Alemayeh Jida, 32, is a father of two who currently works for a flower farm in the southwestern region of the Awash River. He has been employed at the farm for the past eight years. Despite the strong smell of flowers and chemicals, he has no better option than working in a difficult situation to earn a living.
More than 1300 workers are employed at the flower farm, but the factory shows little concern for the safety and health of its workers. The care and protection given to the flowers, which bring in profits for the farm owner, far surpasses the attention given to the workers.
As a result, many workers are now suffering from various occupational diseases, such as occupational asthma, a chronic lung condition affecting people of all ages. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, nearly 200,000 individuals are employed in the labor-intensive horticulture sector. You can imagine how many workers are exposed to various diseases due to an unsafe work environment.
Similarly, a number of workers, especially daily laborers, participating in the construction sector are also exposed to death, injuries, and fatalities while partaking in an unsafe work environment.
A systematic review and meta-analysis showed that approximately 44.66% of labor workers in Ethiopia have experienced occupational injuries. Factors contributing to increased odds of injury include being male, working more than eight hours per day, lack of supervision, absence of personal protective equipment, and lack of OSH training.
The sad part of the story is that those who have faced physical injuries or fatalities did not report or notify OSH incidents to the various labor offices as they did not see any positive benefits for doing so. Incident reporting was seen as an invitation to be punished rather than an opportunity to improve OSH procedures.
Ethiopia has put systems in place to ensure work place safety and health, but the effectiveness of these systems is compromised by a general lack of resources and training to permit the required level of enforcement and implementation.
Every company is expected to comply with standards regarding occupational safety and health (OSH) in the country. While there have been improvements in meeting OSH standards, there are still areas that need to be addressed.
Improving workplace safety measures and raising awareness can help reduce injuries and create a safer work environment. The economic impact of workplace accidents causing injuries or fatalities is significant, emphasizing the need for better OSH standards and practices in Ethiopia.
The Ministry of Labor and Skills (MoLS) oversees OSH in Ethiopia and reported a high rate of fatalities in the construction sector. There is a pressing need for improved OSH performance in various sectors to prevent accidents and ensure worker safety.
Given the lack of research into this sector, and a lack of formal policies and procedures for reporting accidents and injuries, there is limited reliable and accurate data.
However, this assessment starts to give a picture of the burden from a lack of occupational health and safety policies and procedures. It presents a strong motivation for investment to be made in this area.
Poor OSH performance is generally observed when local companies are engaged on locally funded projects. There is often a better adoption of OSH systems and performance when the same companies are engaged in projects financed or executed by international investors or when supplying to international markets.
Discussions with local companies revealed that international investors require high OSH standards as a condition of doing business with them and hence this drives them to comply. This requirement is lacking or not consistently enforced by both government and local businesses, thus contributing to non-compliance on local projects.
The credibility of any inspectorate depends to a large extent on its ability to give competent advice to employers and workers on how best to comply with the law, but it also depends on the existence and implementation of an enforcement regime. Any threat of enforcement must be perceived as a real one. Enforcement efforts by labor inspectorates in Ethiopia are limited. Inspectorates also indicated that they normally 'advise' employers rather than enforce the law.
Although the legal framework for a national 'Occupational accident, disease, and dangerous occurrences data collection and reporting system' is in place, it has not yet developed into an integrated system that has clear standard operating procedures which include definitions, guidance, simple tools and forms, information and training to key actors (labor inspectors and employers) which would enable compliance with the legal provisions.
Despite these challenges, there have been examples of success which can guide future interventions to improve OSH performance. Institutional changes, international best practice showcased by foreign contractors, the requirements of international financiers, and reputational risk to foreign investors all have a role to play in this process. However, for change to be sustainable, it must be driven by national enterprises, with a strong lead coming from top management.
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To improve the OSH environment in Ethiopia, systems, policies, and procedures need to be put in place. There first needs to be a broader understanding of the implications of a lack of OSH, which this assessment begins to measure. Once there is an understanding of the scale of impact, then there should be a greater appreciation of the problem at all levels, from senior government officials to companies implementing the procedures. Refined reporting systems will allow the government to more accurately tracks the impact that workplace accidents and injuries have. It will also allow the measurement of progress made by improvements in OSH.
To address these challenges, it is essential to implement better OSH policies, procedures, and training. Increased enforcement and compliance with OSH standards will lead to a safer work environment and a more competitive economy for Ethiopia.
