Workplace Health Safety And Security

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

The employee has always been the smallest effective unit of an organization. For an organization, it is as important and sensitive, as the strong role it plays in achieving organizational aims and objectives. This research tries to outline the importance of an employee’s well-being and focus on the role the Human Resource Management can play towards creating and maintaining a healthy, safe and secure environment for employee’s optimum performance levels, high retention and overall a healthy and happy workforce. The study tries to focus on the concepts in theory, the laws and regulatory framework on the subject at international and national levels while discussing the trends as well as the extent to which these practices are being implemented in Pakistan. With an example of managing the health and safety practices for a company in Pakistan the study suggests the course for future research.

Key Terms: - Workplace/Occupational health, safety and security.

1. Introduction

The concept of employee’s safety and wellbeing at workplace is not a recent phenomenon. It has evolved from a concern with risk of injuries and compensation costs, to maintaining a healthy and happy workforce driven towards performance. Pakistan is signatory to United Nations universal declaration on human rights about the occupational safety and health which articulate, "Everyone has the right to life, to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work …" [1] and the 1998 International Labour Organization Declaration on Fundamental Principals and Rights at Work that pledges to "promote opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work, in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity". So it is perceived that having a right to work and earn a decent life with freedom and dignity is very basic human right. According to the Constitution of Pakistan, "the state shall make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work…' (Article 37c), and '…shall ensure the elimination of all forms of exploitation and the gradual fulfilment of the fundamental principle, from each according to his ability, to each according to his work" (Article 3) [2] . There is also a term implied in all employment contracts requiring employers to take care of their employees’ health and safety.

Despite of the fact that workforce knows about the challenges of workplace risks, as per the International Labour Office Geneva, 337 million workplace accidents are reported every year; 2.34 million workers die annually due to work related accidents and injuries and 317 million suffer the work related non fatal injuries. Additionally almost 160 million new cases of occupational sickness are reported. [3] The costs involved for compensation of these accidents goes to about 4% of global GDP and for some Asian countries the same rises to 10% of GDP. With these huge figures it is very important to curtail this down slope spiral leading to chain of problems which arise afterwards.

Occupational accidents/injuries are a problem widely faced throughout Pakistan. It would be untrue to say that no action is being taken by the government at all. Labour policies of the government have specified plans to solve these issues. The continuous change of governments, priorities, funds and resources are some of the handicaps in implementation. Besides the partial implementation, the labour laws do not cover a large segment of our workforce working in the informal sector. In addition to this, the usual amendments in laws, rather than facilitating workers, often bring deleterious consequences. For instance, in 2006, the amendments in the Factories Act 1934, Standing Orders Ordinance 1968, Shops and Establishment Ordinance, 1969, West Pakistan Industrial & Commercial Employment (Standing Orders) Ordinance 1968 and the Employees Old Age Benefits Institution Act 1976 increased working hours and overtime along with other changes. [4] Not only do these issues worsen the problem, but are often ignored by most governments. Any revision or amendments to these ordinances are mostly politically driven, rather to improve health & safety conditions throughout the industry.

2. Concept of Workplace Health, Safety and Security

Workplace health and safety or Occupational health and safety are synonyms in its meanings. The difference between safety and security has the aspect of intentions which is a part of security. Since 1950 International Labour Organisation (ILO) and World Health Organisation (WHO) has shared the definition, which was adopted by the joint ILO/WHO committee of occupational health in its first session in 1950 and revised in 1995 in its 20th session. It reads as, "Occupational health should aim at: the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all occupations; the prevention amongst workers of departures from health caused by their working conditions; the protection of workers in their employment from risks resulting from factors adverse to health; the placing and maintenance of the worker in an occupational environment adapted to his physiological and psychological capabilities; and, to summarize, the adaptation of work to man and of each man to his job." [5] 

3. Theories and Models on Employee Health and Safety

3.1 Accident Causation Theories

There are various causes of occupational accidents and work related injuries. There are quite a few accident causation theories each of which has an explanatory and predictive value.

According to the domino theory, 88% of all accidents are caused by unsafe acts of people, 10% by unsafe conditions and 2% by "Acts of God". A sequence of five steps is proposed producing a domino effect as shown.

