12 people dead at the workplace: PN calls for a clear set of health and safety standards

The Nationalist Party said that the death of 12 people at the workplace over the last months, indicated the need for an improved and clear set of health and safety practices at work.

In a statement on Saturday, PN Labour Spokesperson Ivan Castillo and PN Planning Spokesperson Stanley Zammit said the party met with the Malta Occupational Safety and Health Practitioners Association (MOSHPA), which is primarily composed of experienced and qualified professionals in the area.

MOSHPA seeks to improve the health and safety standards in all work sectors, not just in construction.     

“MOSHPA explained the current issues where Project Supervisors are being accused of not taking their responsibility seriously, and the fact that they are being blacklisted for carrying out their job diligently,” PN said. It added that project supervisors were being treated as criminals for performing their duties and for seeking guidance whenever necessary.

PN insisted that the Occupational Safety and Health Authority (OHSA) offers guidance and provides Project Supervisors with clear solutions to those issues raised in the “absence of clear and legal standards and guidance”.

“It was shocking to discover that whenever they sought guidance on what to do when clients or contractors did not follow their instructions, these supervisors were being scrutinised by the same authority as if they were not doing their job instead,” PN said.

The party called for immediate improvements in occupational health and safety practices, highlighting how 12 people lost their lives on duty over the past months.

“This clearly indicates that current practices need to be revised or amended in line with today's needs and with high health and safety standards.”

PN said that the authority should have a clear set of working practices, which were accessible and communicated in the clearest possible way, in order to guide project supervisors in their assessment and decisions.

Castillo and Zammit said that project supervisors should be empowered with more authority to halt works wherever hazards existed and report such stoppage notices to the OHSA, the only legal structure that was able to issue fines and close sites.

“OHSA needs to work more closely with health and safety professionals if we really want to see improvements in occupational health and safety practices. A situation where Project Supervisors are being left alone by OHSA is unacceptable.”

PN suggested that project supervisors are involved from the design stage, in order to ensure that all health and safety measures were included in the method statement and implemented from the earliest stages of the project even before the contractor was selected.

“This not only ensures that the building is safer when measures are implemented but it also covers a higher value to a building,” PN said.

“If we really want to make sure we have safer workplaces and buildings, we have to design and implement safety in all processes. Project supervisors who should be the extended arm of OHSA should be recognised, empowered and given better tools to be able to carry out their duties.”