Session onOccupational Safety & Health

Flow of the Presentation

Labor Laws

Discussion

Occupational Hazards

Accidents

Pakistan Industries

Benefits

Background

Introduction to OSH/ISH

What is ISH/OSH

• It is the inter-relationship between the people at work, the tasks they do and the environment in which the tasks are carried out

• It is the field that ensures– Workers safety and healthy being– The related laws and regulations are enforced

Background• During and after World War I, Industrial Revolution occurred

– rapid introduction of new industries– Increasing demand of products and production activities– Indiscriminate hiring of workers to run the manufacturing processes

• This brought about– Poor and unsafe working conditions– serious dangers not anticipated– exposure to various occupational diseases and serious accidents aggravated

by endemic diseases like malnutrition, worm infestation, malaria and others

• Hence the origin of Occupational Health as means of protecting the health and welfare of employees

Benefits

• A safe work place ensures less accidents• Keeps the workers focused on the tasks rather

than worry about chances of mishaps• Increases productivity and efficiency of workers• Managing the work force becomes easy and the

workers remain motivated• A healthy and sound worker is an asset and

contributes towards economic development of organisation

Types of Industries in Pakistan

• Agriculture– 17,518,204 labor force employed

• Manufacturing– 6,005,487 workers

• Service– 10,586,309 working

• Statistics as of year 201151%

18%

31%

Accidents – Sector wise

• Pakistan Board of Statistics (PSB): Labor Force Report FY 2010-11

Agricu

lture

Manufac

turing

Constructi

on

wholesale

retai

l & tr

ade

transp

ort & co

mmunicaton

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

49.8

16.814

11.38.1

Occupational Hazards & Injuries

• Agriculture• Manufacturing• Services Industry

Types of Occupational Hazards

• Biological– biohazard means those infective agents presenting

a risk of death, injury or illness to employees• Physical– External environmental factors that directly affect

the physical well being of employees• Chemical• Ergonomic

Agriculture – Some basic info

• Agriculture has an est. 45% of the total work force population– 66% are females– 25% are children

• GDP contribution – 21% (2011-12)• They are made to do work in the most abject of

conditions– No proper safety procedures are followed– Mostly illiterate so don’t have awareness of

occupational hazards

Agricultural Health Hazards

• Biological hazards– Diseases transmitted by animals during caring and

handling of animal products and wastes• Examples of such health problems include: anthrax,

brucellosis, bovine tuberculosis, bird flu

– Parasitic diseases• malaria, skin rashes

– Allergic diseases• asthma, byssinosis from cotton dust, bagassosis from

sugar cane bagasse

• Physical Hazards– Prolonged exposure to heat and sunlight– dust and fumes– puncture wounds from sharp instruments and

woods, cuts, bruises and lacerations

Agricultural Health Hazards

Agricultural Health Hazards

• Chemical Hazards– Excessive use of fertilizers cause skin irritation and

digestive problems to farmers– pesticides and insecticides contain carcinogen and

toxic materials that directly affect the farmers and indirectly us

– Inhalation of these chemicals causes respiratory problems, gastro-intestinal issues and also affect the nervous system

Agricultural Health Hazards

• Ergonomic• Backache resulting from prolonged bending, heavy

load and wrong posture• Strained joints– very highly repetitive hand work (clipping,

cutting)• Poorly designed tools and equipment• Noise of vehicles, grinding, milling

Manufacturing – Basic Info

• GDP contribution – 25.8% (as of 2011)• Employment contribution – 20.1% (2010-11)

• Main industries are– Textile– Cement– Fertilizer– Sugar– Food processing– Oil & Gas

Textile Manufacturing

• Contributes 9.5% to GDP

• Employs 38% of the total manufacturing force

• Abysmal working conditions

• Employees face several hazards

Hazards in Textile Manufacturing

• Cotton Dust– often present in the air during cotton handling and

processing– Cotton dust may contain many substances

including ground-up plant matter, fiber, bacteria, fungi, soil, pesticides

– Exposure to it causes respiratory disorders like chronic bronchitis, byssinosis

Hazards in Textile Manufacturing

• No local data available showing the cotton dust count

• OSHA has set Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) by OSHA’s Cotton Standard (29 CFR 1910.1043)– 200 micrograms of cotton dust per cubic meter for

air yarn manufacturing– 750 for slashing and weaving operations– 1000 for waste recycling and garneting

Dust Measurement• Industrialists and Employers are required to measure every six

months– or whenever there are any changes in equipment or work practices

• Procedure to measure– A vertical elutriator or an equivalent instrument must be used to

measure cotton dust– Measurements must be representative of an eight-hour period– Measurements must be performed for each shift and in each work area– If the levels are above OSHA standards, employers must list in a notice to

employees the steps they will take to correct problems.– Warning signs must be posted in work areas where the cotton dust level

is higher than the OSHA limit

Controlling Dust

• Installing adequate ventilation systems

• Cleaning and repairing the equipment regularly

• Have a Dust Control Program– cleaning floors with a vacuum or another method that cuts down the

spreading of dust– disposing of dust in such a way that as little dust scatters as possible– using mechanical methods to stack, dump or otherwise handle

cotton or cotton waste, when possible– checking, cleaning, and repairing dust control equipment and

ventilation systems

Chemical Hazards

• Activities of dyeing, printing and finishing involve the use of chemicals based on– benzidine, optical brighteners, crease-resistance

agents, formaldehyde and antimicrobial agents• Studies have revealed links between these

chemicals and diseases like– nasal cancer, lung cancer, brain cancer, respiratory

difficulty and eczema

Ergonomic

• Too much noise in the work environment– Workers often have impaired hearing and later on

suffer from hearing loss– Leads to stress, fatigue, absenteeism, anxiety,

reduction in efficiency, sleep disorders– The Recommended Exposure Limit (REL) is 85dB

to 90dB for a 8-hour work shift

Maximum Time of Exposure

• The maximum time of exposure can be calculated as:

– wheret = maximum exposure duration (seconds)L = exposure level (dBA)

Other Ergonomic Issues

• Dark and poor lighting• Improper furniture, work stations lead to

Musculoskeletal disorders– like carpal tunnel syndrome, forearm tendinitis,

lower back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, and osteoarthritis of the knees

• Lack of essential safety practices

Minimum Illumination Intensities

Foot Candles Lux Area of Operation

5 53.76 General construction area lighting

3 32.256

General construction areas, concrete placement, excavation and waste areas, access ways, active storage areas, loading platforms, refueling, and field maintenance areas

5 53.76 Indoors: warehouses, corridors, hallways, and exitways

5 53.76 Tunnels, shafts, and general underground work areas

10 107.52

General construction plant and shops (e.g., batch plants, screening plants, mechanical and electrical equipment rooms, carpenter shops,rigging lofts and active store rooms, mess halls, and indoor toilets and workrooms.)

30 322.56 First aid stations, infirmaries, and offices

Cement Manufacturing

• GDP contribution – 10% to 12%

• Employment – 5% of the total employed force

• Potentially a fatal industry

Cement Dust

• High levels of dust can be produced when cement is handled– for example when emptying or disposing of bags

• Contact with cement dust can lead to Skin disease, e.g. Dermatitis– Irritant dermatitis is caused by the physical

properties of cement that irritate the skin mechanically

– Allergic dermatitis is caused by sensitization to the hexavalent chromium (chromate) present in cement

Cement Dust

• Diameter of cement particles range from 0.05 to 5.0 micrometer– They are respirable in size– Inhalation of these particles lead to• chronic cough, • impairment of lung function• carcinoma of lung, stomach and colon• laryngeal cancer

Physical Hazards and Injuries

• Sprains and strains– particularly to the back, arms and shoulders from

lifting and carrying cement bags, mixing mortar etc.

– More serious damage to the back can be caused in the long term if workers are continually lifting heavy weights

• Slipped, tripped or fell on the same level

Occupational Diseases

• Other diseases suffered in industries include– vibration problems and white finger diseases.– Traumatic deaths, amputations, fracture and eye

loses.– Cardiovascular diseases (including myocardial

nifarction, stroke and hypertension).– Neurotoxic illnesses– Dermatologic problems (including dermatoses,

burns, and lacerations).– Psychological disorders

The Dilemma

• Majority of the workforce in Pakistan is illiterate and not trained in occupational safety and health

• Moreover OSH is not included in any curricula in Pakistan

• The number of occupational health physicians and nurses is far less compared to the total workforce in Pakistan– This means that occupational health system is not

established in the country (career opportunity)

Number of Industrial Accidents by Nature

Nature ofAccidents 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Total 354 404 415 438 460 449 326

Fatal 32 34 38 50 85 108 45

Serious 103 68 101 106 130 92 62

Minor 219 302 276 282 245 239 219

Source: Report on Labour & Human Resource Statistics 2000 - 2010Government of Pakistan, Dept. Ministry of labour and manpower (HRD wing)

Pakistan Labor and Human Resource Statistics

• The number of industrial accidents increased from 354 to 449 during 2000 to 2008

• In year 2011 alone, the reported number of fatal accidents went up to 101

27%

Labor Laws

• The only legislation on health and safety is the ‘Hazardous Occupation Rule 1963’ under the Factories Act 1934.

• Practically, the above mentioned laws are obsolete and do not conform to international practices– It does not give coverage to the workers in the

agriculture sector, informal/house-based and seasonal workers

Factories Act 1934• This act consolidates and amends the laws relating to the regulation

of labour in factories in the country• It includes preliminary including definitions, role of labour inspection,

restrictions on the working hours, holidays with pay, special provisions for adolescents and children, penalties and procedure

• This act also contains a chapter (Chapter III) on health and safety of workers and hygiene conditions at the workplaces

• Chapter III of this act provide factory inspections, hygienic conditions (ventilation and temperature, dust and fumes, artificial humidification, lighting, overcrowding, drinking water, sanitary facilities), precaution in case of fire, machine guarding, pressure vessels, precautions against dangerous fumes, eye protection, safety of building, machinery and manufacturing process and so on

Labour Policy 2010• Objectives

– Promotion of employee’s social security and social insurance programme

– Adequate security of jobs should be available to the workers– Conditions should be created so that workers and

employers are committed to enhancing labour productivity– Promotion of higher jobs be ensured at all levels based on

suitability and merit– Forced labour in all its forms to be eliminated– Just and humane conditions of work be guaranteed to all

workers

Labour Policy 2010

• Initiatives– The government has increased the minimum wages

from Rs.7,000 to Rs.8,000 per month– Consolidation of labour laws is underway– Mine workers, whether contracted or permanent, will

be provided with the same protection as other workers

– Elimination of gender discrimination– Special emphasis on education of workers children– Regulate and control child labour

• Pakistan has ratified the ILO Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) in 1953

• Under this convention Pakistan is bound to educate and inform employers and workers on their legal rights and obligations concerning all aspects of labour protection and labour laws, advice employers and workers to comply with the requirements of the law and enable inspectors to report to superiors on problems and defects that are not covered by laws and regulations.

Your Suggestions

• How to improve the current situation?