The multiple causation theory is an extension of domino theory and assumes that many contributors could be the reason of an accident, which is;

Behavioural factors: Individual behaviour including improper attitude, less knowledge, skills and low physical and mental capacity.

Environmental factors: Unsafe procedures and equipment degradation.

As per the pure chance theory any one from a working group could be exposed to an accident. No single pattern is expected of events. All accidents are considered as the acts of God and nothing could be done to prevent these accidents.

The accident proneness theory claims that within a number of workers, certain are prone to accidents. The results of this theory being contradictory it is not widely accepted.

Another theory is the energy transfer theory. Those who accept the energy transfer theory claims that it is change of energy which causes an injury or damage to the equipment. It further explains that there is a source, a path and a receiver for every change of energy. It is a useful theory in determining causes of injury. [6] 

3.2 Safety Management of Occupational Accidents

Reason (1997) argues that the nature of safety needs to be reconsidered in order to make progress. Safety can be achieved only when managers have complete control over all possible factors which can cause accidents. The system needs to be regularly evaluated on the basis of general safety in the system. The three different approaches for safety management presented by Reason (1997) (originally defined by Deborah Lucas) are:

3.2.1 The person model

This is a traditional approach which considers people capable of choosing safe and unsafe behaviour. The causes of occupational accidents/injuries are inattention, forgetfulness, poor motivation, carelessness, lack of knowledge skills and experience.

3.2.2 Engineering model

In this model, safety is considered something that needs to be engineered into the system. It emphasizes on accurately quantifying risk where possible.

3.2.3 Organizational model

This model resembles Total Quality Management approach. It states that errors in the system are the symptoms which reveal the concealed problems and it views human error more as a consequence than a cause.

3.3 Compensation for Work

Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations, published in 1776, first outlined economic theory which explained the interaction of demand and supply to form the equilibrium wage in the labour market. This level of wage reflects the value of the work to the employer as well as the worker's judgment of "prices" for various aspects of the job (such as health risk, other factors increasing challenges of the job like arduous work, bad working conditions, etc). Compensating wage differentials help in valuation of non-pecuniary aspects of employment.

3.4 Hedonic Wage Theory and the Risk of Injury

The modern version of Smith's theory is Rosen's hedonic theory of prices. The philosophy behind this theory is that humans have a quest for pleasure and their behaviour is based on this quest. They evaluate goods and services by looking at the intrinsic value of utility of these goods to them. An assumption that compensating differentials for every other job characteristic have already been established is made for simplicity. This assumption helps in looking at the outcomes of the job selection process. This assumption will not affect conclusions as same analysis can be repeated for every other dimension.

3.5 Employee Considerations

Generally, risk-related jobs are avoided by people. If a worker is offered a job at $10 per hour in a firm in which 5% of the workforce is injured each year, he would achieve a certain level of utility from that job. If the risk of injury increased to 6%, holding other job characteristics constant, a higher wage is to be paid to produce the same level of utility (except in the case that the increased costs of wage loss, medical treatment, and suffering caused by added injuries were completely covered by the firm or its insurance company). The following indifference curves explain this. These are upward sloping curves as risk of injury is a bad characteristic. It shows that as risk rises, wages must rise and utility remain constant.

At point K, the person receives a relatively high wage and faces a high level of risk. To get a reduction in risk, he will be willing to forgo a lot in wages. However, as risk levels and wage rates fall to point J, to get reduction in risk, he will become less willing to give up wages in return. The graph shows that people differ in their aversion to risk.

3.6 Compensation for Workers

With a constant rise in the work related risks it is assumed that work-related accidents and illnesses are costs of doing business that the employer should pay for and pass on to the consumer. The programmes are designed to provide financial and medical assistance to employees injured on the job. The stated goals include:

Providing prompt, sure and reasonable medical care to victims and income to both victims and their dependents.

Providing a "no-fault" system in which injured workers can get quick relief without undertaking expensive litigation and suffering court delays.

Encouraging employers to invest in safety.

Promoting research on workplace safety.

3.7 Employer Considerations

According to a research by the Chartered institute of Personnel Development, employers need to at least cover a few basic requirements to ensure a positive and healthy workplace. The legally driven formal procedures include the following:

Health and safety policy

Prevention policy

Evaluate risks and hazards

Periodic risk assessment

Appoint health and safety reps

Safety training

Establish procedures for accidents [7] 

It is a matter of critical importance today that employers adapt preventive strategy rather than rely on compensating injured workers. This is for two major reasons. One, the cost of compensating is very high in comparison to the cost of developing and implementing a proactive strategy. Secondly, compensation costs do not go far in motivating and retaining the employees.

4. Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs)

EAPs are programmes designed to help employees whose job performance is suffering because of physical, mental or emotional problems. Many organizations create EAPs because they recognize their ethical and legal obligations to protect not only their worker’s physical health but their mental health as well. The ethical obligation stems from the fact that the causes of organizational stress-climate, change, rules, work pace, management style, work group characteristics are also frequently the causes of behavioural, psychological, and physiological problems for employees. Organizational outcomes associated with turnover, absenteeism, and a decrease in job performance can be looked after with EAPs as being cost effective solutions. [8] 

5. Evolution of EHS Policy

5.1 International Benchmarks

The rules and regulations for worker’s health safety and security are different with different states. UK laws are drawn up and enforced by the Health and Safety Executive and local authorities. The authorities manage a balance between compensation costs and preventive measures. In USA, the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 created both the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Department of labour is responsible for implementing these laws. Canadian workers are covered by the provincial or federal labour codes depending on the sector of employment. Canadian Centre for Occupational health and safety was created in 1978 and is responsible to promote safe and healthy workplaces. Malaysia is one of the developing countries which has a good EHS practices under the department of occupational safety and health under the HR ministry. It is responsible to enforce the Factory and machine Act 1969 and Occupational safety and health Act 1994. Occupational safety and health may involve interaction among many cognate disciplines, including occupational medicine, occupational (or industrial) hygiene, public health, safety engineering, health physics, ergonomics, toxicology, epidemiology, industrial relations, public policy, sociology, and psychology. [9] 

5.2 International Organization for Standards (ISO)

ISO is a nongovernmental, largest body for developing standards for voluntary international standards. These standards cover from food safety to agriculture and computers to health care. Formed in 1947 with central secretariat at Geneva, Switzerland today ISO has 163 member countries and 19, 500 international standards in nine major standard groups, which cover the entire industry and business. These standards are developed through the global consensus and are documents which encompass the requirements, specifications, guidelines and characteristics which can be used continually to ensure that material, product, processes and services are fit for their purpose. ISO help to break the barriers in international trade in quality, health and safety including many more issues. [10] 

5.3 Competitor Advantage

Providing a healthy and safe environment to the employees is no more just a matter of legal requirements. It is a significant function of Human Resource today that drives the performance of the workforce and contributes towards strengthening their psychological contract. Modern organizations are aware that the only sustainable competitive advantage today is the quality of the workforce, particularly in a labour tense environment as that of Pakistan. The employee pool is large, the skill-set limited. The degrees are many, the experience limited. In this environment, the employers are playing competitive to not retain every employee, but to retain the best one.

5.4 Work Life Balance (Stress)

Managing a balance between work and life has become difficult due to the turbulence in the environment and the demanding nature of work. Where contingent employment and flexi-time are attempts to reduce the workload off the employee, they are not enough to retain the employee and keep him motivated in an environment as volatile as Pakistan. The employees face a lot of trouble due to factors such as;

Round the clock working hours for few professions. (on call duties)

Work anywhere due to advanced technology.

Longer working hours due to urgent requirements

Change in family roles

Combine family system and cultural engagements

5.5 Ergonomics

The science of adapting working conditions to employee safety and comfort needs is called ergonomics. It is fitting workplace conditions and job designs as per workers capabilities. An effective arrangement would ensure more productivity, lesser illness and more satisfaction among workers. Ergonomics play a vital role in aligning the working conditions as per the employee expectations as well as their needs [11] .

6. Contemporary EHS Issues

6.1 Changing Approach to Workplace Safety and Health

The way a worker takes the subject of workplace health and safety arrangement is much different than what it was before. Today’s employee considers it a major factor before taking a job. Mainly the awareness on the part of employees has changed this aspect.

