Zambia: Unions hold field education on workplace health and safety
Last 21-24 February, the National Union of Building, Engineering, and General Workers (NUBEGW) organised a Project Review Meeting and Financial Management Training together with SASK, the development cooperation organisation of the Finnish trade union movement.
The training, which was attended by 15 trade unionists from Sindicato Nacional (SINTAICAF) and the Metal and Allied Namibian Workers’ Union (MANWU), gave inputs on the concept and principles of decent work, and workplace health and safety as a fundamental workers’ right.
As part of their training, the participants visited a construction site under the Chinese-owned Wankong Construction Company to identify red flags and other irregularities in the worksite related to occupational health and safety (OHS).
At the end of the site inspection, the participants listed all OHS violations and crafted negotiating points and strategies that can help promote better OHS, such as proper housekeeping, increase visibility of health and safety signages in workplaces, transparent incident reports, green and safe engineering and construction practices, and gender equity amongst workers.