Denel deaths highlight lax enforcement
SA has been too relaxed about the enforcement of occupational health and safety standards for too long, with more people getting killed while on duty as a result. No matter the amount of noise following incidents of workplace deaths and injuries, the trend will continue because no-one — not employers, workers or the department of labour, whose mandate it is to protect workers — pays enough attention to the issue.
For a country that has on paper reformed its toxic and dangerous workplace practices post democracy, the lack of vigilance is ludicrous. The explosion at the Rheinmetall Denel Munition factory in Somerset West that left eight people dead this week was tragic, but it will not be the last such devastating occurrence.
Trade unions, parliament and other interested parties have called for an investigation, as though the country does not have a government entity that is mandated to expose workplace dangers before they claim lives.
Under the leadership of minister Mildred Oliphant, the department has been too concerned with hosting public gatherings to get employers in line regarding the application of the law, leaving workers to fend for themselves. Even employees of the department of health know first-hand that no-one cares. Some of their colleagues went on strike recently over an unsafe workplace in Pretoria. Fearing the building’s dilapidated roof would collapse, they staged walkouts and other forms of protests in August, but no-one rushed to their aid.
There is also still a shortage of labour inspectors nationally, and nothing has been done to rectify the situation. This leaves workers on their own, with trade unions often absent from the factory floors, offices and mine shafts where physical and mental injuries continue to claim many lives.
Workplaces have to conduct regular occupational health risk assessments to identify, among others, chemical, biological, physical and psychosocial risks, but this is rarely done, as occupational health and safety expert Lauren Frost wrote as far back as 2016. Many employers simply ignore safety regulations without consequences — until there is a tragedy. Health and safety committees are supposed to be established and quarterly fire drills carried out to prepare workers for emergencies, but these often fall by the wayside.
If asked where the emergency exit is, the average worker would probably not know. And this is unlikely to change as long as SA does not have an effective labour department dedicated to ensuring the mental and physical health of workers.
The Occupational Health and Safety Act is in line with international standards. It holds that employees and employers must share the responsibility of ensuring workplaces are safe, but evidence suggests the latter all too often cut corners, endangering lives, while the former do not know enough about their own rights to demand better conditions.
Not so long ago an industry colleague moaned about leg pain as he limped into a media briefing. It turned out he had tripped while at work, and while he complained about medical costs, he had no idea he could have instituted a claim against his company. Workers who are knowledgeable about their protections are often too scared to confront their bosses because they fear reprisals.
However, it is also the department’s duty to dispatch inspectors to workplaces randomly and on request by workers, keeping the identity of complainants confidential.
In May the cabinet approved the Occupational Health and Safety Amendment Bill, which seeks to strengthen the current legislation by introducing greater protection for workers. It will also require workplaces to carry out mandatory risk assessments, but given the status quo, it seems unlikely these good interventions will see the light of day.
Mahlakoana is political and labour writer.