6.2 Workplace Violence

Workplace violence is violence or the threat of violence against workers. It can occur at or outside the workplace and can range from threats and verbal abuse to physical assaults and killing, one of the leading causes of job-related deaths. However it manifests itself and workplace violence is a growing concern for employers and employees nationwide. [12] The best protection employers can offer is to establish a zero-tolerance policy toward workplace violence against or by their employees. The employer should establish a workplace violence prevention programme or incorporate the information into an existing accident prevention program, employee handbook, or manual of standard operating procedures. It is critical to ensure that all employees know the policy and understand that it is important to report and log all incidents and threats of workplace violence. [13] 

6.3 Sexual Harassments

Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination. The legal definition of sexual harassment is "unwelcome verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature that is severe or pervasive and affects working conditions or creates a hostile work environment." [14] 

Employers are liable to prevent and stop sexual harassment of employees through the taking reasonable care to prevent sexual harassment and to promptly correct sexual harassment that has occurred. In Pakistan, due to the culture it is harder to report harassment because of the embarrassment involved. Reporting sexual harassment to your employer is important. It may stop the behaviour and it makes your employer responsible for stopping the behaviour. For this, quite a few NGOs are working to create zero tolerance for sexual harassment, to create a dignified and productive work environment which is free of intimidation & discrimination e.g. Aasha [15] .

6.4 Smoking

It has been estimated that of the 600, 000 deaths in UK each year, 100, 000 are caused by tobacco. Smokers comprised around 90 per cent of all deaths from lung cancer and chronic bronchitis. Some 40 percent of heavy smokers (over 20 cigarettes a day) die before retirement age as compared with only 15 percent of non smokers. Smoking related costs ranges from increased insurance to increasing industrial fire hazards. [16] 

7. Pakistan’s Perspective

Pakistan, at present, like many developing countries of the world, does not have comprehensive occupational health and safety laws. The incidences of workers being exposed to unsafe and unhealthy environment is expected to be high. The country is still largely agro-based and industrially driven. Unfortunately majority of accidents are not reported to the regulatory agencies. The regulatory agencies neither have an effective enforcement policy nor any strict rules for reporting injuries and illness at workplaces.

7.1 Labour Force Accidents/Injury Statistics of Pakistan [17] 

Pakistan has a labour force of around 55 million people over the age of 15 [18] . Majority of which i.e. 45% is in the agriculture sector and 13% in manufacturing, rest 43% is in other sectors. Questions on occupational safety and health were explored for the employed persons ten years of age and above. As per the labour force survey LFS 2010-2011 carried out by Pakistan statistical division, almost one out of thirty-three (3.5%) employed persons had some sort of occupational injury/disease. Explicably, male workers were found more vulnerable (4.1%) relative to female workers (1.5%). Generally, susceptibility to occupational hazards seems to be more for males and less for females across the areas according to their workforce ratio. Comparative data is given in following tables.

Table 1: Percentage Distribution of employed Population 10 Years above division by major industry

Industry

All Area

Urban

Rural

Total

Male

Female

Total

Male

Female

Total

Male

100

78.83

21.17

69.97

52.07

17.9

30.03

26.76

Agriculture and Forestry

44.91

29.25

15.66

43.18

2801

15.18

1.73

1.25

Fishing

0.17

0.17

-

0.09

0.09

-

0.08

0.08

Mining and Quarrying

0.12

0.12

-

0.09

0.09

-

0.03

0.03

Manufacturing

13.02

10.51

2.51

5.84

4.32

1.52

7.18

6.19

Electricity, Gas And Water Supply

0.69

0.69

0.01

0.3

0.3

-

0.39

0.39

Construction

6.62

6.53

0.09

4.56

4.51

0.05

2.06

2.02

Wholesale/retail trade

15.16

14.85

0.31

6.46

6.27

0.19

8.7

8.57

Hotels and Restaurants

1.31

1.28

0.03

0.56

0.55

0.02

0.75

0.73

Transport and Communication

5.23

5.19

0.05

3.01

3

0.01

2.23

2.19

Real Estate

1.01

0.99

0.02

0.28

0.28

-

0.73

0.71

Public administration and Social security

2.78

2.69

0.09

1.15

1.15

0.01

1.62

1.55

Education

4.07

2.69

1.38

2.23

1.73

0.5

1.84

0.96

Health and Social work

1.28

0.94

0.35

0.63

0.48

0.15

0.65

0.46

Community and Social activities

2.58

2.16

0.42

1.31

1.1

0.21

1.27

1.06

Source: http://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/Labour%20Force/publications/lfs2008_09/t16.pdf

Table 2: Percentage distribution of employed persons 10 years of age and over suffered occupational injuries / diseases by Major industry division and sex.

