By Patience Gbeze, GNA
Accra, Aug. 10, GNA – Mrs. Comfort A. Agambaa, General Secretary of the General Construction, Manufacturing and Quarries Workers Union of TUC Ghana, has urged employers and the government to show more commitment towards workers’ safety at site.
She said the government, being the largest employer, should be committed to the involvement of employees on the worksite safety analysis hazards prevention to control and enhance Occupational Health Safety at the site.
Speaking at the just-ended 2nd Quadrennial Conference of the Union, Mrs. Agambaa also called on the government to, as a matter of urgency, fast track the passage of Occupational, Safety, Health and Environment (OSHE) bill.
The conference was on the theme: “Enhancing Occupational Health and Safety at the Workplace: The Role of the Union and Employers.”
The theme, the General Secretary said, captured the essence of the collective mission of the Union to ensure that every worker returned home safe and sound each day.
“It is to also create awareness of a safer and healthy work environment in our sector and industry as well as to put workers on the alert to perform their roles in a safer and more secure environment free from any major hazards,” she added.
Mrs. Agambaa said: “…safety is important in our lives because every human being has a basic need to feel safe; be free from threats, have trust and support to be able to relax in the work environment they find themselves.
“Occupational Health and Safety is not just a regulatory requirement or a checkbox on an inspection form. It is about protecting the well-being, dignity, and lives of our workers. It is a fundamental human right and it is for good reason that the ILO in 2022 adopted Occupational Safety and Health as Fundamental Convention.”
She said the importance of OHS in the environment suggested that “we set goals of safety slogans to reduce the number of workplace accidents, protect the health and safety of
employees through awareness creation and also monitor workplaces to ensure compliance as well as to enforce safety standards and take action when violations occur.”
Touching on the challenges facing the industry, the General Secretary said that the sector was bedeviled with a lot of health and safety challenges.
She noted irrespective of those challenges, the Union was able to address payment of workmen compensation by the concerned employers.
She said for the period under review, they had 28 workers involved in various degrees of workplace injuries.
“Out of that, our Union has been able to resolve 25 cases, representing 89.3% with the Labour Department.
She re-emphasised the Union’s commitment to fighting for social and economic change in the sector, adding, “we can see this change if all hands are on deck in our various companies and branches, we will achieve our goals.”
Dr Yaw Baah, the Secretary General of TUC Ghana, advised the young workers to be careful of their health and safety at the workplace.
He urged people working in dangerous environments to try and protect themselves from any hazards.
“Always wear your PPEs and also run away when you detect danger and report to your supervisors,” he advised.
The Secretary General said: “The Union has the duty to feed you well but cannot force you to swallow it.”
He advised delegates to build their capacity to be abreast of Union issues.
The delegates elected the following officers to serve the Union for the next four years.
They are General Secretary, Mrs. Comfort A. Agambaa Deputy General Secretary; Mr. Eric Adelaquaye, National Chairperson; Ms. Bernice Naa Okailey, First Vice Chairperson; Mr. Nashiru Adams, Second Vice chairperson, Rahana Seidu. 1st Trustee, Mr. Christian Larbi, and the 2nd trustee, Wisdom Deku.
GNA