PM calls for investment in health and safety at work in Mozambique

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PM calls for investment in health and safety at work in Mozambique

8:20 CAT | 02 May 2017

File photo / Prime minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosario

Mozambican Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosario on Friday stressed the importance of employers investing more in improving health and safety conditions in the workplace.

Speaking in Maputo at the opening session of a national conference on Health and Safety at Work, Rosario added that, for their part, workers should follow safety and protection rules strictly.

“We hope that this event will serve as a platform for sharing sector experiences, in the framework of setting up and maintaining hygiene and safety conditions at work, seeking to prevent accidents and professional illnesses”, said Rosario.

He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to promoting activities that make workplaces safer and more decent for those who work in them. That meant improving health and safety norms, and enforcing them though adequate inspection.

Rosario told the conference that in 2016 there were 495 reported work accidents. The real number could be considerably higher, since it is believed that many accidents were not reported.

The Prime Minister added that the government will continue to ratify international conventions on occupational safety and health, to ensure that the Mozambican legal framework is in line with good international practices.

At the conference Labour Minister Vitoria Diogo launched a collection of labour legislation, and a manual of procedures and a code of conduct for labour inspectors. The hope, she said, is that when employers and workers, as well as the public at large can find all labour legislation systematised and compiled into a single volume, that will facilitate consulting and applying the laws.

“With the manual of procedures and code of conduct”, she continued, “we are attempting to standardise the behaviour of inspectors, and ensure that the bodies being inspected know what to expect from inspectors”.

The General Inspector of Labour, Joaquim Siuta, said the areas which record the highest numbers of work accidents are construction, manufacturing and agriculture.

Siuta put the total number of work accidents in 2016 at 695 (200 more than the number given by the Prime Minister), which caused 14 deaths, 50 permanent disabilities and 415 temporary disabilities.

Source: AIM