Safety & health at workplace: draft act to be sent to Sindh government for legislation

The draft Sindh Occupational Safety and Health at Workplace Act-2013 would soon be forwarded to Sindh government for legislation and promulgation in the province. The draft was thoroughly debated at a meeting of stakeholders organised by Workers Employers Bilateral Council of Pakistan (Webcop) here on December 22.
The basic objective of consultations was to provide forum to discuss the provision of draft legislation on Health & Safety, suggest recommendations that respond to the needs of both stakeholders and develop consensus on the proposed recommendations. The consensus recommendations would be submitted to the Provincial Government for enactment.
According to stakeholders, enactment of such an act becomes necessary in view of increase in number of fire incidences causing loss of human lives, more specific in the case of Ali Enterprises. WEBCOP is a platform where the representatives of workers and employers meet to generate consensus on law making towards the welfare of all the parties, the concept is that there should be least friction between employers and employees and gradually the bilateral working relationships instead of focus on unnecessary inspections which at times becomes the priority for working out draft legislation.
During the past Webcop has already developed consensus on various draft legislations including the shrinking of differences on industrial relation act. It had so far developed more than 10 draft legislations which were provided to the legislators and elsewhere who matter in terms of constitutional obligations for supporting the legislation.
The meeting held here was attended by veteran labour leaders like Kaneez Fatima and persons from academy. Chairman Webcop Ehsan Ullah Khan, Secretary Webcop Syed Nazar Ali, Khamosh Gul Khatak, Rana Mehmood Ali, Shoukat, Karamat of Piler (Pakistan Institute of Labor Education Research), Nabi and various other leaders of labour unions also were present. Experts in the labour field Ubaid R Usmani moderated the meeting.
The salient features of the draft Sindh Occupational Safety and Health at Workplace ACT-2013 include application of the act, definitions, general duties of persons in control of certain premises in relation to harmful emissions into atmosphere, provisions with regard to health and safety, written statement of policy, safety committees, enforcements, inspections and power of inspections, appeal against the acts by inspecting authority, power to deal with cause of imminent danger.
Labour leaders present on the occasion converged on one point that the present slow growth of economy and specific manufacturing, which is facing many problems, need to be supported by labour leaders. The paradigm of support should be attention of the government towards needful actions in providing conducive environment for investment-friendly growth of the economy. Some of the labour leaders including Kaneez Fatima, Khamosh Gul Khattam, Nabi, Shaukat and others even went to the extent to say that if there is no manufacturing and if there is stagnancy in economic growth, there will also be no representative growth of labour leaders to attend and address the issues confronted by labour in the situation where industries would be closing and size of labour employment is reducing.
They were however of the unanimous opinion that inspections related to the implementation of the laws should be trilateral in which representatives of employers through representative bodies, of labour through representative labour federations and government will together arrange a friendly inspection for correcting the situations demanded by laws in specific placement of occupation safety and health at workplaces.
However one labour leader was of the view that penal actions for employers in case of violation of laws should be ensured as increasing number of fire cases have caused causalities and irreparable losses; wherein families and their social fabric has been completely devastated.
Speaking on the occasion, Chairman of Federal B Area Association of Industry said the criticism against the employers was sometime irrational as "we are struggling to keep the industry open, paying the salaries for full month while facing strikes, shortage of gas and highly plagued law and order situation."
Citing the example of current month, he said "we are already registering notified and non-notified forced holidays for about 10 days but we have to pay for one month wages and fixed charges on account of gas, electricity and other charges as cost of manufacturing. We have 25 percent less production and more to it, less productivity."
He said owners of Ali Enterprises were in jail but inspection agencies had not been penalised beyond a few days suspension with full salary. He pleaded for co-operation between employees and employers in the worst situation the industry was facing otherwise risk of more closures was eminent, therefore tranquility and peace in manufacturing workplace was the last hope to keep the industry open till such time profitability increases for distribution to the welfare of labour and employees.
Engr M A Jabbar, former vice president, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) and Chairman Site Association of Industry, addressing the meeting said he would complement Webcop for endeavouring the promotion of required co-operation between employers and employees in developing consensus for drafting the laws related to labour which were time-oriented and also give directions for corrections with penalising mode as the last resort.
Talking on the draft law, he said that some of the clauses needed rephrasing and some other needed deletions and words like provisioning of discretionary powers needed to be dismantled for managing the laws, which were more directed towards improving the workplace conditions to promote safety and health rather than loaded with threats of penal actions.
He said the draft was a welcome move but one had to understand the objectives for which laws were to be made for operation, fair play to promote the safety in workplace, so that fire incidences and health injuries were minimised. While referring to the needful mandate for incorporating the improvement of working environment, he said the national environment quality standards and environmental protection laws and the implementation thereof might also be considered for linkage to developing a comprehensive act which would take care of safety, health and environment.
He said he would agree with one of the labour leader that the present HE draft (Health & Safety) be converted to SHE draft (Safety, Health and Environment). Engr Jabbar said that focus on inspections in a developing country with unfavourable environment for investments in manufacturing was not the right solution.
He said inspections were cost complied and they did not direct the corrections but acted as an extra cost for the employer. "The spirit of inspections promotes the dispute and does not promote the harmony or resolve the issues in overall industrial tranquility required in manufacturing in the country in a highly pathetic situation in which investment is 12.5 percent of GDP lowest recorded, the non-performing loans of SMEs are soaring and reportedly have shown growth."
Firstly, he said wealth was created and generated which was later distributed for the welfare of the society including labour to affect the reduction of poverty. "In Pakistan in a declining growth and in a non-performing economy when the capital formations and wealth is not being generated, the demands for increasing the share of employers towards social responsibility cannot sustain."
He questioned the labour leader if the increased expectation in the given situation from loss making companies is fair? Jabbar talking on the fire incidents said that individual factories through enactment of safety and health laws would manage the workplace safety for meeting any uneven situation so that in house equipment like fire extinguishers, use of water and storages and other specific safety measures would improve the safety level at workplace. However whenever there is a fire public supported systems by reaching of fire tenders, enough water and chemistry for extinguishing should be made available within no time from eruption of fire in manufacturing units.
He said that in 18 towns hardly such facilities and assurance to reach the workplace affected by fire could be attended, adding the report in that context made by the researchers revealed that there was literally no public support system to come to the rescue of fire in the manufacturing units.
Most of the times the manufacturers in such events are talking about getting support from Navy, Maritime, KPT and other armed forces units; whenever fire has erupted with a gravity which also is an outcome of no public support system such as fire tenders and anti-fire chemistry to be provided at the fireplace by the state, provincial, local body, municipal services, city district government who are constitutionally obliged to save the life and property of citizens in such situations.