Labour minister pitches for safer work places
By Reuben.Mwambingu, December 9, 2022Labour Cabinet Secretary Florence Bore (right) has decried a shortage of health and safety inspectors at most workplaces and informal settlements.
Addressing the press at a Mombasa hotel, Bore said there were less than 140 inspectors, adding that there was a deficit of 250 inspectors.
She said the situation is undermining the government’s efforts to ensure that every workplace is free of hazards and “complies with the Work, Health and Safety Regulations. Safety inspectors have wide-ranging powers to help them fulfill their functions through the Directorate of Occupational Safety and Health Services,” said Bore.
According to the CS, the Directorate has a duty to ensure that every workplace is free of hazards. “Its services include, but are not limited to, registration of workplaces, registration of plants, registration of approved persons and institutions, workplace inspection and audits, examination and testing of plants, accident investigation and Work Injury Benefits Act processing,” she said, adding that the government should employ 250 more inspectors. She urged employers to comply with health and safety standards.
The Directorate’s secretary, Dr Musa Nyandusi, said growth of the unregulated, informal sector has equally made it difficult to enforce the Work Health and Safety Regulations, adding that 86 per cent of workplaces in Kenya are informal and unregulated.
“For example, a person employed in a small café to chop vegetables; it is difficult to inspect whether they are working in a safe environment”, he said.