Acting Opposition Leader Anġlu Farrugia yesterday called on the government to provide information on the tendering process for specialised research on occupational health and safety and development of an OHS accreditation system costing over €400,000 which had been awarded to the local research company Informa Consultants, which he said was very close to a Cabinet minister.
Dr Farrugia requested the minister to confirm whether the company had started engaging people after it was awarded the tender, adding that it did not have any expertise in occupational health and safety.
The OHSA report focussed on awareness building, information, education and training. But the Pan-European opinion poll on health and safety awareness had classified Malta as falling below the EU average. This showed the need of research to embark on effective campaigning.
The annual report was bereft of essential information regarding risk assessment. He asked on the use of interactive risk assessment tools and how much this contributed to less compliance costs.
The report mentioned the lack of human resources. Dr Farrugia claimed that enforcement inspectors were performing administrative work when they should be engaged in hands-on work. If the human resources specialist was engaged in capacity building, why had this been left out of the report, asked Dr Farrugia.
The Labour MP said he was worried about the lack of enforcement demands, adding that there were few inspections and prosecutions. The audit done by the evaluation group had emphasised the need for more inspections and inspectors with greater funds to carry out the full range of duties assigned to them. The same report had claimed that the lack of resources was slowing down the development of many initiatives, including a system of health surveillance. He also asked on the number of people engaged in gathering data related to health monitoring, and whether these data were gathered professionally.
The authority had stopped funds for the diploma course run by the University of Malta. The government had failed to make the necessary investments in the authority. The opposition was fully committed to giving more resources to the OHSA to perform its duties efficiently.
Dr Farrugia claimed that the OHSA chairperson rarely attended board meetings. The board had not met since November 2009. There was a strong political remit in the report which tried not to obscure the government and tried to give the impression that the situation was stable. The report was silent with regard to partnership with unions.
He referred to the Commission evaluators who had mentioned the chemical and biological agents. He asked if the authority had any qualified experts for enforcement in this sector.
Dr Farrugia referred to quarry operators. He asked how the inspectors could have found all operators to be compliant with health and safety laws. The inspectors had not found anything wrong with dust emissions and risk assessments. He asked whether the inspectors used the same tools for manual handling in different quarries. No legal action had been taken and the Appeals Board had never met since the inception of the OHSA.
He asked on the role of the radiation protection board and asked how the two members could be classified as inspectors if they did not form part of the authority. Did the OHSA recognise the monitoring of the environment by the EU Commission? Why was MEPA not involved? Why had the report by the radiation board not been sent to the Health Department and the radiation protection section?
On domestic refuse collectors the report had found that 31 out of the 31 collectors were compliant with OHSA laws.
Dr Farrugia said that it was worrying that fatalities at work had increased last year when there had already been a sharp increase in 2008.
Michael Farrugia (PL) said the perception had been given that Malta's accession to the EU had been a godsend for the observance of health and safety regulations. But this should not have been the driving force behind legislation in this sector. Rather, it should be true regard for the health and safety of workers in all sectors.
The minister should be continuously involved in dialogue with the medical sector on the development of problems relevant to work, even those that could not be obvious. How many health inspectors were visiting workplaces and checking, for instance, the placement of computer monitors vis-à-vis the employee for hours on end? This inevitably led to strain on the neck muscles. Did Malta need an EU directive to act on such self-induced problems? Even a person's height or lack of it made a difference to stress in the placement of machinery.
The 26 health inspectors had visited 2,022 places of work, which meant an average of one visit and two certifications a day. The input could therefore only be considered as minimal. Even by driving about, health inspectors could spot up to 30 contraventions a day that involved health and safety. Why could the department not be more proactive?
There were still too many people, especially self-employed, for whom health and safety was not an important issue. The answer to this was better and continuous education, not hauling them before the courts.
Statistics on occupational injuries did not show the reality of the situation because there were non-unionised and part-time workers who were afraid to report injuries at work.
Malta still had factories and Sir Paul Boffa Hospital which had asbestos in their structures. The extent of the effect on the workers had still to be seen.
Many workers had to drive continuously, and the state of the roads also presented an occupational hazard.
Dr Farrugia said the new Delimara power station extension, working on heavy fuel oil, would present more danger to workers at the plant and beyond. After the construction of the Delimara power station in the late 1980s, respiratory cases had increased. It was a documented fact that heavy fuel oil increased the rate of cancer. What had the OHSA done to see that the fuel being used at the power station would not endanger workers and residents alike?