Safety at work

The rate of injuries and disabilities at places of work, particularly construction sites, seems to have accelerated as the development of the country progresses.

This phenomenon is a source of shocking tragedies for the victims and their families. Not only do they lose a loved one - an irreplaceable loss - but in many cases also their primary income earner.

Accidents also place a high charge on the operating costs of industry, because of the working days lost and the compensation that is in some cases awarded, be it through sick leave or larger payments.

Health and safety at work should be a shared responsibility. The modern state is expected to provide adequate legislation in order to secure the welfare of people at work. This would often cover the fencing of machinery, precautions against exposure to toxic substances, and the use of protective clothing.

The law should not only be in place, but also enforced. Yet, how often do we hear of cases where workers were not adequately protected or seen for ourselves, especially as we walk past construction sites, that they are not looking after themselves.

Employers have a legal and moral duty to take responsible care of their employees and other people affected by their activities. And employees are duty bound to take adequate care of each other as well as looking after their own safety. This means following rules, even if they cause them some annoyance or inconvenience.

There is not just a legal but a moral responsibility among employers and employees for ensuring safety at work. The fifth commandment, which prohibits causing death, also means that reasonable care must be taken to protect human life and physical integrity.

Preventing injuries at the workplace is far more preferable to whatever remedy is available after an accident has taken place. However, it has been statistically established that about 4,000 injuries take place in Malta every year and some are fatal. This calls for an adequate system of compensation.

Without doubt, some progress has been made in Malta in this regard and the situation is far better than that which prevailed before legislation to protect employees was introduced. In the bad old days, very few employees were able to get fair compensation and all these drawbacks meant untold hardships and very serious social and financial repercussions for the injured workers and their families.

However, although a system whereby injured workers can get compensation - with damages payable according to a scale in case of death, total or partial disability, injury or disease - the procedure is still too complicated and still takes too long. In theory, therefore, people injured at work can sue for compensation. But in practice, because of court expenses and the time involved, they do not choose to proceed.

This subject is so important in my opinion that information about it should be given about it in schools. Tomorrow's workers should be taught their rights and responsibilities at a young age. They also ought to be guided by their parents and teachers how to care for their body and health, during recreation and work. This is an important aspect in the process of their total formation in order to become good and able-bodied citizens for the future.

The media could also do much more to inform the public about hazards that exist at workplaces around Malta, as well as offering advice on how to deal with them.

It is only through a high level of awareness and enforcement that we can prevent more accidents from happening and help those who have been involved in them.