This write-up is aimed at identifying the key issues of occupational health and safety in Pakistan, highlighting the deficient health and safety laws, and framing some suggestions to the Government for reducing occupational hazards. Occupational safety and health cover all facets of health and safety at work and place a big emphasis on preventing dangers before they happen. Its objective is to minimize accidents and injuries caused by work-related activities. The absolute physical, social, and mental well-being of the workers at the workplace is the goal of OSH, according to the International Labor Organization and the World Health Organization.
Employers are primarily responsible for the occupational safety and health of their employees, according to the ILO Standards on Occupational Safety and Health. They are in charge of carrying out risk analyses and setting up business operations with safety as the top priority. Governments are required to establish the foundations that allow employers to offer adaptable workplace safety management strategies. Especially where firms rely on relationships with international customers, OHS performance is essential to reputation management.
Referring to the worldwide heterogeneities, poor and undeveloped economies lag behind in terms of OHS, leading to high rates of fatalities and injuries. More than 270 million workers are injured during workplace activities each year, and an estimated 160 million have illnesses related to their jobs, according to ILO recent data. 2.2 million people die each year as a result of work-related accidents or illnesses.
Despite official laws and regulations for occupational health and safety being developed by the Pakistani government, there are numerous obstacles to their implementation. Poor OHS standards are one of the key contributors to the decent work deficit in Pakistan at both formal and informal workplaces, according to recent ILO assessments. Furthermore, the vast majority of big businesses aren’t even familiar with OHS enforcement, settings, and procedures. This is the cause of the organizational level lack of emphasis given to OHS risks and hazards, which ignores the necessity of dealing with these concerns.
There is a central guideline based on OSH problems in Chapter 3 of the Factories Act, 1934. The Hazardous Occupations Rules, 1963 are a part of the factories Act, 1934. Currently, all of Pakistan’s provinces only partially adhere to these rules. While the rest of the world complies with occupational exposure limits, these regulations are outdated and primarily contain technical standards. The country needs new laws developed and put into effect, and the outdated ones need to be amended.
Another law, the Pakistan OHS Act 2018, was passed with the intention of giving employees a safe and secure environment at work. However, because Pakistan lacks the necessary infrastructure and OSH-related legislation, implementing these regulations in the country’s current work environment is still a challenge. Considering the labor market profile of Pakistan, the recent estimates reveal that 2.7 million of the employed population (61.7 million) experienced an injury at work with an injury rate of 3.7%.
Occupational accidents not only inflict workers and their families great suffering, but they also have enormous financial repercussions for businesses, nations, and the entire world. Around 3.94 percent of the yearly global GDP is lost due to compensation, missed workdays, delayed production, training and reconversion costs, and medical expenses. Early retirements can be expensive for employers, and they must also deal with absenteeism, skill loss, and excessive insurance costs. However, many of these accidents can be avoided if sound prevention, reporting, and inspection procedures are followed. Governments, businesses, and employees can adopt these procedures and guarantee the highest level of workplace safety with the help of ILO standards for occupational safety and health.
Effective policies must be put in place by the Pakistani government in order to improve both the working environment and the well-being of the workforce. It is necessary to create an OHS ombudsman who will keep track of reported incidents, log complaints about inspector misconduct, assess OHS law provisions for improvement, and lead training and skill-building sessions like firefighting, first aid, and emergency safety drills. The three tiers of this ombudsman might be federal, provincial, and district.
The government should strengthen the judiciary and other law enforcement agencies in accordance with the principles of human rights and international labor standards, and reform any labor laws that are incompatible with these standards. Additionally, the labor administration and inspection system should be strengthened. The use of personal protective equipment should be made mandatory. Every worker should know how to wear them and what is the purpose of using them. Companies ought to be required to create Health, Safety, and Environment department within their business.
