NATIONAL 2 (Spotlight Weekly)]

Working With Hazards

Better occupational safety and health conditions help increase national productivity

By SANJAYA DHAKAL

Three years ago, fire broke out in a small foam industry in Patan in the early morning hours. Eight workers died in the blaze, unable to escape the deadly fumes emanating from the burning foams.

"As the factory was built in a house designed for private residence, there was no way the workers could escape when the fire broke out," said Yubaraj Sharma, chief of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Project.

Factory workers : Safety concerns

Every year, 2,000 workers in Nepal fall victim to industrial accidents and/or occupational hazards. Two hundred lose their lives (based on a study by the International Labor Organization in 1999). Most of such accidents occur at construction sites. And most are avoidable. The industries and factories simply failed to maintain the basic standards of occupational safety.

Occupational hazards consist of not only physical risks but also insecurities related to the work environment. Smoke, dust, sound, light, heat, chemicals, machines, electricity, biological risks like virus/fungi are some examples of such hazards. Even the socio-psychological environment and issues related to ergonomics (building machines according to the needs of men) fall under the occupational hazards.

With the growing cases of industrial accidents and the urgent need to address the vital issues of workers' health, the government set up the OSH Project under the Ministry of Labor and Transport Management in 1996. The ILO and ESPS Danida have provided technical support and other inputs.

The project has been organizing campaigns to raise awareness of workers and factory owners/managers about OSH issues and ways of avoiding industrial accidents.

"We have technology, equipment and even laboratory to test the occupational safety standards of industries," said Sharma. The project conducts OSH tests on 50 industries around the country each year. During such tests, physical conditions like the presence of smoke, heat, light and sound are measured.

Necessary suggestions are given to make the working environment worker-friendly. Sharma claims that the project is capable of performing basic tests on occupational safety on its own. "Barring tests that require high technology, we can do most of them."

OSH issues were recognized quite early in developed countries. But in developing countries, the concept is just emerging. "Earlier, the industrialists and factory owners considered OSH to be unnecessary burden but now increasingly they are feeling that it is necessary. A healthy factory environment leads to healthy and motivated workers, which in turn, leads to an increase in their efficiency and ultimately to national productivity," Sharma said.

Besides, proper OSH standards help industries in the long run by advancing industrial peace and developing positive relations with society.

Sharma says there is still a great need to sensitize Nepali workers, managers and public about the importance of OSH. "That is the reason the government has decided to observe the third week of Mangsir each year as OSH week. This year, too, 5,000 people, including workers, participated in the OSH week programs like rallies and seminars," Sharma added.

At present, the project is lobbying hard to introduce legislation that specifically deals with OSH. The present legislation ó the Labor Act 1992 ó does have some provisions dealing with the safety and health of laborers. "But as the factory inspector, who is assigned to look after the imposition of the legal provisions, is mostly busy solving labor disputes, OSH issues have taken a back seat even though they are of vital importance. That is why we are pushing for a separate legislation."

The project also gives training and courses to workers and managers on OSH. It has also instituted awards for industries that practice good OSH measures. This year, Momento Apparels of Jhapa and Crystal Products of Hetauda were awarded the first prize in the big and medium, and small and cottage industries categories respectively.

According to the ILO, 20 million workers around the world suffer from industrial accidents every year, out of which 160 million get affected by some disease. Some 1.1 million die. These grim statistics underscore the urgency of maintaining proper occupation safety and health safeguards at the workplace.