Criminal Code amendment strengthening OHSA officers’ power to investigate serious accidents at work
The Minister for Public Works and Planning, Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi announced in Parliament yesterday that an amendment to the Criminal Code will authorize Health and Safety officers to be directly involved in magisterial inquiries related to serious accidents namely serious injuries or workers at risk of dying.
During a parliamentary debate at the second reading stage on this amendment Dr Zrinzo Azzopardi stressed that to avoid tragedies and accidents at work, a bigger emphasis should be placed on prevention at work. It is not enough to have rules on the enforcement and the prosecution of those guilty of work-related deficiencies. We should ensure that every workplace is safe, and the workers’ health is protected, he said.
Dr Zrinzo Azzopardi said that all parties involved, namely the Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA), employers, workers, unions, and anyone hiring labourers, must work together to induce a culture of health and safety at the workplace. The rules must serve as a yardstick so that all those involved have full knowledge of how injuries can be avoided at workplaces.
To date, in such incidents the police notify the inquiring magistrate about the incident who in turn engages the police and experts to collect evidence to form part of the inquiry. The magisterial inquiry collects and protects necessary evidence and determines whether any specific person or persons may be arraigned.
Minister Zrinzo Azzopardi noted how the amendment clarifies the role that the OHSA should play in these such inquiries. It empowers OHSA to intervene as soon as it is given access to the workplace, in particular when there is a work fatality.
He said that notwithstanding the large number of inspections that are carried out, there is still a long way to go.
The Minister said that we should continue to strengthen efforts made in recent years by providing more tools, powers and responsibilities to the Occupational Health and Safety Authority at the workplace. Workers’ conditions, he concluded, will only improve with widespread promotion of health and safety among all workers.