Industry

All Area

Urban

Rural

Total

Male

Female

Total

Male

Female

Total

Male

100

91.46

8.54

80.43

72.43

7.99

19.57

19.05

Agriculture and Forestry

50.43

43.09

7.34

48.3

41.11

7.19

2.12

1.97

Fishing

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Mining and Quarrying

0.33

0.33

-

0.33

0.33

-

-

-

Manufacturing

13.96

13.09

0.87

8.38

7.83

0.55

5.58

5.26

Electricity, Gas And Water Supply

0.71

0.71

-

0.42

0.42

-

0.29

0.29

Construction

14.54

14.49

0.05

10.56

10.51

0.05

3.98

3.98

Wholesale and retail trade

7.54

7.54

-

3.66

3.66

-

3.87

3.87

Hotels and Restaurants

0.95

0.87

0.07

0.52

0.45

0.07

0.42

0.42

Transport and Communication

8.14

8.14

-

5.79

5.79

-

2.35

2.35

Real Estate

0.15

0.15

-

0.08

0.08

-

0.07

0.07

Public administration and Social Security

1.04

1.04

-

0.77

0.77

-

0.08

0.08

Education

0.55

0.4

0.15

0.49

0.4

0.09

0.06

-

Health and Social work

0.32

0.28

0.05

0.22

0.17

0.05

0.11

0.11

Community and social activities

0.99

0.98

0.02

0.58

0.58

-

0.41

0.4

Source: http://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/Labour%20Force/publications/lfs2008_09/t16.pdf

- shows that no data is available

7.2 Types of Treatment Received: Occupational Safety and Health

Data tabulated below discusses the injuries in labour above the age of ten, and the kinds of treatment they received. The majority of the suffered is reported to have consulted a doctor or other medical professionals. One of every ten got hospitalized, same holds good for no treatment and almost one fourth took time off work.

Table 3 Percentage distribution of employed persons 10 years of age and over suffered occupational injuries / diseases by Major industry division and sex.

Type of Treatment received

All Area

Urban

Rural

Total

Male

Female

Total

Male

Female

Total

Male

100

91.46

8.54

80.43

72.43

7.99

19.57

19.05

Hospitalized

10.93

10.47

0.46

8.14

7.7

0.44

2.79

2.77

Consulted doctor or other professional

51.07

46.89

4.18

39.62

35.75

3.88

11.44

11.14

Took time off work

25.83

22.64

3.2

22.27

19.1

3.16

3.57

3.53

No treatment

12.16

11.46

0.7

10.39

9.88

0.51

1.77

1.58

Source: http://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/Labour%20Force/publications/lfs2008_09/t32.pdf

7.3 Pakistani Regulatory Framework

Pakistan is member of International Labour Organization since 1947. It has ratified 36 ILO conventions including 8 core conventions since then out of which 34 are still in force [19] . The regulatory environment in Pakistan, which comprises safety laws, regulations, procedures and policies, has prime importance in safety management system. The main law governing Occupational safety and health (OSH) is the Factories Act 1934 [20] . This is an old Act which is still in force and outlines the basics of workplace safety. It authorises the provinces to appoint the inspectors for checking the implementation of its rules and regulations. The Hazardous Occupational Rules of 1978 regulate certain occupations as Hazardous, and certain special provisions to regulate the working conditions in those occupations. Other laws dealing with OSH are:

The Mines Act 1923,

Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923

Dock Labourer Act, 1934,

Social Security Ordinance, 1965,

Shop and Establishment Ordinance, 1969

The health and safety measures prescribed in most of the above laws have not kept pace with the rapidly changing times, conditions or industry requirements. The current regulations are however fragmented and there is no single comprehensive piece of legislation dealing with occupational safety and health. There is no formal legislative process for setting up new standards, codes of practice and occupational exposure limits. The current outdated Factories Act, established in 1934, requires only a very basic level of safety and health measures. There are no guidelines for minimum qualifications or employment of health and safety professionals in the industry. Several important sectors, such as agriculture, construction and informal/self-employed are not even covered under any law.

