Behavioural actions of shop-floor employees towards occupational health and safety measures during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions: A case of the agriculture Industry in Zimbabwe

COVID-19 pandemic has brought massive suffering to many workers globally. It has disrupted the normalcy and socio-economic fabric in many societies and has redefined the nature of the world of work. Several restrictions and measures to mitigate the spread and implications of Coronavirus have been put in place through government and individual employer efforts. These include the compulsory use of masks, body temperature tests, avoidance of unnecessary movement and maintenance of social/physical distancing among other occupational health and safety practices. Based on the findings from two selected timber sector organisations in Zimbabwe, employees have non-congruent behavioural actions to conform and adhere to the OHS measures for COVID-19. The management believes that shop-floor employees are not scared of the pandemic; they think that the virus is an illusion. Employees resist respecting social/physical distancing due to their cultural beliefs and value; some are even stealing hand sanitisers for other uses rather than the prevention of COVID-19. The study recommends effective training, awareness campaigns and effective communication for culture change and to help workers appreciate that COVID-19 is very deadly and is a reality. Taking disciplinary action for non-compliance of shop-floor employees has created negative perceptions and led to counterproductive behaviours among workers towards efforts to manage and control the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace. Trade unions and worker committees have a role to play in enhancing communication and advancing workers interests for improvement of decent working conditions in the face of Coronavirus. The state and employers should ensure respect for fundamental rights of the precariats who are soldering on in the pandemic context.

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Drawing the Line between Dismissal for Alcoholism (Incapacity) and Dismissal for Drunkenness (Misconduct). Are the Boni Mores Compromised?

African Journal of Employee Relations (Formerly South African Journal of Labour Relations) ◽

10.25159/2520-3223/3769 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 41 ◽

pp. 57-63

Author(s):

Thandekile Phulu

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Economic Development ◽

Social Justice ◽

Occupational Health ◽

Health And Safety ◽

Occupational Health And Safety ◽

Fundamental Rights ◽

Labour Relations ◽

Labour Practice ◽

The Republic

In South Africa employees are protected by various pieces of legislation. Section 23 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996 provides for a right to fair labour practice. In its preamble the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 (hereafter referred to as the LRA) states that the purpose of the Act is to advance economic development, social justice, labour peace and democratisation of the workplace. The LRA also states that one of its objectives is to give effect to and regulate the fundamental rights conferred by section 27 of the Constitution. The Occupational Health and Safety Act as amended by the Occupational Health and Safety Amendment Act 181 of 1993 provides for the health and safety of persons at work and for the health and safety of persons in connection with the use of plant and machinery. The LRA provides for dismissal for incapacity and dismissals for misconduct. It also differentiates between the two. The LRA provides for both substantive and procedural fairness when dismissing an employee for incapacity and misconduct. This paper will examine the rationale behind differentiating between dismissal for drunkenness and dismissal for alcoholism.

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COVID-19 in the UK and Occupational Health and Safety: Predictable not Inevitable Failures by Government, and Trade Union and Nongovernmental Organization Responses

NEW SOLUTIONS A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy ◽

10.1177/1048291120929763 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 86-94 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Andrew Watterson

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Occupational Health ◽

Trade Unions ◽

Health And Safety ◽

Occupational Health And Safety ◽

The European Union ◽

Personal Protection Equipment ◽

International Agencies ◽

Care Workers ◽

The Uk

This commentary examines the occupational health and safety issues faced by the UK workers in the COVID-19 pandemic, against the background of government cuts in health care and in occupational health and safety budgets, and a deregulatory climate. The UK government has been obsessed, blinkered, and distracted by the desire to leave the European Union (Brexit). The state of knowledge about the virus, especially from international agencies that identified pandemic threats and strategies to combat it, is outlined. UK politicians, government bodies, medical and scientific advisors, and employers periodically ignored or abused that knowledge. Regulatory and ministerial inaction and errors on the workplace virus risks emerged. In contrast, several trade unions, health professional bodies, and nongovernmental organizations identified COVID-19 threats from poor personal protection equipment, working practices, and knowledge gaps and offered solutions for health care workers, social care workers, production workers, and service workers in “essential” occupations.

