According to the joint estimates of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), almost two million persons die globally every year due to work-related causes. This is translated into some 5,500 deaths every day or over three deaths every single minute. This is appalling situation reflecting on poor conditions for workers’ safety and health in the less developed as well as in the developed countries. As many as 65 percent of these deaths occur in Asia where there are gross violations of the national and international rules, regulations and practices related to occupational safety and health.
According to the joint estimates of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), almost two million persons die globally every year due to work-related causes. This is translated into some 5,500 deaths every day or over three deaths every single minute. This is appalling situation reflecting on poor conditions for workers’ safety and health in the less developed as well as in the developed countries. As many as 65 percent of these deaths occur in Asia where there are gross violations of the national and international rules, regulations and practices related to occupational safety and health.
In Pakistan, the conditions are worse. Most of the 62 million employed workforce, including females and children, are poor, illiterate, and semi-trained, and thus exposed to various occupational hazards. The working conditions and environment in most of the workplaces are sub-standard and there is no concept of taking preventive and control measures to safeguarding the life and health of workers. Pakistan has history of industrial accidents due to poor infrastructure, lack of safety standards, and laxity on the part of law-enforcing agencies .Every year hundreds of coal miners die in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Every month there are gas cylinder explosions in restaurants or in markets or in passenger vehicles in Punjab and Sindh killing and injuring many persons. On October 21, a boiler exploded at a beverage factory in Lahore killing at least two persons including factory manager whereas several workers were injured. Yet in another case of boiler explosion five workmen were killed and another nine severely injured last year in March. The accident had occurred in a factory in Phoolnagar, Kasur district. In December 2020, boiler explosion in a Karachi icemaking factory had claimed eight deaths and 30 injured.
There is no record keeping and data collection of accidents and incidents that also go mostly unreported, in particular in the unorganized sector that employs two-third of total non-farm workforce. The work culture inhibits the labourers from taking safety precautions, like using protective clothing and equipment, when made available at the premises, and disseminating information about diseases they may acquire at workplace. Thus, practically no reliable statistics are available at the national level regarding work-related accidents, injuries, and diseases.
The Labour Force Survey 2017-18 shows that only three per cent of employed industrial workforce reported occupational injuries/diseases during the year. No backup data or breakdown is given in support. This is under-statement since thousands of workers are routinely forced to work daily in hazardous conditions.
The range and scope of occupational safety and health covers all the industrial, commercial, agricultural, and service sectors, utilities, manufacturing, transport/ communications, hotels/ restaurants, mining/quarrying, construction, the SMEs etc. Nonetheless, the high-risk areas relate to the manufacturing, mining, power generation and transmission, and construction sectors. The major industries like textile, leather, paper, metal, rubber, fertilizer, paint, cement, plastic, and ceramics generate significant environmental hazards, and resultantly cause illnesses and injuries not only to the workers but also to the general public.
Textile industry uses a variety of chemicals for various processes particularly spinning, weaving, knitting, scouring, printing, dyeing, and finishing, which generate noise, dust, and emissions of toxic chemicals--- all injurious to health. Similar is the case with the engineering and iron/steel sector, the second largest industry in terms of employment, where different processes generate dust, smoke, gases etc. Steelmaking requires high use of energy, whereas production and use of energy emits sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide.
The mechanical process involves vibration and noise. Heat treatment, galvanizing and zinc plating are the processes of using hazardous chemicals, and generate, besides dust and gases, dangerous substances such as ammonium, zinc chloride, hydrochloric acid, cadmium etc. and volatile organic compounds from oil. Safety in the use of chemicals is of prime importance, which requires taking special measures at all stages of its handling, storage, transportation, and usage.
Work-related diseases range from tuberculosis in mine workers to carpal tunnel syndrome in computer users. The common diseases are asthma, skin disease, allergies, and stress-related illnesses. Work-related cancer has also been observed in various cases, which results from the unsafe use of chemicals and radioactive materials. Traumatic injuries relate to electrical and construction industry, whereas muscle-skeletal disorders result due to manual lifting and logging operations. Disabilities related to machine operations are common. The use, handling of or exposure to asphalt, bitumen and mineral oil is injurious to health. Internationally, only the occupations and professions like office-work, banking and commerce are considered safer. Shipbreaking, fishery and agriculture, and forestry are considered high-risk sectors, but not given recognition as such. Air and water pollution in workplaces is rapidly growing health problems.
In recent times, an increasing emphasis has been placed worldwide on addressing the issues related to the promotion of basic human rights, social justice, and improvement in labour conditions. Consequently, the promotion of occupational safety and health has assumed greater relevance and significance. As a result, various governments are taking measures to ensure safe and healthy working conditions for workers, through legislation, infrastructure development, institutional mechanism, and capacity-building.
The ILO has adopted several protocols and conventions on the issue. The basic document is the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention 2006, aimed at placing occupational safety and health on the national agenda and lowering the toll of work-related injuries and diseases. Ironically, Pakistan has not ratified this or many other ILO conventions. The list includes C176 Convention on Safety and Health in Mines 1995, C155 Occupational Health and Safety Convention 1981 and its Protocol of 2002, and others. The ILO had signed an agreement in July 2015 to support Pakistan to strengthen its labour inspection system and to promote international labour standards ensuring their compliance by the enterprises. Sadly, the results are not seen.
The government, the employers, and the society, all remain insensitive to the major problems of safety and health. The only exception, however, is the corporate sector, particularly the multinational companies engaged in oil & gas exploration and production activities. Pakistan’s current laws on the subject are obsolete and do not conform to the modern international practices. Also, the numerous laws on the occupational safety and health at federal and provincial levels, instead of a single comprehensive law, result in numerous anomalies and loopholes.
On the other hand, the enforcement of relevant rules, regulations and legislature is not effective, and observance of the employee’s and the employer’s reciprocal rights and obligations is lacking in most cases. Good governance is imperative in this regard. In practice, for example, there is no surveillance at the workplaces by the concerned authorities, and health promotional activities, whatever available, are inadequate.
Pakistan needs to achieve the objectives of socio-economic uplift, to protect and promote human health and safety. This will require consolidating, updating, and revising the relevant laws, and adopting strategies, procedures and standards related to occupational safety and health, and ratifying the corresponding ILO Conventions, on priority basis. And to enforce these effectively.
The writer is retired chairman of the State Engineering Corporation