7.4 Shaheen Airport Services (Example Case study from Pakistan)

Shaheen Air Port Services (SAPS) is the subsidiary of Shaheen Foundation, welfare Organization of Pakistan Air Force. SAPS was established in 1982 at five major airports of Pakistan including Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Quetta and Peshawar to provide safe and cost effective ground operations to Airline carriers operating to and from Pakistan. Today, SAPS handles more than 15 scheduled airlines in addition to charter and Non-Schedule carriers operating both freighters and passenger aircraft according to their satisfaction. SAPS is also a member of International Air Transport Association (IATA) Ground Handling Council thus continually attuned to new developments in the world Aircraft handling industry. SAPS is ISO 9001-2008 certified Ground Handling Agency and is audited by international firms with regular intervals. [21] 

7.4.1 SAPS services: - Shaheen Airport Services provide following services,

Aircraft Handling

Passenger & Baggage Handling

Cargo Handling

Cabin Services

Maintenance Assistance

Ramp Handling

Catering Services

Flight Services

Over flying / landing permission through Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Metrological information

Air Traffic Control(ATC) Flight Plan

All the above mentioned aspects of Ground Handling Functions are very sensitive in nature and are prone to incident due malfunctioning of the ground support equipment, human errors and mistakes. In addition, short cuts, violation and non conformity to any recognized and accepted standards are also considered reasons for incidents and unwanted happenings.

7.4.2 Health, Safety and Security policy: - To develop a generative safety culture among all managers and workers which should foster increased understanding of the importance of safety in all activities and must encourage everyone to adopt safety by conviction. All related personnel are provided with adequate and appropriate aviation safety information and training before detailing them on such sensitive assignments.

7.4.3 Recognizing importance of safety: - Safety in aviation is a permanent requirement and its first commandment. In the air and on the ground, safety first is the rule. In order to carry out safe ground handling operations on ramp, safety regulations are to be strictly followed. The following measures and policies are implemented at SAPS for the workplace health, safety and security.

Personal Protection / Safety

Protective Clothing and gears

Mental & Physical Health

Effects of alcohol and drugs

Illness and Injury Prevention

Night Operations

7.4.4 Ground Support Equipment (GSE):- Ground Support Equipment being important for handling the sensitive nature of the job is given due priority in the following areas.

Obtaining Licenses for operators

Training of all related personnel

Speed adhering

Traffic System and markings on the Ramp

Correct Positioning of GSE

7.4.5 Recognize and apply accidents prevention techniques: - The movement of vehicles, aircraft and people on the ramp usually causes ramp accidents. Accidents happen between equipment and an aircraft or equipment and equipment or an operator and equipment. Following causes have been identified and continually looked after in this regard

General causes of accidents

Technical Reasons of accidents

Natural causes of accidents

Health Causes of accidents

Lack of Training Causes

7.4.6 Human fator: - At SAPS human factor is given the highest priority to accidents prevention techniques, of which the major are appended below;

Motivation and Attitude

Human Behaviour

Ergonomics

Fatigue

Situation Awareness

Teamwork

8. Limitations in Developing a Safety Culture in Pakistan

8.1 Ineffective Labour Laws

Pakistan has till date formulated six labour policies, the latest being in 2010. The labour policies have been mostly divorced of the legislation let alone to be in full in force. The latest policy is evaluated by the experts as falling short of a policy document, lacking in research and insights on ground realities and ignorant of the government's own past and current initiatives. More surprisingly the current policy is silent on the Agriculture sector which is the core sector for highest employment about half of the 55 million employee force. It only covers the mechanised farming for death and injury under workmen’s’ Compensation Act 1923. [22] 

8.2 Exclusion of Important Sectors

Every sector has its peculiar working environment, which calls for its particular health safety and security laws and regulation. Agriculture sector being the most important is not seen anywhere in the laws and safety regulations. Moreover other than the manufacturing and retail sectors, remaining various sub sectors which comprises for almost 25-30% for employment is not catered for these regulations. [23] 

8.3 Denial of Fundamental Rights

Contrary to the Article 17 of the constitution (which ensures the right to form association or union to every worker), the majority is denied of this right. The Agricultural sector is explicitly denied of the right of association, right to collective bargain, child labour and non discrimination in wages and health and safety. Even if certain laws are available in the form of bonded labour laws (Abolition) Act of 1992 for certain sectors like brick kiln, the implementation is totally lacking. [24] 

