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For a while it has been brewing in my mind to write about health and safety issues in this country. This week’s accident at Multigas instigated me further to do so, for three reasons.
One, because it is not clear whether it was gas, as a newspaper reported, or air, as Multigas is insisting. Two, because this incident could have had serious consequences; and three, because, lo and behold… the police decided that there is no need for a magisterial inquiry.
When the police take the decision not to inform the magistrate and ask for a magisterial inquiry, it means that they consider this accident to be of trivial importance and that the findings, if any, will remain behind closed doors. It is true that the Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA) will conduct its internal investigation but its conclusions will not be made public and we will never know who is saying the truth, whether the newspaper or Multigas.
I for one do not agree with the absolute discretion given to the police in deciding when and where to hold a magisterial inquiry, because we have had instances where magisterial inquiries were held for mere trivialities, aimed solely at burdening the duty magistrate with more work and at satisfying the so-called “court experts”.
I hope that the pressure for a magisterial inquiry, currently being exerted by local councils in the vicinity, eventually bears fruit. It is important for all of us to know the exact cause of this explosion, and what measures need to be taken to ensure, as far as possible, that such accidents do not recur. It is no saving grace to argue, as some newspapers did, that the workmen were having their break when the accident happened. Still less is the lack of victims any justification for the lack of a magisterial inquiry.
The public wants to know what caused the explosion because there is the safety of the Multigas workers at stake, and also that of the workers at ST Microelectronics nearby. This means the country’s economy is also in the balance, as half of our exports come from ST. And of course, there is also the safety of the surrounding villages to bear in mind. This is why a magisterial inquiry is paramount in this case, because we must set our mind at rest that everything is under control.
I do not know how many inspections are carried out by the Health and Safety Authority on this and similar sites. In fact I wonder if it can conduct any at all, bearing in mind that the authority is being run on skeleton staff. There are only three senior managers, four principal officers, one scientific officer, and one officer to take care of the whole country. I assume that in places that are more accident-prone, no business or activities can be carried out unless the Authority certifies on a yearly basis that these places comply with health and safety regulations. I wish I am right in my assumption; perhaps the Authority may wish to reassure us that this is so, by informing us when it last issued certificates to these businesses.
Meanwhile, it seems that regulations on health and safety either do not apply to Gozo Channel vessels, or are simply not enforced. As a result, highly inflammable liquid is being allowed on the ferry with passengers on board, without any certification being required by the Gozo Channel authorities. Mind you, I am told that the personnel on Gozo Channel ferryboats are not even trained to identify such cargo. Therefore the freight will continue to take place until, God forbid, an accident occurs on one of these vessels. Only then will we start panicking.
I am also told that certain nightspots are apparently immune to health and safety and to the police. In certain places there are no emergency exists should a fire break out. I am not familiar with the issue of trading licenses and I am not sure if the applicant has to produce a valid MEPA permit as one of the conditions of the licence; but I am sure that a health and safety certification is not a requisite for the condition of the licence. This should no longer be the case, because but when accidents happen because of our own gross negligence, than they can no longer be called accidents, but death traps.
I hope I am not accused of undermining their business, or of being biased because I conduct the occasional professional service to Multigas’ main competitor. I assure you that this is not the case. In effect, what I want to see is that health and safety rules are introduced and respected in all places of work and of entertainment, so that human lives can be safeguarded and not needlessly lost. I invite the Occupational Health and Safety Board, which is also made up of representatives of Malta’s two major trade unions, to do something about it, and fast.
We have also had another worker losing his life this week. He happened to be an Enemalta employee. I have my doubts if OHSA considers government places of work, or other places of work where the government still has control, to be on its agenda. I say this because at the law courts, there are many offices where workers spend most of their day that are surely not fit for humans. Suffice it to mention the mediation rooms and offices at the Family Court and the archives section, most of which have no ventilation. And yet, they seem to get an OK from the health and safety authority, as well as from the workers’ union representatives.
In a way, this week’s accidents may prove a blessing in disguise, acting as an eye-opener to address the crisis that exists in the health and safety sphere in Malta. We preach health and safety, and the members of the authority are all self-righteous about this (remember them on Bondiplus? None of them lifted a finger against the depletion of resources at the authority), and yet they fail to address the real issues. We cannot have an efficient occupational health and safety authority without proper manning, and a mechanism to ensure compliance and enforcement of regulations.
A good Occupational Health and Safety Authority must work as a catalyst, be impartial and treat government and non-government entities equally, and not just wait for an accident to happen to start to do something. I hope the authority will publish its report after the inquiry is conducted at Multigas, and I also hope that the duty magistrate will receive a call requesting him to start a magisterial inquiry.
Otherwise, it would set a dangerous precedent for all concerned.
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