ABSTRACT
Most African countries are
noted for poor occupational health and safety practices. In spite of the
numerous occupational health and safety advances in recent years, several
occupational accidents, hazards and incidence plaque most African countries,
including Ghana. This study examines problems and issues related to
Occupational Health and Safety at AngloGold Ashanti Iduapriem Gold Mine Ghana
Limited, Tarkwa. The findings revealed that though the occupational health and
safety policies of the company were adequate and upheld to many of the times,
there are reported cases of accidents and incidents which appear on the
ascendancy. Recommendations arising out of the study include the need for top
personnel of the mining company to strengthen measures to ensure health and
safety at the work premises and increase training programmes on health and
safety policies for its new employees and refresher courses for serving staff.
Stratified sampling as well as random sampling techniques was adopted for the
study to select two hundred (200) persons selected across all sections of the
company. It was made up of 40 senior members and 160 junior members of staff.
As a result of the many different sections of the Company, the researcher used
a cross-sectional approach as a research design to capture the practice and
views in all sections at a given time.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
Business entities in today’s competitive environment are
constantly struggling with revolutionary trends in terms of accelerating
product and technological changes, global competition, deregulation and
demographic changes, and the apparent need to survive by implementing policies
and programmes to cope with the ever changing work environment. The issue of
safe and conducive workplace environment has been given prominence in recent
times because labour experts believe that occupational health and safety
measures are pre-requisites for continuance of industrial production (Cole,
2014).
The mining sector is one of the world’s most hazardous
sectors which make people working in the mines to be exposed to various
physical, chemical, mechanical, biological, and psychosocial risk factors
(Amponsah-Tawiah K. & Justice Mensah 2016). According to Owiredu (2014)
Ghana is one of the West African countries that have become a preferred
destination for mineral investment, with the legitimate mining industry
accounting for more than 49% of the country’s gross foreign exchange earnings.
Mining activities, however, present not only economic opportunities for the country
but also major challenges, particularly in the area of occupational health and
safety (OHS) for employees in this sector (Amponsah-Tawiah et al., 2016). The
importance of healthy workplaces are increasingly being recognized as a broad
concept influencing quality of life at the individual level to substantial
impacts on public health at the societal level (Helliwell J. F, & Putnam R.
D., 2014).
OHS is a multidisciplinary concept that concentrates on the
promotion of health, safety, and welfare of people engaged in work or
employment (Bhagawati, 2013). According to Amponsah-Tawiah et al (2011)
occupational health and safety encapsulates the mental, emotional, and physical
well-being of the worker in relation to the conduct of his/her work and, as a
result, marks an essential subject of interest impacting positively on the
achievement of organizational goals. Available data reveal startling and
tremendously high rates of work-related deaths and injuries in both developed
and developing nations (Gyekye, 2007). According to the International Labour
Organization, (ILO), 2.3 million people die each year owing to work-related
accidents or illness, and 350,000 of these deaths are attributable to
occupational accidents. Additionally, the ILO estimates that there are 264
million non-fatal accidents each year that result in work-related illnesses,
leading to approximately 3 days of absence from work (ILO, 2015).
According to Seo, D. C., Torabi, M. R., Blair, E. H., &
Ellis, N. T. (2016) industries, especially those in developing countries are
suffering enormous economic and personnel costs as a result of injuries and
diseases related to work. ILO (2015) revealed that the everyday occurrence of
860,000 occupational accidents with either a direct or indirect cost for
occupational illnesses and accidents is estimated at $2.8 trillion worldwide.
However, despite these startling global figures on
occupational health and safety, only a small number of empirical research
studies on occupational health and safety have been conducted in sub-Saharan Africa
specifically, Ghana, where majority of the citizens are engaged in jobs
classified hazardous such as mining, quarrying, lumbering, farming, and fishing
(Gyekye, 2007). Arguably, few studies have examined the relationship between
occupational health and safety management and employee commitment, particularly
in the mining industry.
The subject of occupational health and safety management in
the mining sector is on the rise because of the increasing demand for minerals
and the high-risk factors associated with it. The case for employees and
organizations is that, according to Demba E., Ceesay O. M., & Mendy G. D.
(2011) the rates of industrial and occupational injury-related deaths and
disabilities are on the rise in developing nations. As a result, the mining
sectors of these mineral-endowed developing countries are highly prone to these
occupational injury-related deaths and disabilities. This affects employees’
attitudes and intentions toward their organization. Occupational health
programmes are thus primarily concerned with the prevention of ill health
arising from workplace conditions, whereas safety programmes deal with the
prevention of accidents and with minimizing the resulting loss and damage to
lives and properties (Adeniyi, 2010). Boyle (2017) posits that the process of
managing occupational health and safety is the same as other management
activities, but the distinction lies in the complex nature of occupational
health and safety. However, according to Cooper (2015), the management of OHS
is in many respects exactly the same as managing productivity or other
functional areas of operations. This shows that the management of safety at the
workplace is not just about prevention of repetitions of accidents that have already occurred but rather must be
integrated into the general management system that relates to quality
management and protection of the working person and the environment.
Hayes B. E., Perander J., Smecko T., & Trask J. (2014)
proposed five constructs of assessing workplace safety. These authors are of
the view that management commitment to safety, supervisors’ safety practices,
co-worker safety practices, job safety, and safety programs are some of the
critical issues that could be looked at in terms of safety at the workplace.