8.4 Social Protection for Workforce

Pakistan is one the very few developing countries where the social protection programmes are given the explicit status and it is expected of the state to establish institutions to fulfil this constitutional obligation. Despite of the fact that certain legislations were formed and institutions established but their role to provide social protection to workers remained very marginal. Its scope, design and adequacy remains a question mark when it comes to applicability for work force. Government budget spending remained less than 0.2% in the last few years and not surprisingly none of the programmes included the agriculture and wholesale and retail sector being the major employer sectors in labour force. [25] 

8.5 Lack of Education and Awareness

Several limitations have prevented the development of occupational health and safety culture in the country. The lack of formal education, absence of a any institution for providing training and advisory services, lack of strict requirements by the enforcement agencies for authentic data collection and reporting, lenient enforcement, lack of qualified personnel for inspection services that can recognize and evaluate occupational hazards, lack of Inter-agency coordination at the government level, inadequate funding for OSH programs and limited expertise at the policy making level, as well as illiteracy of the workforce are some of the limiting factors which have inhibited growth of safety culture. These issues need to be addressed before OSH culture can establish its roots in Pakistan.

9. Analysis

Workplace health, safety and security is an age old phenomenon which acquired its strength since mid 20th century. The concept is widely practiced in developed countries and reasonable laws are not only available but also being implemented. Numerous national and international agencies are also doing their part to implement the safety and secure culture for workers across the world. The picture in Pakistan is quite hazy and blur, where either there are no laws for the occupational health and safety and if few available, are not implemented in true letter and spirit. Surprisingly having an agriculture base and majority of the labour force being employed by this sector, ignoring this sector for such laws makes no sense. But still the situation is not that gloomy as quite a few companies like SAPS are practicing the stated laws and caring for the workers health safety and security. The root cause is the absence of a will power on the part of the Pakistani system to implement the rules and regulations.

10. Recommendations for Improving Workplace Health, Safety and Security in Pakistan

10.1 Culture of Implementation through Knowledge

A dire need for Pakistan is the culture of implementation. Though not complete in all aspects but still there are laws and regulations on the subject. This implementation should come from within and not outside. Awareness on the part of employer and employee would bring some positive results. A formally trained and knowledgeable enforcement force is must to bring about the change.

10.2 Role of Management

Management needs to be proactive than reactive in establishing safe and healthy work environment. The management’s concern for the employees health safety and security would not only cut down on the costs of recovery if a happening takes place, rather would give employees a trust on the employers concern about the workforce. This in turn would inculcate a sense of belonging and boosts the morale and motivation of the employees.

10.3 Developing Strategies for Improving Occupational Safety and Health

Every accident or happening has a reason behind. We need to look in to the root causes so the recurrence could be avoided. Every bad happening could be due to accident or due routine exposure to some harmful material. Companies may not realize or in certain case may not know the extent of the exposure or harm that their employees face.

Strategies to improve workplace health and safety

Design

Safe and health systems of work

Exhibit

Strong management commitment

Inspect

Workplace for health and safety problems

Establish

Procedures and controls for dealing with health and safety issues

Develop

Training programmes

Set up

Health and safety committees

Monitor

Safety policies

Draw up

Action plan and checklist

10.4 Risk Mitigation

Modern occupational safety and health legislation usually demands that a risk assessment be carried out prior to making an intervention. This assessment should:

Identify the hazards

Identify all affected by the hazard and how

Evaluate the risk

Identify and prioritize the required actions

The calculation of risk is based on the likelihood or probability of the harm being realized and the severity of the consequences. The object can be ascertained mathematically or as a description of the circumstances by which the harm could arise i.e. qualitative.

10.5 Health Promotion Activities

Health promotion programmes involve activities that are multi dimensional. The number and type of activities used are dependent upon the financial capability of the company concerned. The types of activities that come under the umbrella of health promotion programmes include following approaches:

Smoking cessation-various approaches to encourage quitting and follow-up

Physical fitness centres

Stress management, meditation, relaxation techniques

Nutrition and weight control

Alcohol and drug abuse counselling-rehabilitation

Employee assistance programmes- counselling and referral services.

