Occupational Safety and Health
National dialogue on workplace stress in Uganda
On World Day for Safety and Health, Uganda called for the institution of Occupational Safety and Health at work systems to efficiently combat stress.
28 April 2016
KAMPALA (ILO NEWS) On World Day for Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) at work, the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development together with employees’ and workers’ organizations and the ILO organised a national dialogue with the theme “Workplace Stress, a collective challenge”.
The objective was to promote safety and health of all workers in all sectors in Uganda, for improved economic productivity and national development through raising national awareness about workplace stress and its mitigation.
The dialogue which was officiated by the Head of Public Service and Secretary to Cabinet, Mr John Mitala attracted more than 200 participants from mainly the private sector enterprises, government ministries, employers’ and workers’ organisations and the United Nations Agencies.
In his speech, Mr Mitala highlighted that some of the causes of stress include high expectations in terms of salary, delayed promotions, lack of collective decision making, some areas of work being hard to access, poor remuneration as well as HIV/AIDS. He said some recent mental health studies conducted in Uganda, revealed that in 2013 there were 68% high levels of symptoms for depression, 53% anxiety disorders and 26% post-traumatic stress disorders.
Mr Mitala acknowledged the importance of instituting OSH systems at workplaces, including identifying strategies for mitigating “workplace stress” that is so prevalent among public civil servants, due to the bureaucratic nature of workplace operations.
He urged employers to work closely with workers to enable them cope with stress for them to remain productive. “Employees should be helped to understand OSH issues so to contribute positively to productivity…employers should engage with employees in decision-making processes, giving feedback on their work and be reasonable in their expectations” he stressed.
“Local evidence would be very useful in building a strong case for advocacy and public awareness and to support designing of pro-active and appropriate OSH systems”,he added.
Among the recommendations provided during the dialogue included - building partnerships, building a safety culture among workers, scaling up OSH systems to benefit the informal economy, addressing the perspectives of gender when promoting OSH measures and to integrate OSH in vocational and apprenticeship training and allow for workers to unionize and bargain collectively.
“We need to amend the Employment Act (2006) to obligate employers to allow workers to unionize so as to create legitimacy for compensation in circumstances of occupational mortality or morbidity” one of the female Workers’ representatives, Zambali recommended.
The objective was to promote safety and health of all workers in all sectors in Uganda, for improved economic productivity and national development through raising national awareness about workplace stress and its mitigation.
The dialogue which was officiated by the Head of Public Service and Secretary to Cabinet, Mr John Mitala attracted more than 200 participants from mainly the private sector enterprises, government ministries, employers’ and workers’ organisations and the United Nations Agencies.
In his speech, Mr Mitala highlighted that some of the causes of stress include high expectations in terms of salary, delayed promotions, lack of collective decision making, some areas of work being hard to access, poor remuneration as well as HIV/AIDS. He said some recent mental health studies conducted in Uganda, revealed that in 2013 there were 68% high levels of symptoms for depression, 53% anxiety disorders and 26% post-traumatic stress disorders.
Mr Mitala acknowledged the importance of instituting OSH systems at workplaces, including identifying strategies for mitigating “workplace stress” that is so prevalent among public civil servants, due to the bureaucratic nature of workplace operations.
He urged employers to work closely with workers to enable them cope with stress for them to remain productive. “Employees should be helped to understand OSH issues so to contribute positively to productivity…employers should engage with employees in decision-making processes, giving feedback on their work and be reasonable in their expectations” he stressed.
OSH and labour standards
In his remarks, Mr. David Mawejje, ILO National Project Coordinator who was among the panellists, he underscored ILO’s contribution towards promulgating the International Labour Standards which address safety and Health issues at the workplace, some of which were already ratified by the Government of Uganda. He also noted the lack of data on OSH which plays a key role in enabling better understanding of the magnitude, impact and burden of occupational accidents and diseases.“Local evidence would be very useful in building a strong case for advocacy and public awareness and to support designing of pro-active and appropriate OSH systems”,he added.
Among the recommendations provided during the dialogue included - building partnerships, building a safety culture among workers, scaling up OSH systems to benefit the informal economy, addressing the perspectives of gender when promoting OSH measures and to integrate OSH in vocational and apprenticeship training and allow for workers to unionize and bargain collectively.
“We need to amend the Employment Act (2006) to obligate employers to allow workers to unionize so as to create legitimacy for compensation in circumstances of occupational mortality or morbidity” one of the female Workers’ representatives, Zambali recommended.