Biteko wants zero death at workplaces

ARUSHA: DEPUTY Prime Minister and Minister for Energy Dr Doto Biteko has told employers in the country to keep zero death record on their books saying even one death on our society is unacceptable.

Dr Biteko made the call on Sunday during the climax of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work which aims to promote the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases globally held at General tyre ground in Arusha City.

The ILO announces a different theme or topic every year on this occasion. For 2024, the theme is to focus on ensuring safety and health at work in a changing climate, which reveals new data on the impact of climate change on workers’ safety and health.

The Deputy Prime Minister directed that the employers should make sure that at any cost they protect their employees from deaths resulting from their occupational activities.

“Employers must stop looking on death statistics in terms of numbers. Think of the family which has lost their loved one, this is total loss and can’t be compensated,” he said.

Dr Biteko disclosed that climate change has affected millions of workers across the globe by causing disabilities, poverty and deaths among the workers. He called for concerted efforts to mitigate the impacts.

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He said currently the world is facing impacts related to climate change, saying that rising ocean temperatures had brought negative impacts to humans such as floods, high temperature and drought.

He said globally about 23 million people have been affected by climate related hazards at workplaces and about 18.9 million deaths have been reported. He also urged Occupational Safety and Health Authority (OSHA) staff to be creative and innovative so as to avoid conflicts with employers when they visit their workplaces for inspection.

“You need to create good relations with employers in order to avoid conflicts. Refrain from being intimidators and avoid policing,” he said.

On her part, OSHA’s Chief Executive Officer Khadija Mwenda urged all employers across the country including those in the informal sector to introduce workplace safety and health systems, saying safe and healthy environment was fundamental right of all workers.

She said OSHA will continue supporting the government by supervising and creating awareness on how to protect manpower at workplaces.

“We promise to continue to be responsible for the benefit of the country. We will also adhere to international safety and health standards as set by International Labour Organisation (ILO),” she said.

Also, the representative from the Trade Union Congress of Tanzania (TUCTA), Ms Juliana Mpanduki, on behalf of TUCTA’s president said at many workplaces in the country there were many risk indicators which threaten the lives of workers.

She said OSHA must conduct countrywide inspections to industries, machines, safety and health systems and do workers’ diagnosis in order to know their condition.