Employers’ Consultative Association of Malawi (ECAM) has called on the Malawi government to expedite the process of reviewing the Occupational Safety, Health and Welfare Act (1997), to ensure safer and healthier workplaces that foster decent work and reduce occupational accidents and diseases.
The remarks were made by ECAM Executive Director George Khaki during a Masterclass for Occupational Health and Safety (OSH) which took place at Crossroads Hotel in Blantyre.
He said the workshop was organized to build the capacity of employers to address safety and health and to enhance compliance with national and international laws to ensure safer and healthier workplaces that foster decent work and reduce occupational accidents and diseases.
He added that as employers, they are committed to the well-being of every person who steps into their workplaces, hence conducting the workshop to sensitize other employers on issues regarding occupation safety and health.
However, he expressed worry about the government’s slow progress in reviewing the Occupational Safety, Health and Welfare Act, a 1997 legislation that regulates conditions of employment in workplaces concerning the safety, health and welfare of employees.
He said the delay may compromise efforts to promote the well-being of employees at their workplaces, urging the government to fast-track the review process of the Act so that a more conducive environment is there for employees.
“On behalf of employers in Malawi, ECAM is pursuing the route of policy reform. In this respect, we are looking at the establishment of the worker’s compensation fund which we are hopeful will come into effect in the 2024/25 financial year. Both the Workers Compensation Act and the Occupational Health, Safety, and Welfare Act are also being reviewed.
“We call upon the government to hasten these processes. We are also aware that the Draft National OSH Policy was submitted sometime back and that this is stuck in the corridors of the Ministry of Labour. We are pleading with the ministry to make progress on this issue at hand. Our goal is clear is to ensure that every worker returns home in the same condition they arrived in our workplaces,” he explained.
He further added that some concepts in the Malawi 2063 Agenda which include industrialization, commercialization of the agriculture sector, and human capital development, will be made possible if workers are protected from unnecessary injuries and avoidable deaths.
On his part, Goodluck Kayange who is the Acting Director of Occupational Safety and Health at the Ministry of Labour, admitted that the Act is old and that his ministry is working towards reviewing it.
“The observation is very true and we need to be concerned and worried that our laws have lived for so long without being reviewed to move with time. They need to be reviewed. I’m talking about the Occupational Safety, Health, and Welfare Act of 1997. So you can imagine how things have changed over the years in terms of technology and many more hence the need to do something about this.
“But I’m glad to say that the review is underway and right now, as I’m talking, the technical review is almost through, and what’s remaining is the other processes to come up with the proposed bill until the final stage is submitted to Parliament,” said Kayange.
Kayange also revealed that Malawi has ratified Convention 155 on occupational safety and health, and the ministry is also developing the first-ever national occupational safety and health policy.
He further added that the government is committed to ensuring the safety and health of every employee in the country and said the ministry will continue doing routine inspections to ensure that employers comply with the provisions that provide for the safety and health of the workers in their workplaces.
According to the Malawi Country Profile on Occupational Safety and Health (2020), a total of 2417 cases were received where 2013 came from the private sector while the remaining 368 came from the Public sector. However, only 656 of these were settled from which MWK848 million was paid as a settlement.
