Report looks into perceptions of occupational health and safety

Employers treat occupational health and safety measures as "an additional expense", while workers often lacked general awareness about safety, a detailed report on people's perceptions has concluded.

In addition, the report exposes a general lack of training and education in occupational health and safety, particularly in smaller enterprises.

Details were given primarily by Janet Connah, head of publicity of the UK's Health and Safety Executive during a public consultation meeting at St James Cavalier.

The Malta Occupational Health and Safety Authority report was drawn up by the UK's Health and Safety Executive and the Irish Health and Safety Authority to assist in the twinning project funded by the EU.

The report, 'Perceptions of Health and Safety in Malta', also looks at accident statistics over recent years and draws conclusions about the cause of accidents and priorities.

It was drawn up following interviews with over 500 workers and employers in different fields.

The report confirmed that employers were not sufficiently aware of their legal obligations, and that employers were failing to consult and inform their employees of risks at the workplace.

In some cases, where there was consultation and information was available, workers still resisted or reacted negatively to the introduction of safe working practices, particularly in the use of personal protective equipment.

The report found that the discomfort of wearing personal protective equipment and the weather in Malta were seen as factors in health and safety.

The report concludes that employees and employers tend to adopt health and safety measures only when hazards are visible.

Employers are concerned about the costs of health and safety and even feel that non-abiding contractors will be cheaper.

They were also concerned that in areas where there were skill shortages, enforcement of health and safety could act as a deterrent to finding employees.

As in the rest of Europe, the chief causes of serious and fatal accidents are falls from heights, and slips, trips and falls. Accidents involving machinery and workplace transport are also significant causes of accidents. Accidents are relatively more frequent among workers aged 20 to 29.

However, there is a considerable contrast between the report's conclusions and the recently published figures on occupational injuries registered among employed persons, which said the number of accidents declined from 7,062 in 1991 to 5,103 in 2001. The report questions this data, especially since they are based on claims for benefits made to the Department of Social Security.

OHSA chairperson Simonne Borg asked whether all occupational accidents in the SME sector were being reported.

The report actually concluded that not all employers kept a record of injuries.

Even Social Policy Minister Lawrence Gonzi said the government interpreted this figure with caution since lack of adequate awareness reduced the probability of risk identification.

Dr Gonzi said that occupational health and safety were still perceived as a cost by most employers.

He urged employers to look beyond the short-term cost and focus on long-term productivity and profitability.

Dr Gonzi said that another common perception was that the government needed to employ more inspectors.

"Enforcement is important, but it won't get you anywhere on its own. I will calculate success by whether the number of reports of infringements by the inspectors goes down," he told those present.

The proposed strategy recommended by the report is based on three principles - education, communication and enforcement.

Employees, employers and students are the three sectors which should be targeted.

But unless eventual enforcement is bolstered, it was likely that all efforts will only be partially successful, the report states.

It recommends that with the use of either authority resources or third party consultants, a programme should be developed for the implementation of occupational health and safety standards.

As part of the EU-funded twinning agreement, the UK's health and safety executive will be assisting the OHSA to develop an information strategy to target the high-risk sectors with the aim of reducing accidents and eliminating risks.