The Ministry of Labour and Social Security says it is optimistic that the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act will be enacted before the end of this financial year, after the Bill is re-tabled, following consultations with the chief parliamentary counsel, attorney general and the Legal Reform Department.

In May 2019 Prime Minister Andrew Holness had said that the Bill, which was before a joint select committee at the time, was expected to be passed in Parliament by December 2019. But up until the dissolution of Parliament in August 2020, ahead of the September 3 General Election, state minister in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security Zavia Mayne, said the committee was unable to fully review the Bill.

“Between the first sitting of the joint select committee on November 21, 2018, and the dissolvent of Parliament in August 2020, the committee concluded 39 sittings. The committee was able to review the Bill’s 224 clauses. However, it was unable to review the accompanying 10 schedules as well as a number of clauses that it had intended to revisit,” Mayne said last week at the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech) annual Production and Operations Management Conference, held under the theme ‘Workplace Safety and Wellness’.

“The OSH Bill is the means by which the Government has sought to bridge this divide. The OSH Bill is an important pillar in the Government of Jamaica’s attainment of the strategic priority of creating a local environment, characterised by inclusive and sustainable economic growth, productivity, job creation and overall prosperity.”

The OSH Bill was tabled in Parliament in April 2017, and was referred thereafter to a joint select committee for consideration. Despite the unfinished review, Mayne said the committee made substantial decisions and recommendations that have been documented.

“It has been decided that since the joint select committee deliberations were at an advanced stage, it will be prudent to incorporate some of the decisions and recommendations into a revised version of the Bill for tabling once more. The ministry has prepared a draft to Cabinet submission, and is currently in consultation with the office of the chief parliamentary counsel, the Attorney General’s Chambers and the Legal Reform Department to have the contents settled before submitting to Cabinet for their approval.”

Marlon Mahon, senior director of OSH at the ministry, said the “major areas of revision” for the Bill include: Safety and Health Duties, Incident Notification, Discriminatory, Coercive and Misleading Conduct and Administration of Safety and Health.

Mahon said there is a cost to employers, employees and the Government when OSH aren’t observed.

“Loss of income for the worker and his family, which is especially of major concern in cases where the worker is the main bread winner for the household. As it relates to employers, there is high insurance for medical and personal injury. There is also the loss in production time. At the level of the Government, the accidents and injuries strain the service delivery of the health sector as well as maintenance of hospitals and health care facilities.”

According to the minister, the Bill, among other things, seeks to repeal the Factories Act of 1943 and its attendant regulations which are limited in scope and workplace coverage, and to replace it with a more comprehensive legislation that establishes modern safety and health standards for all workplaces.

He said that the Factories Act of 1943 was passed at a time when there was “heavy mechanisation” complemented by a large complement of labour. Now, he contrasted, Jamaica has transitioned into a more service-oriented economy.

“And as such, the industries of work that offer services are not covered by the Factories Act of 1943. So, the new Bill that we are seeking to introduce, what it does, it repeals the specific Act of 1943 and it is more broad based and comprehensive, and it will apply to all places of work,” said Mayne.

Citing approximately 340 million global work accidents, and 160 million workers suffering from work-related illnesses yearly, Mayne said the statistics were extremely worrisome.

“Yearly, occupational injuries and illnesses have a significant human cost and ultimately impacts workplace productivity. We must all recognise our collective responsibility to strive towards eliminating occupational accidents, injuries and illnesses.

“We can do so by ensuring that all workplaces are safe and healthy. Multiple global research publications demonstrate the direct correlation between greater levels of productivity in workplaces that have adopted a culture of save and healthy work practices, versus those that have scant regard for safety,” he said.

Holistic well-being, he added, is a key factor in driving productivity.

“Health and safety is a necessary condition for well-being in the place of work. Wellness reduces absenteeism and reduces instances where persons do not perform to their full ability at work, due to illness or exhaustion.”

In line with the Jamaica Productivity Centre, labour productivity has declined by an annual average of 0.6 per cent between 2000 and 2019. A notable increase in productivity, however, has been evident in some industries such as agriculture, electricity, water supply, hotel and communication.

Mayne noted that promoting wellness to improve productivity requires engaging in training and investment, among other things. He added that the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, through the Jamaica Productivity Centre, offers supports to organisations that are looking for “creative an defective ways” to introduce productivity enhancing measures that do not interfere with the health and safety of workers.

“This needs to be a key part of the management of operational practices. Implementing practices and management practices to improve productivity are important, but this must not be implemented without consideration of workplace safety. In some cases, performance-based pay has been found to be linked to an increase in workplace injury and ultimately lower productivity.”

Further, Mayne underscored various costly and reactionary practices that burden business financially, because of disregard for operational safety.

“These include the need to pay overtime, excessive employment, incident triggered training programmes, employee turnover waste, loss production time, reduced productivity, repair of damages and downtime. Unacceptable and unsafe work conditions are a recipe for lower profits and missed opportunities.”