Health and Safety officials are expected to be educated about hazards that endanger the lives of individuals at work, according to the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL).
For shop stewards in Lephalale, Limpopo, earlier this week, the department hosted a workshop training on the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases and Occupational Health and Safety.
A health and safety representative should be a full-time employee who is knowledgeable of the risks in the workplace, according to Jakes Malatse, Senior Specialist: Electrical and Mechanical Engineering at the DEL, who spoke at the session.
“You want to nominate persons to such positions who are wise and knowledgeable about the rules regulating a specific business.
Such individuals will be better qualified to advocate for and defend employees.
If you hire people who are unfamiliar with the rules governing the industry, it contradicts the objective of health and safety,” he said.
Shop stewards are expected to train other trainers, according to Malatse.
According to him, these individuals must have information about workplace accidents involving illnesses, injuries, or fatalities at their fingertips.
He stated that the main duty of health and safety shop stewards is to serve as the Department’s “eyes and ears” in ensuring that workers and communities are safeguarded from threats coming from the site.
Instead of manufacturing, health and safety is their primary duty.
The issue should be reported to the closest labor center if a health and safety representative is being victimized for diligently carrying out his or her duties, he advised.
Mechanical engineering professor Stephen Mokgethi, OHS principal inspector, described the duties of a health and safety representative as follows:
Analyzing the success of safety and health measures;
Identify potential risks and significant incidents at work;
Examine the root causes of workplace incidents; and
Look into any employee complaints regarding their health or safety at work.
According to Mokgethi, it is the employer’s responsibility to notify the Department of any events, particularly when someone has been killed, sustained grave injuries, or is ill and cannot work for more than 14 days.
He stated that it was crucial for health and safety representatives to protect both workers and nearby populations.
According to Mokgethi, cooperation between employer and employee representatives, as well as collective ownership of obligations, are essential for effective health and safety to take place.
At the moment, the workshop training sessions are being held around the nation.