By Own Correspondent

A total nine employees lost their lives out of the 4 334 workplace accidents recorded within the first four months of the year on the back of calls for the enactment of water tight legislation to ease the tide.

The stats were released by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) at an event held to commemorate the belated June 6 disaster which saw 427 miners losing their lives in 1972, as a result of a methane gas explosion in Hwange Kamandama mine shaft number 2.

This remains the worst workplace accident to date in this country hence it serves as a sad reminder on the importance of Occupational Safety and Health.

In a speech read on behalf of the ZCTU president Florence Taruvinga by regional officers across, heart-rending figures were shared.   

“Zimbabwean workers are concerned about the current statistics in occupational Safety and Health. According to figures from NSSA, the country recorded in excess of 4334 reported workplace accidents annually. Statistics for January to April 2024 indicate 846 injuries and 9 fatalities across sectors.

“Mining and quarrying sector recorded 93 injuries while the Personal Services sector topped with 146 injuries. The figures are not impressive at all but we are cognizant of the fact that these statistics are not comprehensive as some accidents go unreported while accidents obtaining within the informal economy generally go unnoticed,” she said.

Taruvinga said given the circumstances at hand, the passing of the harmonised Occupational Safety and Health Bill into law is the only way out to plug the violations happening particularly in the mining industry.

“We have workers working without PPE, living in terrible substandard accommodation while being provided with substandard unhealthy food rations. So the passing of the OSH bill would be a milestone achievement towards reduction of workplace accidents, fostering compliance from truant employers and restoration of workers’ wellness and dignity,” she said.