The Directorate of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSHS) is urging industrial employers to establish a fund that will help them ease the burden of workman compensation claims.
DOSHS is an arm of the Ministry of Labour tasked with ensuring occupational safety and health of workers.
The call comes up as DOSHS is ramping up safety inspections, examinations, approvals, trainings and investigations with the goal of reaching minimum levels of work related injuries and occupational diseases.
Speaking during a tour of Bamburi Cement’s Nairobi Grinding Plant in Athi River, Dr. Musa Nyandusi, the Secretary of Occupational Safety and Health said, “A fund that is administered correctly will shield employers in the unfortunate events of accidents. Workers in industries move from one factory to another which exposes them to a range of occupational diseases. Industrial unity is called upon from the employers’ side.”
“We take every precaution to protect them from all forms of harm as we are committed to the safety of our people and visitors to our sites through well-structured guidelines and tools to ensure this,” said Bamburi Cement CEO, Seddiq Hassani during the event to mark the close of the company’s health, safety and environmental (HSE) days campaign.
The month-long campaign engages the community on activities to enhance health, safety and environment. This includes road safety training for boda boda riders and school children, environmental clean-up and tree planting activities.
“Health and Safety is Bamburi Cement’s number one priority and every employee is given a responsibility to ensure work is carried out safely,” added Mr. Hassani. He thanked employees for the many innovations they had come up with during the campaign to eliminate hazards.
During the month, the company ran a Find it, Fix it campaign to challenge internal staff to find any safety gaps and propose solutions as a way to create proactive involvement in finding safety solutions.