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Unions and Collective Bargaining in 2009

Journal of Industrial Relations ◽

10.1177/0022185610365634 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 52 (3) ◽

pp. 321-334 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Cathy Brigden

Keyword(s):

Occupational Health ◽

Collective Bargaining ◽

Trade Unions ◽

Global Financial Crisis ◽

Industrial Relations ◽

Health And Safety ◽

Occupational Health And Safety ◽

Significant Shift ◽

Safety Issues ◽

The Global Financial Crisis

With the global financial crisis posing an ongoing threat to job security, more positive experiences of trade unions were often overshadowed in 2009. The passage and commencement of the Fair Work Act finally brought Work Choices to an end, or so it seemed until leadership change in the federal Liberal Party revived debate over individual contracts at the end of the year. The still difficult relationship between the unions and the Rudd federal government was in evidence throughout the year, and was underlined at the ACTU Congress. The return of Telstra and the major banks to the bargaining table with unions demonstrated a significant shift in the collective bargaining and industrial relations landscape in 2009. Occupational health and safety issues confronting unions included further developments concerning James Hardie and asbestos, workplace fatalities in the Pilbara and harmonization of occupational health and safety laws.

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Occupational Health and Safety in New Zealand: Problems and Solutions

New Zealand Journal of Industrial Relations ◽

10.26686/nzjir.v8i2.3537 ◽

1970 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Paul Duignan

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Occupational Health ◽

Health And Safety ◽

Occupational Health And Safety ◽

Shop Floor ◽

University Departments ◽

Cost Cutting ◽

Economic Climate ◽

Problems And Solutions ◽

Regulatory Bodies

An economic climate which promotes cost cutting, lack of resources for regulation) agencies, enforcement bodies which are reticent to enforce, legislation which is unco-ordinated and not communicated to those who need it, information which is available in university departments but not on the shop floor, and no effective sanctions in terms of penalties and increased levies against negligent employers all threaten the health and safety of New Zealand workers. These problems are outlined and improvements such as more resources for regulatory bodies, a more positive policing role for enforcement agencies, integration of legislation and administration, better information flow, effective sanctions against employers and particularly more worker involvement in occupational health and safety are proposed.

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A Message to the Labor Movement: Stop and Think!

International Journal of Health Services ◽

10.2190/qgqv-a0wf-7593-7mgc ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 26 (4) ◽

pp. 595-609 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Robert Sass

Keyword(s):

North America ◽

Occupational Health ◽

Trade Unions ◽

Policy Making ◽

Democratic Party ◽

Health And Safety ◽

Occupational Health And Safety ◽

Government Policies ◽

Workplace Health ◽

The Social

Trade unions and workers in North America have been objectified and instrumentalized by all political regimes, including the social-democratic New Democratic Party in Canada. And it is means-end non-thinking that characterizes government policies. Liberal elites and policy-making have marginalized ordinary workers making them “superfluous” without any vision of an “ethical community” and demonstrating contempt for democratic initiatives. There are oppositionary voices to the dominant social structures that oppress and undermine community and solidarity. However, trade unions and occupational health and safety “activists” have yet to reassess their strategies on workplace health and safety reforms, but are on the defensive in North America. Further, they are complicit with the dominant ideology and the occupational health and safety establishment, including the various and diverse professionals, who shape how we think about work environment matters; and they accommodate government regulators in mediating worker experiences and expectations with employer interests. The author suggests the beginning of a strategy that does not succumb to present-day liberal public policy-making and the atrophy of alternative options. In part, this strategy calls for a rudimentary phenomenology of moral judgment and a reconstruction of labor “tradition.”

