I refer to Raphael Vassallo’s Opinion of the 24 May (Crane collapses. So what?).
Yes, I can confirm that OHSA is busy issuing guidelines and codes of practice for the building industry, which have as an over-riding objective the provision of practical guidance on a technical, administrative and legal framework for health and safety in the construction industry. Codes of Practice are also intended to help duty-holders achieve compliance with their legal obligations in protecting workers’ health and safety and third persons that can be affected by the work – they are complimentary to the regulations and standards set in the relevant local occupational health and safety regulations, which include Act XXVII of 2000, L.N. 281 of 2004 and L.N. 36 of 2003. Codes of practice are therefore a necessary tool in helping duty-holders to achieve compliance.
I can also confirm that construction activity receives a lot of attention from OHS Officers – a cursory look by your opinionist at OHSA’s published reports of activities (which are all available online at http://www.ohsa.org.mt/) is ample evidence of the initiatives taken. An excerpt from last year’s report of activities is hereby reproduced:
“It remains the Authority’s current policy to focus on those work activities that give rise to the greatest risk – this effectively means that the Authority cannot satisfy all demands made for enforcement action to be taken. The Authority has also stepped up its actions related to the last step within the hierarchy of available enforcement actions, namely the commencement of judicial proceedings. At the same time, it is also realised that the Officers of the Authority, limited in number as they are, cannot be everywhere all the time, so the Authority periodically carries out inspection campaigns focusing on specific issues.”
Somewhere in the article, it is mentioned that there is lots of talk about the need for an overhaul of safety procedures on construction sites “without, of course, any noticeable outcome.” This cannot be further from the truth. OHSA’s work has one primary objective, that of improving the prevailing standards. There are several measures that can be used to see whether this is being achieved, one of which are the available statistics – let me limit myself to the number of fatal accidents at work – 12 and over annually before 2002, three last year). No noticeable outcome? I disagree.
Mr Vassallo also seems to live on in the misconception that anything concerning building and construction is covered by the OHS Authority Act 2000. There are other principal Acts which fall under the responsibility of other regulatory entities, while there are other duty-holders who are not regulated by OHS legislation, but the failings of whom can still result in accidents. It is for this reason that the OHS Authority has long been recommending that there needs to be a concerted, coordinated approach to building and construction. Despite its apparent value, it does not seem as if OHSA’s recommendation is being favourably considered.
One final comment. Mr Vassallo states that there are different and apparently contradictory regulations involving cranes on building sites. This statement follows an excerpt from a newspaper report which was discussing the Safi crane accident. Nowhere in the original report was it mentioned (or even implied) that there are contradictory OHS regulations concerning crane use. The comment, which was made soon after the actual accident occurred, was intended to highlight the legal complexity (not the contradiction) of the issues at play. In such matters, the OHS Authority is duty bound to investigate all circumstances, and in particular to look at the legal duties of all duty-holders, (and not just those pertaining to the crane operator) before deciding to initiate legal action, and just as importantly, against whom.
Any comments?
If you wish your comments to be published in our Letters pages please click button below. Please write a contact number and a postal address where you may be contacted.
Search:
MALTATODAY
BUSINESSTODAY
Download MaltaToday Sunday issue front page in pdf file format
All the interviews from Reporter on MaltaToday's YouTube channel.
