BY MBONO MDLULI
MBABANE – Minister of Labour and Social Security Phila Buthelezi encourages companies to ensure that their employees are always safe at work in order to realise their profits.
Minister Buthelezi said this yesterday (Thursday, August 15, 2024) at Royal Villas in Ezulwini during the Safety, Health, Environment, Risk and Quality (SHERQ) Summit.
The Summit, which is expected to end today, will focus on how to build resilient work spaces in order to mitigate occupational risks.
“Organisations that embrace a thoughtful human capital management and comprehensive practices towards employee safety, health and wellbeing prove to be capable of creating larger profits, stronger performance, growth and sustainable workforces,” Buthelezi said.
In his speech, Buthelezi stated that occupational accidents and work-related illnesses were a misfortune that, in addition to damaging the health of workers, necessitated enormous economic costs. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates the costs of occupational accidents and illnesses at almost US$3 trillion annually worldwide, which is about 3.94 percent of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP). According to the minister, in the current world of work, sustainability can never be attained with the absence of the commitment to protecting the safety, health and wellbeing of the most vital resource in an organisation: workers.
In addition, the minister stated that socially sustainable organisations were those that appreciated the value of their workers and the environment. “Such organisations recognise the value of their workers, and treat them as an asset and invest in them creating conditions that promote decent work for their human capital which underpins corporate performance and sustainability,” the minister said.
The minister said his Ministry joined and supported, as it looked forward to continued advancement in finding workable solutions that would benefit the country and the global world now and in the future generations. The minister expressed hope that things were going to change and organisations could use this summit as a catalyst for change so that they could start to pay more attention to the safety of their workers.
