Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1503087
14 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 2 JULY 2023 NEWS A lack of health and safety cul- ture, in the construction sector and beyond, is one of the key issues concerning health and safety practitioners in Malta. The government is currently working to restructure the Oc- cupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA) while intro- ducing new concepts such as a Health and Safety Responsible Officer. But will these reforms be enough to bring under control the health and safety breaches in Maltese workplaces? Mal- taToday spoke with three in- dustry experts to get a feel of what's going right, and what's going wrong. 'No culture of health and safety' Mario Camilleri, director of AME Health and Safety Servic- es, said that health and safety should be considered a normal part of our lives. "Everywhere we go, wherever we are, we're surrounded by risks." And anything can be a risk in the workplace, particularly on construction sites. A mo- bile phone can be dangerous as it poses a distraction and, de- pending on the call, could put a person in an anxious or dis- tressed mood. "There have been projects with designated sites for when you want to smoke a cigarette. After you smoke the cigarette, you go and continue your work. If you receive a phone call you go there and answer it there, afterwards you switch off your mobile, put it in your pocket and continue working." However, many have re- marked on a lack of health and safety culture, particu- larly in construction. George Steve Darmanin, president of the Malta Occupational Safety & Health Practitioners Asso- ciation (MOSHPA), said that many health and safety officers are avoiding working in con- struction because of how lack- ing the culture is in this area. "In construction, probably the reason it has taken a hit is because there was a sudden boom," he said. He added that there is also a difference between the ex- perience of someone working in enforcement and someone working on site. "In enforce- ment, you go to a workplace, notice something wrong, and tell them to rectify it. A person working on site tries to do the same thing, but it depends on the culture of the workplace whether it is actually carried out." The lack of health and safety culture is prevalent even in the highest of high places. Darma- nin recalled working at a com- pany that would sometimes host the President or Prime Minister to inaugurate invest- ments. "Both the Office of the Pres- ident and the Office of the Prime Minister would send a form requesting a lot of infor- mation, including the size of the podium, how the president and the prime minister will look, what the background will be, what others will wear so that the president and prime minister can dress similarly." "This is all understandable," Darmanin said, "but neither asked for an evacuation plan." He added that this is has been standard procedure across all legislatures. But is it a question of lack of funding to budget for health and safety? Adrian Cauchi, founder of Safety Management Malta, doesn't think so. He says there are costs associ- ated with this type of work, and the law helps small businesses in this area by, for example, al- lowing for a verbal risk assess- ment when you hire less than five people. But more importantly: "Com- panies with no money are un- likely to be in construction," he said. Having said this, Cauchi ac- knowledged that the difficulty in construction has increased. While buildings used to be limited to two or three storeys, the typical building today rises to six or seven floors. Indeed, most injuries and fatalities on the workplace are a result of falls from heights, usually through the lift shaft or from the balcony. "Changes in design brought new challenges that were nev- er there before. There's a big challenge with language on site too," he pointed out. The reforms in question Last April, the government launched a White Paper aimed at restructuring the OHSA and increasing penalties against employers caught breaching laws. Under the proposed restruc- turing, OHSA will consist of a governing board and a health and safety executive commit- tee. The executive committee will have the authority and re- sponsibility of implementing the provisions of the new leg- islation. The governing board will be responsible for ensuring that the executive performs its corporate functions. The executive committee will also be empowered to issue administrative instruments to regulate OHSA matters. The new law will see a reform of the administrative penalty system to reduce dependence on the criminal courts. Instead, an Administrative Tribunal will be set up. The proposed draft suggests a significant increase in appli- cable penalties. The penalties shall not be less than €1,000, which is currently €466, and not exceeding €50,000, which is currently €11,646, for each offense. Camilleri is sceptical about the new reforms. "If the law passes, I don't know how it will succeed." The reform speaks of the 'competence' of health and safety practitioners, but Camilleri questioned wheth- Health and safety supervisors afraid of losing As a new reform plans to restructure the OHSA, health and safety supervisors lament a lack of safety culture that prevents them from doing their work properly. NICOLE MEILAK reports The construction boom coupled with a culture that does not value health and safety has resulted in several incidents over the past few years.