Occupational Health and Safety Statistics as an Indicator of Worker Physical Health in South African Industry

Oscar Rikhotso, Thabiso John Morodi and Daniel Masilu Masekameni
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Oscar Rikhotso: Department of Environmental Health, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
Thabiso John Morodi: Department of Environmental Health, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
Daniel Masilu Masekameni: Occupational Health Division, School of Public Health, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 3, 1-21

Abstract: Operations in general industry, including manufacturing, expose employees to a myriad of occupational health hazards. To prevent exposure, occupational health and safety regulations were enacted, with both employers and workers instituting various risk reduction measures. The analysis of available occupational disease and injury statistics (indicators of worker physical health) can be used to infer the effectiveness of risk reduction measures and regulations in preventing exposure. Thus, using the READ approach, analyses of occupational disease and injury statistics from South African industry, derived from annual reports of the Compensation Fund, were conducted. The publicly available database of occupational disease and injury statistics from the South African general industry is unstructured, and the data are inconsistently reported. This data scarcity, symptomatic of an absence of a functional occupational disease surveillance system, complicates judgement making regarding the effectiveness of implemented risk reduction measures, enacted occupational health and safety regulations and the status of worker physical health from exposure to workplace hazards. The statistics, where available, indicate that workers continue to be exposed to occupational health impacts within general industry, notwithstanding risk reduction measures and enacted regulations. In particular, worker physical health continues to be impacted by occupational injuries and noise-induced hearing loss. This is suggestive of shortcomings and inefficiencies in industry-implemented preventive measures and the regulatory state. A robust national occupational disease surveillance system is a regulatory tool that should detect and direct policy responses to identified occupational health hazards.

Keywords: compensation; hazard and risk identification; health and safety legislation; health hazard; occupational disease; regulatory inspection; surveillance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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