Postmen get a raw deal when it comes to occupational hazards

IT’S A dog’s life for postmen in the Western Cape as they try to dodge the fangs of man’s best friend.

On the back of World Occupational Health and Safety Day last Friday, statistics released by the SA Post Office revealed that 22 postmen were bitten by dogs while delivering mail in the Western Cape, between April 2016 and March 2017.

Spokesperson Martie Gilchrist said the number of injuries were up from 19 bites in the previous financial year and “the most bites – four – occurred in Mitchells Plain, with three each in Huguenot and Grassy Park”.

“We have 673 postmen in the Western Cape and 88% of them have bicycle walks, and they deliver 8 million mail items a month to 1 279 213 addresses,” said Gilchrist.

Other injuries sustained by postmen include six bicycle incidents, two motorbike incidents, one injury inflicted by a third party, and 10 injuries that were related to unspecified factors, Gilchrist said.

She said all dog bite injuries are treated at a medical facility and reported to the Labour Department, and claims submitted to the Compensation Fund.

The Labour Department used World Occupational Health and Safety Day to campaign for improvement in the collection and use of reliable health and safety data.

The department’s chief inspector, Tibor Szana, said a “comprehensive report on the state of occupational health and safety in South Africa” and which covers the past two financial years 2015 to 2017 is due to be released later this year.

About R2 billion worth of claims are lodged annually with the department’s Compensation Fund for occupational injuries and diseases, Szana estimated.

Women on Farms Project labour rights co-ordinator Roseline Engelbrecht said it was the duty of the employer to report injuries in terms of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, but many farmers failed to comply with this ruling.