Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) has now become a fundamental principle and right at work. This is as the International Labour Organisation (ILO) adopted the inclusion of a safe and healthy working environment in the ILO’s Framework of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (FPRW) during its 110th Session of the International Labour Conference.
According to acting executive director in the labour ministry, Ambassador Balbina Daes Pienaar, the ILO resolution also declares the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No 155) and the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006 (No 187) as fundamental conventions within the meaning of the ILO Declaration
on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (1998), as amended in 2022. These conventions describe the core principles and rights in occupational safety and
health
Occupational Safety and Health becomes the fifth category of fundamental principles and rights at work, adding to the existing four categories, namely freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining, the elimination of forced or compulsory labour, the abolition of child labour, and the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
“Namibia as a member state is obligated to commit to the realisation of the principles and rights contained in these conventions. In appreciating the importance of occupational safety and health as firmly established in contemporary human rights’ law at international level, the ministry urges all employers to comply with Chapter 4 of the Labour Act, 2007 (Act No. 11 of 2007), and the Regulations Relating to the Health and Safety of Employees at Work as well as to promote and respect the right to a safe working environment,” read a statement from Pienaar.
The executive director further reminded employers and workers on the importance of social dialogue in the promotion of occupational safety and health and the prevention of work-related incidents in the context of accidents, injuries and diseases, as well as combating violence and harassment in the world of work.
“This ministry calls for all stakeholders involved in decision-making to take note of this historic decision, and the implications of the inclusion of the right to a safe and healthy working environment as a fundamental principle and right at work, while creating and implementing OSH policies and programmes at workplaces,” Pienaar noted.
According to the Namibia Employers’ Federation (NEF), occupational safety and health is a cross-disciplinary area concerned with protecting the safety, health and welfare of people engaged in work or employment. The NEF stated that the goal of all occupational safety and health programmes is to foster a safe working environment, and as a secondary effect, it may also protect co-workers, family members, employers, customers, suppliers, nearby communities and other members of the public who are impacted by the workplace environment.
“Occupational health should aim at the promotion
and maintenance of the highest degree of the physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all
occupations; the prevention amongst workers of departures from health caused by their working conditions; the protection of workers in their employment from risks resulting from factors adverse to health; and the placing and maintenance of the worker in an occupational environment adapted to his physiological and psychological capabilities,” reads an entry on the NEF website.