New Occupational Health And Safety Policy In The Offing

The Government will by the end of 2011, implement an Occupational Health and Safety Policy Legislation to cater for workplace safety in industries and factories in the country. The new policy will help strengthen the Factories Inspectorate Department of the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare. Speaking at the 1st Biennial National Safety Conference at Tema, the Deputy Minister for Employment and Social Welfare, Antwi Bosiako Sekyere stated that, the policy, which is yet to receive cabinet approval, will contribute significantly in dealing with safety at the workplace. The Deputy Minister also bemoaned the staff strength of the Ministry�s Factories Inspectorate Department and indicated that the new policy will pave way for the training of more personnel into the Department. "We are very sure that by the end of the year we would have had a new occupational health and safety policy and legislation that would be effective in dealing with our workplace safety and health". The organizer of the 1st Biennial National Safety Conference, Davidson Akwada on his part told Citi News that he is happy with the Deputy Minister�s announcement that government will institutionalize the conference. He said he hopes future conferences helps in tackling the industrial issues of Ghana. �If the government is going to institutionalize this which I believe in, I think that in the years to come I am looking at this conference going into specialty areas. Next year when this conference is coming back we would want to focus on road safety. I want to see action coming out of such conferences. I want to wake up one morning and say that this and this has changed because of the national safety conference".