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Guardians of Workers’ Bodies? Trade Unions and the History of Occupational Health and Safety

Labour History ◽

10.3828/jlh.2020.16 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 119 (1) ◽

pp. 1-30

Author(s):

Arthur McIvor

Keyword(s):

Occupational Health ◽

Trade Unions ◽

Critical Reflection ◽

Health And Safety ◽

Occupational Health And Safety ◽

Recent Experience ◽

Compelling Evidence ◽

Sharp Decline ◽

History Of

Critically assessing the role and influence of trade unions on occupational health and safety (OHS), and tracing their contribution to OHS discourse, is here examined through the lens of history in Britain positioned relative to international experience. The idea of trade union neglect of OHS is challenged through study of the historic role of trade unions and the more recent experience (since the 1970s) of unions’ growing interest in OHS whilst simultaneously experiencing a sharp decline in membership and the adverse impact of this disempowerment on OHS standards. Acknowledging the politics of gender shows British unions neglected occupational health and embodiment issues that impacted upon women as workers. Robust and compelling evidence from the mid-twentieth century - that unions were a powerful countervailing force to workplace dangers, as key sentinels shielding workers’ bodies - is followed by evidence of increasing occupational illnesses in the period of union decline and precarious work from c. 1980. The article urges more critical reflection on trade unions as actors and as a voice in the OHS discourse.

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RIGHT OF MIGRANT WORKERS TO OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY UNDER MALAYSIA LAWS

International Journal of Law, Government and Communication ◽

10.35631/ijlgc.626005 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (26) ◽

pp. 48-60

Author(s):

Aminuddin Mustaffa ◽

Cherifi Noura ◽

Md. Mahbubul Haque

Keyword(s):

Occupational Health ◽

Migrant Workers ◽

Occupational Safety ◽

Health And Safety ◽

Occupational Health And Safety ◽

Legal Framework ◽

Fundamental Rights ◽

International Standards ◽

Occupational Accidents ◽

The Right

The migration of people to other countries in search of employment is a common phenomenon that has occurred throughout history. While migration is a positive and empowering experience, migrant workers can be vulnerable to human rights violations. In this context, international laws have provided the international legal framework on the rights of migrant workers. Among the fundamental rights of migrant workers is the right to occupational health and safety within which a worker is expected to perform his job. This paper aims to examine the right of migrant workers to occupational health and safety in light of international standards and Malaysian laws. It adopts qualitative research of doctrinal and comparative nature. It will examine the adequacy of current laws in recognizing and protecting the rights of migrant workers to occupational safety and health with reference to the standards set by the international instruments. The paper also attempts to identify factors that contributed to the high number of occupational accidents. The paper concludes that the current Malaysian laws provide a specific legal framework that aims to protect the right of migrant workers to occupational health and safety. However, non-compliance with law requirements and lack of enforcement has contributed to the high number of occupational accidents. In conjunction with that, the paper provides recommendations towards improving the Malaysian legal framework on occupational health and safety.

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Enhancing the Infrastructure to Safeguard the Health of America's Work Force

NEW SOLUTIONS A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy ◽

10.2190/ns4.3.l ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 76-85

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

New Jersey ◽

Occupational Health ◽

Trade Unions ◽

Professional Training ◽

Occupational Safety ◽

Research Training ◽

Health And Safety ◽

Occupational Health And Safety ◽

Well Being

This document presents a plan for safeguarding the health of America's workers. This plan was developed by the Occupational Health and Safety Forum of New York and New Jersey, a coalition of health and safety specialists from trade unions, industry, government and academia… The Forum is organized around the New York-New Jersey Educational Resource Center, a consortium of six universities in the New York metropolitan area whose educational and research training endeavors form the primary means through which the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) fulfills its mandate to support professional training in the region. This document provides a blueprint for improving the health and safety of workers in New York, New Jersey, and across the nation and, thus, for strengthening national productivity. The views in the report are non-partisan. They reflect the consensus opinion of specialists from industry, labor and academia, each of whom has worked for many years in the field of occupational health and safety. This document and its recommendations are not intended to be comprehensive. Important issues about which it may be difficult to find consensus, such as reform of OSHA, the overhaul of workers' compensation and others, are, therefore, not included in this document. Rather, this plan focuses on revitalizing the infrastructure of occupational health through which new approaches to addressing the health of workers might be undertaken. Through implementation of this plan, the region and the nation can expect to reduce its health care costs and increase the well-being of this and future generations of Americans.

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