Steenkamp and Van Schoor (2012) rightfully mentioned that occupational health
and safety is a complex international problem for management and society, and
that it must always be a top management priority. Management commitment plays
an important role in all aspects of safety intervention (Steenkamp R. & Van
Schoor A., 2012). Management commitment to safety indicates the extent to which
the organization’s top management demonstrates positive and supportive safety
attitudes toward their employees’ safety (Hsu, 2014). Yule S., Flin R., &
Murdy A. (2014) noted that employees’ perception of dedicated management’s
action to safety resulted in accident reduction. Ali H., Abdullah N., &
Subr C. (2016) also argued that management safety practices as well as
commitment to safety play an effective role in reducing workplace injuries.
Geldart S., Smith C., Shannon C., & Lohfeld L. (2013), in a study on
Canadian manufacturing firms, also found that administrative policies,
practices, and attitudes have a direct positive impact on safety in the
workplace.
Additionally, supervisors are normally seen as one of the key
elements in health and safety management at the workplace in ensuring safety
compliance and safety participation (Gyekye 2007). In their study, Yule S.,
Flin R., & Murdy A. (2014) noted that employees conformed to safety rules
and procedures when they perceived that the action of their supervisor is fair
and congruent with organization policy on safety. Supervisors’ safety practices
describe the extent to which a supervisor keeps track of unsafe practices as
well as acknowledges the workers who adopt safe work behaviours. Another
interesting element in health and safety management that could be used to
increase safety performance at the workplace is co-worker safety practices.
Co-worker safety concerns the extent to which workers perceive their colleagues
as valuing safety. According to Ford and Tetrick (2013), employee behaviours at
work and personality variables contribute, directly or indirectly, to
accidents. Safety behavior encompasses all activities undertaken by individuals
in their workplace to ensure their personal safety, the safety of their
coworkers, and the safety of their organization at large. Ford and Tetrick
(2013) asserted that workers’ safety-oriented behaviour can be scaled up by the
extent to which they engage in actions that promote safety and avoid those that
decrease safety.
Job safety shows the extent to which job duties do not pose
threats or unhealthy consequence(s) on the health and safety of employees.
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (2014), job
safety analysis is a technique that focuses on job tasks as a way to identify
hazards before they occur. It focuses on the relationship between the worker,
the task, the tools, and the work environment. Gyekye (2007) explains job safety as a measure
of the degree of safety inherent in a job assignment. Job safety looks at how
employees are well informed on hazards and risk associated with job description
and measures implemented to curtail or eradicate those hazards and risk. Health
and safety programs consist of clearly defined actions to implement the health
and safety training and policies. Safety training and safety policies are
essential determinants of safety performance. Safety training is defined as the
knowledge of safety given to employees in order for them to work safely and
with no danger to their well-being (Law, W. K., Chan A. H. S., & Pun K. F.
2011). Likewise, Lin and Mills (2010) found that clear policy statements and
safety training played an important role in reducing accident rates. Earlier
studies indicated a link between safety training and increased safety
performance (Huang, 2011). Consequently, effective training assists workers to
have a sense of belonging and thus, be more accountable for safety in their
workplace. In addition, Vassie and Lucas (2017) indicated that safety programs
are crucial to all workers and an important aspect of effective health and
safety management.
Cole (2013) posits that employees who are healthy and feel
safe at work are those who can fully invest their capabilities and exploit the
best of their potentials to work. Similarly, Sinclair R., Tucker J. S., Wright,
C. & Cullen J. C. (2017) are of the view that when organizations fail to
address poor working conditions such as health and safety issues, workers are
more likely to judge the costs of staying with the firm as exceeding the costs
of leaving. Grawitch M. J., Trares S., & Kohler J. M. (2016) explored the relationship
between employee satisfaction with different workplace practices (i.e.,
employee involvement, growth and development, work-life balance, recognition,
health and safety) and employee outcomes (i.e., organizational commitment,
emotional exhaustion, mental wellbeing, and turnover intentions). Overall,
regression results indicated that satisfaction with healthy workplace practices
was predictive of employee outcomes. In China, Siu (2012) found a positive
relationship between affective commitment and physical wellbeing of employees.
To have committed employees, management must show concern for the health,
safety, and welfare of people engaged at work.
Further, the Labour Act of 2003 (Act 651) of the Republic of
Ghana apparently directs employers and employees in their roles and
responsibilities in managing Occupational Health, Safety and Environment in the
nation, however, the Act is not specific about whom to report accidents and
occupational illnesses to. It does not specify what to consider as an
occupational illness. It does not also specify as to who is responsible for
ensuring that industries in Ghana implement corrective actions (Gyekye, 2007).
Accidents that occur in factories are expected to be reported
to the Department of Factory Inspectorate (DFI) but companies hardly report
such events to the Inspectorate for investigation and correction. In situations
where accidents are reported, it takes a long time before corrective or
preventive actions are implemented; hence, there is a little or no positive
effect of the action of the DFI on the factories (ILO, 2015).
Dorman (2016) reported that every manager and employee wants
a healthy and safe work environment. Most organisations fail to protect their
workers fully as part of cost-cutting measures, which finally results in
numerous accidents at work places, and work-related diseases. In spite of the
changes in technology and the creation of awareness, the Ghanaian worker still
faces health and safety hazards such as excessive heat, dust, noise, exposure
to dangerous equipment, spillage, etc. hence most workers work under fear
(Gyekye, 2007). The aforementioned state of events can be attributed to the
non-enforcement of existing occupational health and safety laws and government
inability to ensure adherence to ILO conventions (Annan, 2010).
It is vital for companies to have efficient health and safety
services for their employees to promote and maintain the highest level of
physical, mental and social well-being. Apart from a few multi-national
companies that provide a whole range of health services to their staff,
comprehensive occupational health and safety services are not norms in Ghana as
most companies aim at providing care for ill-health but ignore the preventive
aspect of this problem (Annan, 2010).
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