Safer, healthier workplaces

The OHS Authority started its operations in January 2002. During that time, it was a common occurrence to register around 12 annual fatal accidents at work. Last year there were three. Just as significant, the number of reported occupational injuries has also been showing a downward trend over time (from around 5,200 in 2000 to just over 4,300 as reported last year). Because of the small numbers involved, and from a statistical point of view, one can reasonably expect an increase this year, especially in the number of fatal accidents, without in any way changing the overall outlook.

These improvements did not come about by chance - since its establishment, the authority has been quietly working very hard at raising awareness about the benefits (to the nation, to enterprises, to workers) of having high levels of occupational health and safety, and one of its major achievements has been that of placing occupational health and safety on the national agenda. A recent analysis of printed media reports on occupational health and safety show that whereas during 2001 there were 41, during 2006 the printed media referred to the issue 2,380 times.

One must keep in mind that the functions of the authority are not exclusively limited to policing workplaces. As a matter of fact, the OHS Authority Act, 2000, assigns a total of 12 different functions to the authority, which on their part are translated into a whole range of activities. For example, since it was established, the authority's officers carried out 9,372 workplace visits, vetted 18,672 machinery and equipment certificates (attesting to their safety), delivered 3,862 hours of training to workers, trade union representatives, employers and other stakeholders, and prosecuted against 419 individuals. The authority also saw to the publication of 31 new sets of regulations, which it itself implements.

One must not be deluded into thinking that accidents at work only happen in Malta. The European Commission itself has expressed concern about the large number of occupational injuries and fatalities occurring across all of Europe, and has pledged concerted action to reduce occupational injuries by a quarter by the end of 2012. Whether this aspirational goal will be met, still has to be seen, since it is dependent on a number of factors, that sometimes are outside the control of the national entities responsible for OHS. However, the authority in Malta will continue showing the same commitment that it has always shown and will maintain its drive towards achieving healthier and safer workplaces. In this sense, one is often asked about how Malta compares with the rest of Europe. The latest available figures published by Eurostat, which relate to 2005, show that whereas the number of serious accidents at work per 100,000 persons in employment across the EU was of 78, in Malta it was 77 (it was 94 during 2001, the year before the authority started its work), a figure that is much lower than that obtained in most of the so-called "older member states" which have had a much longer time-frame to implement the directives on health and safety. In the case of fatal accidents, the index is even lower (86 for all the member states, 44 for Malta).

All these figures have only been quoted so that one may form an unbiased opinion as to whether the OHS Authority, as the national entity, has been doing its bit to effectively implement the European acquis on occupational health and safety.

Whether the authority is adequately resourced or not is a totally different argument; since it was established, and every year without fail, it has been referring to the mismatch between its statutory functions and its allocated resources - the authority can only do so much with the resources that it has (25 employees, of whom 10 are used for general workplace visits, with another five employees having a technical background). Apart from the activities mentioned above, the authority has also managed and coordinated a total of seven projects, mostly funded by the EU to the tune of €1,904,000, all of which were very labour intensive, yet which were successfully implemented and without any major problem. The authority will also be implementing this year another project using ESF financing, as would enable the carrying out of research on various matters that affect occupational health and safety.

Unfortunately, few are the people who are directing their concern to the right quarters - a question that is often asked "but what is the OHS Authority doing?" can be very quickly answered - all the figures quoted above are self-explanatory and anybody who has an interest in seeing what the authority is actually doing can peruse its annual reports, which after all are published and discussed every year by the House of Representatives. OHS is a very complex matter, requiring the input of many stakeholders and duty holders. It requires coordinated action - in the case of construction for example, considered worldwide as a high-risk sector, the OHS Authority has long been insisting that the current piecemeal approach in regulating this sector will maintain the status quo, and has suggested a more holistic approach which looks upon this activity as one which takes into consideration all aspects of planning, environmental management, health and safety (both of the workers and of third parties, and including traffic management), structural safety and solidity, and public health.

In this manner, it would be easier to ensure that all duty holders actually fulfil their obligations, whether these are clients, architects, contractors, workers and so on. Thus the authority is recommending that no planning permits are issued unless it can be shown that requirements arising out of other legislation will be met. Progress has definitely been achieved, and in more ways than one.

This does not mean that we should remain complacent, not least because of the financial and economic implications, and the proven link between the prevailing levels of occupational health and safety and competitiveness and economic sustainability - most European countries report the cost of poor levels of OHS as being somewhere between 1.5 per cent and four per cent of the GDP - based on a conservative estimate of two per cent, that would equate to just under €100 million every year wasted in Malta!

Wake up call? Yes please, and set it to yesterday!

Dr Gauci is the chief executive officer of the Occupational Health and Safety Authority.