AT LEAST 52 workers have died in work-related accidents between January and August this year, National Social Security Authority’s (Nssa) acting director occupation health and service, Betty Nyereyegona, has said.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 59th National Conference on Safety and Health at Work, which started in Victoria Falls on Monday, Nyereyegona said the death figures had almost doubled compared to last year.
“Some of the discussions… do change the way that we’re doing things. They also help our stakeholders, mainly the government, to look at programmes which then promote safety and health. As Nssa, we record accidents which are reported to us. We usually recognise serious accidents which we term lost time injuries and for this year, looking at the period January to August 2022, we recorded about 3 224… serious cases (of injuries), of which 52 were fatalities.
“So, these are people who passed on at work because of work-related illnesses. Compared to last year… we had more injuries, we recorded about 3 640 injuries but the fatalities were less; we had 27 fatalities within the same period, that is January to August of 2021. So, this year we have seen a decrease in the number of accidents being reported, but the number of fatalities has almost doubled,” Nyereyegona said.
The conference, being held under the theme: Creating Safe and Healthy Work Environments Through and Beyond the Covid-19 Pandemic, is a rich exchange of experiences, practices, and expert knowledge on the establishment of safe and healthy workplaces.
It is also delving into occupational safety health as a fundamental principle and right at work and will provide a forum for the development of knowledge and practical ideas that create a safe and healthy work environment.
“In the past few years, we have been struggling with Covid-19, which was an obvious workplace issue and has aff ected the way that we do things and this has had a great impact on the provisions for safety and health and is in its own right (Covid-19), a safety and health concern,” she said.
The conference is being attended by several stakeholders including the government, private sector and labour.
Representatives from South Africa, Namibia and the United States are also part of the delegates, who are attending the conference, which will end with an awards ceremony, recognising companies that are doing well in safety and health. Public Service minister Paul Mavima will give his keynote address and officially open the conference today. By Tendai Kamhungira