Health and Safety Professionals in Ghana are calling on the government to Pass the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Bill.
A petition being championed by Just Commit Foundation to present to Parliament as a call to action has received over 1,000 votes from health and safety professionals in Ghana.
According to Janix Asare, the President of Just Commit Foundation, the OSH Bill has been in parliament for years now and its passage into law has been long overdue. The OSH law is needed to improve upon the safety standard in Ghana, recalling the many occurrences of workplace accidents in Ghana.
In an earlier publication by Just Commit Foundation, all workers have resumed work due to the lifting of the lockdown in Ghana. However the Occupational Health, Safety (OSH) guidelines (Section 118-120) of the Labour Act 651, Regulations 2003 is not detailed enough, excludes some sectors such as security services, does not specify government actors, does not ratify International Labour Organization (ILO) standards, has not been implemented enough to ensure that employers and employees are healthy, safe, insured, well-taken care of and compensated for injuries and death.
There are also fragments of the OSH laws for some institutions through the Factories, Offices and Shops Act 1970, (Act 328), the Mining Regulations 1970 (LI 665), and the Labour Act 2003 (Act 561), Ghana Health Service Act and many more Acts which does not provide an Integrated approach to the national management of OSH.
Therefore there is an urgent need for the Parliament of Ghana to ensure the review and passing and implementation of an Integrated National Occupational Health, Safety and Environment Bill to ensure that:
1. All Institutions implement Occupational Safety and Health(OHS) systems including Policy to ensure OHS training and PPEs use.
2. Inspection, Monitoring and Evaluation of OHS systems by the government and non-government agencies.
3. Employers and employees are healthy, safe, insured, well-taken care of, compensated in case of COVID-19 infection and death.
Source: Change.org
This petition presents a great opportunity for OSH professionals to avail, support and make a strong case to the government by ensuring that their voices are heard through the petition to the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations.
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