EDITORIAL - Where do unions stand on workplace safety?

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has defined occupational health as a multidisciplinary activity aimed at the protection and promotion of the health of workers by preventing and controlling occupational diseases and accidents. It also includes in the definition eliminating occupational factors and conditions hazardous to health and safety at work and also refers to the development and promotion of healthy and safe work.

It is patently clear that the connection between the worker's physical and mental health and his/her personal and social well-being is not well understood by many stakeholders in Jamaica, including our labour unions.

The evidence to support this statement can be found in the seeming lack of interest by unions in seeing to the swift passage of occupational safety legislation. When we consider this against the background of silence by the union in the face of recent worksite deaths, it is puzzling, to say the least. No job is a good job unless it is a safe job.

These concerns have been brought into public focus by Jamaica Occupational Health Professionals Association (JOHPA) - notwithstanding the new developments in the deaths of two National Water Commission subcontract workers - which is dedicated to providing public education on worker health and safety.

A little history is in order here. The union movement is grounded in activism. We recall the leadership of National Hero Sir Alexander Bustamante and others during the 1938 strikes by all categories of employees - sugar workers, dockworkers, longshoremen and farm workers - seeking better wages and improved workplace conditions.

Many benefits now being enjoyed, such as paid holidays, minimum wages, and pension funds, were won through activism. And in more recent years, we have even seen scaremongering tactics and intimidation employed by unions to press home their demands. In some instances, union activities have played out to the detriment of workers and the community.

An unfair statement?

The point we want to stress is that Jamaica's unions are usually unyielding, vocal and strident in their representation, even when the employer is not able to meet those demands.

How then can we explain the trade unions' lack of interest in occupational safety, as JOHPA charges? There are more than 100 occupational diseases which have been classified in the 10th edition of the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. Workers confront various hazards at the workplace, ranging from physical factors to chemical and biological threats. Maintenance workers, construction workers, gardeners and electricians are often exposed to dangerous situations.

Without legislation, the employer is not obliged to provide the proper equipment and training for these workers who are exposed to life-threatening hazards. Some of these dangers, like exposure to asbestos, and smoking, only reveal themselves decades later.

Like JOHPA, we urge the unions to step up to the plate and make their voices heard in a matter of national concern. We also suggest here that the legislation should also have provisions to protect whistle-blowers who may want to report lapses in the workplace environment but fear reprisal and dismissal.

There are not many occupational therapists in Jamaica, which may also point to the low priority given to the positive impact of a safe and clean work environment. We urge our tertiary institutions and the academic community to consider offerings in the subject so that Jamaicans may come to develop a culture of safety and keep fatalities and injuries to a minimum.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

EDITOR'S NOTE:

Yesterday's editorial on Bernice Lake stated that she lived most of her life in Jamaica. She, in fact, lived mainly in Antigua. We apologise for the error.