New safety legislation means business

SHOULD the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Amendment Bill be signed into law, the Department of Labour will significantly raise the stakes for companies to adhere to regulations to eliminate onsite injuries.

Speaking at a safety workshop hosted by Coastal Legal Compliance Services (CLCS), LCS and Saryx, Department of Labour (DoL) Chief Director Tibor Szana did not mince his words, saying stakeholders will have to start treading carefully to avoid the department’s firing line.

‘The focus is not only on the formal sector, but also SMMEs and the informal sector.

‘Safety is the responsibility of everyone, from the person at the top to the tea lady.

‘We will hold managers and supervisors responsible for health and safety to account and some of those who did not previously stand the risk of prosecutions could now very well face them in the future,’ warned Szana.

He explained the main aim of the proposed amendments is not only to streamline the OHS with other regulations that have been added or changed over the past 20 years, but also enforce Constitutional rights such as the ‘right to life’, ‘human dignity’ and ‘right to fair labour practice’.

‘These seem like buzz phrases, but they are not to be taken for granted.

‘The right to life is ignored by many employers.’

While the right for an employee to leave a site if it is deemed dangerous has always been in line with the Constitution, it would now be endorsed by the amended Act.

‘The Bill will empower employees to leave a dangerous workplace when their health and safety are in danger, without any fear of victimization by the employer,’ said Szana.

Penalties and offences

One of the other key changes is the proposed adjustment to Section 8, which will essentially insist that every employer conducts a workplace specific risk assessment before writing a risk management plan, noting each and every risk identified.

If this is not complied with and the assessments are not made available to DoL inspectors, consequences include hefty fines of up to R5-million (per offence) or jail time up to five years.

Industries could also be slammed with corporate homicide charges, but Szana said this is still under serious discussion.

‘We are debating whether this should be implemented in the Bill.

‘It would mean if as much as a brick falls and did not hit an employee on the ground, but could have, a case of corporate homicide will be opened.’