of their apparel from local
manufacturers. Ebrahim Patel, Nedlac's
convenor of labour, did not respond to a request for comment.
Barker said Busa's participation in the review process of Nedlac
was ongoing. "I am optimistic this can be resolved. All parties agree
Nedlac is important and should work."
Mdladlana slams Sasol over fatalities.
Busrep
of 9 June 2005.'
Labour minister Membathisi Mdladlana has condemned the series of
fatal incidents at Sasol plants, including the death of a worker at the
synfuels sulphur plant in Secunda on Monday.
His spokesperson, Page Boikanyo, said this week: "The minister mentioned
that a team of inspectors from the department of labour has been tasked
with conducting an investigation into the accident."
A prohibition notice halting all activities in the section of the
plant had been issued, pending the completion of an internal
investigation. Boikanyo said more than 10
fatal incidents had occurred in Sasol plants since last year'.
Joblessness,
Poverty Are Africa’s Biggest Threats – Mdladlana.
7 June 2005.
Unemployment and poverty were the
biggest threats to peace in the African Continent, Labour Minister
Membathisi Mdladlana said on Monday. Minister Mdladlana was addressing
the 93rd session of the International Labour Organization (ILO)
currently underway in Geneva. Speaking at his capacity as the chairman
of the African Union’s Labour and Social Affairs Commission, the
Minister said the Continent was capable, willing and ready to meet the
aspirations of its people. “What we need are the tools. The brains we
have. Our people are losing hope and unless we put them at the centre of
our policies, their hopes of a better life remain a dream,” he said.
According to Minister Mdladlana, comprehensive means of addressing the
continent’s challenges would include centralising employment creation in
macro-economic policy discussions. Minister Mdladlana said the recent AU
ministerial summit in Johannesburg had stressed the importance of
integrating job creation in all the investment goals. He said
sub-Saharan Africa had been unable to significantly alter the proportion
of people living on less than one dollar per day, which lay in stark
contrast with many regions of the developing world. Regarding youth
unemployment, the Minister said the problems should be considered within
the realm of broader economic and poverty problems afflicting the
continent. On occupational health and safety in the fishing industry, he
recalled the recent accident in which 14 fishers perished when their
vessel rammed into a fishing vessel showed the dangers they faced daily.
He emphasised the need for an instrument that would ensure a safe and
healthy working environment. “Whilst workers sell their labour, as
social partners we should ensure that they do not also sell their limbs
or lives. It is thus important that the discussion on this matter is
concluded and will in future help us to avoid tragedies such as this,”
he said.
Workplace safety under the
spotlight.
SABC 'Membathisi Mdladlana, the
South African labour minister, says at least two million workers in South
Africa are injured every year in workplace related incidents, crippling the
country's economy. He was speaking at a World Day for Safety and Health
commemoration at Richards Bay in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Mdladlana says the
right to life is the most fundamental, and workers should demand safety
measures and stand together to avoid fatal accidents in the workplace. The
International Labour Organisation estimates that 250 million work-related
accidents occur around the world each year. Of these, 335 000 are fatal'.
Workers’ tragic search continues.
DoL. May 25 2005. While the frantic search involving
four workers who were buried alive into six meter trench when the wall
collapsed on them at the Water World North Riding in Johannesburg
continues, the Department of Labour Inspectors at the scene confirmed
that two of the four missing bodies had been recovered by mid-day today.
As the emergency services personnel were still searching for the
remaining bodies, a top-level team of the Department of Labour
inspectors were on standby to commence with their investigations into
the cause of the accident, pending the unfinished search. The marathon
search for the missing workers meant that inspectors could only wait
until all the bodies were accounted for. They said the four were among
12 workers who narrowly escaped death when the tragedy occurred
yesterday afternoon. Apart from the normal investigation pertaining to
compliance with Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), inspectors will
also check whether the construction company adhered to the Compensation
Fund regulations. Engineering and Risk Assessment Reports will ascertain
whether recommendations contained in the report had been implemented
before the construction commenced. The Department conveys its
condolences to the deceased next of kin, and wishes a speedy recovery to
the injured.
Minister says workplace health and safety
a priority. Co-operation between organised
labour, business and government is necessary in ensuring health and
safety at work Labour Minister, Membathisi Mdladlana, said today.
Minister Mdladlana was addressing the commemoration of the World Day for
Safety and Health at Work in Richard’s Bay, KwaZulu-Natal. He said the
co-operation of these social partners was vital in order to prevent
workplaces from being turned into killing fields. “One life lost in the
workplace is one too many. Workers and employers alike should clearly
understand that we have the right to life, human dignity, equality,
freedom of expression, association and also freedom to an environment
that is not harmful to our health and well-being,” he said. The Minister
also emphasised that the occasion should reflect the sacrifices that
workers of this country made for us to be free. “This freedom to an
environment that is not harmful to our health and well-being puts an
obligation to employers to observe work practices that do not compromise
workers and deprive them of the right to protection. My Department will
ensure that adherence to labour legislation is prioritised by employers.
Our strategy combines education and enforcement. “It is the worker right
to work in the safest environment that the employer can reasonably
provide and enjoy reasonable facilities for personal hygiene.” Minister
Mdladlana said that although co-operation existed between social
partners, there was still room for improvement.
Labour Ministry in Limpopo on Imbizo
tour. Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana will be
embarking
on a five-day Imbizo tour of the Limpopo Province from 5 to 10 May. The
tour forms the third leg of the Minister’s on-going nationwide tour
during the next few months. He has already visited the Free State and
Eastern Cape provinces in March and April respectively. During the
Limpopo Imbizo tour, Minister Mdladlana will visit several towns,
workplaces and community job creation centres where he will inspect
service delivery at some Unemployment Insurance Fund and Compensation
Fund pay points, as well as youth centers for a first hand account of
stakeholders’ day-to-day challenges. Accompanied by the department’s
senior officials, the Minister will also be briefed by provincial
officials on general labour legislation compliance and enforcement as
well as service delivery challenges that the province encounters.
Vessels under Pressure Regulations
to be replaced by Pressure Equipment Regulations.
Click here for draft Pressure Equipment
Regulations.
Click here for amendments to
the Driven Machinery Regulations. (Government Gazette 27292)
Click here
for the exemption regarding the Registration of
Lifting Machinery Inspectors. (Government Gazette 27305)
Click here
for standards incorporated in
the Vessels under Pressure Regulations, 1996.
Facilities Regulations 2004 are promulgated into law.
Click
here to download.
Draft
Lift, Escalator & Passenger Conveyor Regulations 2004 published for comment.
Click here
to
download.
