Employers association sensitises members to occupation safety

 The members of the Ghana Em­ployers Association (GEA) have un­dergone a two-day training workshop in Accra, to sensitise them to issues regarding Occupation Safety Hazard.

At least 100 participants were drawn from the catering, tour­ism, health, transport, education, banking and finance, insurance, manufacturing, petroleum and mining industries.

The event formed part of GEA’s annual training programmes to improve participants’ occupation­al health and safety and hazard assessment.

The Director, Industrial Re­lations, GEA, Joseph Kingsley Amuah, gave the assurance that the association was committed to the creation of good employer-employ­ee relationship at the workplace and ensuring good compliance with labour, and employment legislation.

For him, a number of house training activities were conducted for members in order to develop a competitive workforce with the requisite knowledge, skills and attitude that enhanced business performance and profitability.

“The GEA training aims at equipping participants with the skills essential for success in busi­ness performance,” he stated.

Mr Amuah advised members to prioritise the welfare of workers, in order to increase services and productivity, adding that increase in productivity meant there would be increase in revenue allocation to support government, and increase in wages of workers.

A consultant at Management Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI), Mr Fred Antwi, advised employers to put in place mechanisms to ensure safety at work.

He said the OHS was a broad field of professional practice, which involved specialists from dif­ferent disciplines including but not limited to engineers, occupational health physicians, physical and bi­ological scientists, economists, and statisticians.

Mr Antwi added that preventive systems required to ensure workers were protected from injuries and illnesses dwelt heavily on engineers, explaining that the extent to which the engineer could go regarding planning and implementing pre­ventive measures was dependent on specific legal requirements, leadership commitment from the company, organisation, and the nation.

He said there was the need for employers to identify the areas of opportunities for improvements in OHS management in their outfit with regard to the nation’s legal requirements, commitment of the government, leadership, as well as appropriate structuring of institu­tions responsible for monitoring and managing OHS in Ghana.

 BY BENEDICTA GYIMAAH FOLLEY