Crest Foam ignored occupational health and safety measures- government
Crest foam workers and relatives of the deceased workers camp at the factory’s main gate as the place was sealed off while the police were carrying out investigations. Photo by Stephen Otage
Kampala. The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development has said Crest Foam, the mattress factory which got burnt on Monday in which six employees died, will face the consequences of ignoring the 2006 Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Talking about the upcoming March 28 deadline for all employers to register their workplaces with the Ministry, at the Uganda Media Centre on Tuesday, Mr Mondo Kyateka, the ministry’s public relations officer, said the ministry has given all employers enough time to comply with the Act but many of them have not responded.
“Come March 28, we are cracking down on all companies that have not registered with us and are not complying with the law. We do not care for as long as you have not complied we shall close you,” he said adding that enough notice was given to all employers to comply with the 2006 law.
“Crest Foam is going to face grave repercussions because as far as we are concerned, they are not registered with us. It is unfortunate that this incident happened at a time we are beginning to enforce the law,” he said.
According Mr Benon Kigenyi, the ministry undersecretary, preliminary investigations indicate that the factory did not have a clean occupational health and safety environment to protect the workers, store the chemicals and approved factory buildings to ensure fire exits and clean working environments.
“It is the responsibility of the employer to take all measures to protect the workers and the general public at their own cost and ensure that the working environment is kept free of any hazards,” he said.
He added that most of the accidents have been happening in workplaces which are not registered with the ministry, contrary to Sections 40 and 42 of 2006 the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
The act
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act 2006, employers are mandated to provide a safe working environment with means to access and escape the place or premises in case of eventualities. The employer is also mandated to display the safety precautions on top of allowing periodical supervision of the place. The Act also mandates employers to make safety measures in consultation with workers associations.