10.6 Best practices Of EHS by different companies.

Under the guidelines issued by OSHA, there are four basic elements to all good safety and health programs. These could be fruitful if implemented:

Management Commitment and Employee Involvement

The manager or management team leads the way, by setting policy, assigning and supporting responsibility, setting an example and involving employees.

Worksite Analysis

The worksite is continually analyzed to identify all existing and potential hazards.

Hazard Prevention and Control

Methods to prevent or control existing or potential hazards are put in place and maintained.

Training for Employees, Supervisors and Managers

Managers, supervisors and employees are trained to understand and deal with worksite hazards.

10.7 Some Key Principles of a total Safety Culture

Safety should be internally, not externally driven.

Culture changes require people to understand the principles and how to use them.

A total safety culture requires continuous attention to factors in three domains: environment, behaviour and person.

Don’t count on common sense for safety improvement.

Safety incentive programs should focus on process rather than outcomes.

People view behaviour as correct to the degree they see others doing it.

On-the job observation and interpersonal feedback are key to total safety culture.

Behaviour is directed by activators and motivated by consequences.

People compensate for increase in perceived safely by taking more risks.

Stressors lead to positive stress or negative distress, depending on appraisal of personal control.

When people feel empowered, their safe behaviour spread to other situations.

Numbers from program evaluations should be meaning full to all participants.

11. Conclusion

Accidents and diseases at workplace cause great human sufferings every year throughout the world. Safety awareness and implementation at work places needs to be ensured not only by the Government, Organizational top management but also by every worker. The major draw backs for today’s mishaps are low wages, long working hours, poor health and safety conditions and rising trends towards contractual work. The need for more and more efforts is growing for developing countries like Pakistan. Every organization or company has to achieve the bare minimum risk level at workplace. Abiding by the laws, rules, regulations and policies as dished out by the concerned agencies and carefully crafting a safety programme which is proactive in nature rather than reactive is a must.

12. Future Research

APPENDICES

Table 1 Percentage Distribution of Pakistan Population 10 Years above

Age Group

Total Population

Labour Force

Out of Labour

Total

Male

Female

Total

Male

Female

Total

Male

All Ages

100

51.57

48.43

32.81

25.59

7.22

67.19

25.98

10 Years/over

100

51.39

48.61

45.66

35.62

10.04

54.34

15.77

Source: http://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/Labour%20Force/publications/lfs2008_09/t05.pdf

Table 2 Percentage Distribution of Pakistan employees as per wage group, both sexes, major industry

Industry

Total Employees

Up PKR* 1500

PKR 1501-

2500

PKR 2501-4000

PKR 4001 and above

Average monthly income

100

5.89

8.14

17.08

68.89

7635

Agriculture / Forestry

9.3

0.98

2.19

3.06

3.07

4349

Fishing

0.34

0.01

0.02

0.06

2.6

6853

Mining / Quarrying

0.27

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.23

7661

Manufacturing

23.34

2.01

2.04

3.66

15.64

6768

Electricity, Gas And Water Supply

1.92

0.03

0.01

0.06

1.83

12383

Construction

16.9

0.4

0.74

3.82

11.95

6510

Wholesale/retail trade

9.24

0.56

0.96

2.26

5.45

5619

Hotels / Restaurants

1.56

0.06

0.1

0.27

1.13

6209

Transport and Communication

8.43

0.15

0.32

1.14

6.82

8068

Real Estate

1.23

0.02

0.05

0.15

1

11752

Public administration and Social Security

7.78

0.017

0.07

0.28

7.26

11207

Education

10.8

0.7

0.57

0.85

8.67

10424

Health / Social work

2.45

0.1

0.17

0.34

1.84

9889

Community and Social activities

3.82

0.4

0.58

0.88

1.96

6254

Source: http://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/Labour%20Force/publications/lfs2008_09/t16.pdf * 55 Pak Rupees (PKR) equals One Turkish Lira

Table3: Major Causes of Work related Stress

Work related factors

Individual factors

Work overload

Time pressure

Bad relations with supervisor

Lack of communications

Change of work

Ambiguous Role

Frustration

Conflict at work

Job design

Harassment

Financial worries

Marital problems

Pregnancy

Problems with children

Death of spouse

Dual roles

Source: Human Resource Management, 2nd Edition by John Bratton and Jeffery Gold, pg 145