Environmental hazards such as fumes, gases, poor ventilation and extreme temperatures might lead to occupational illnesses and injuries. To protect workers from potential occupational health and safety risks, the government has promulgated occupational legislation that must be implemented in work settings.
The objective of this study was to explore the knowledge of workers about occupational legislation and its benefits for their health and safety. The aim was to make recommendations that would be implemented to improve the knowledge and compliance with occupational legislation as advised by the occupational health nurse.
A quantitative approach was used for this study. One hundred and ten respondents were sampled from an accessible population of 1590 workers. A self-administered questionnaire was used for gathering data. Data were analysed through descriptive analysis using Statistical Package for Social Sciences.
Research findings indicated that only 18 (16.36%) respondents were knowledgeable about occupational legislation. Eighty-two (75.54%) respondents were unable to mention even one occupational act by name. Respondents mentioned five benefits of occupational legislation for the health and safety of workers. These benefits were that legislation ensured safety, gave rights to workers, ensured compensation for occupational injuries and illnesses, and provided guidance in the prevention of occupational injuries and illnesses.
Most respondents (75.54%) were found not to be knowledgeable about occupational legislation. The positive finding was that respondents knew the benefits of occupational legislation. To improve the respondents’ knowledge about legislation, five recommendations are made by the researcher.
Even though work and work settings such as manufacturing and mining industries are an important part of our lives, they may be a source of ill health among workers because of unsafe working environments and work processes (Bansah, Yalley & Dumakor-Duey
In their research, Sieberhagen, Rothmann and Pienaar (
According to the
Despite occupational legislation being in place, there are many reported health and safety incidents, including both occupational injuries and illnesses. It is reported that worldwide, every 15 seconds, there is a fatality and 153 workers sustain occupational injuries in the same time span (Hattingh & Acutt
According to Hattingh and Acutt (
Some employees are forced to work non-stop in an unsafe work area for 9 hours a day, 6 days a week, with only a 15-min lunch break in the day (Piloso
The objectives of this study were to:
explore the knowledge of workers about occupational legislation
determine awareness of respondents about the benefits of occupational legislation for workers in work settings.
The aim of the study was to make recommendations that would improve workers’ knowledge of occupational legislation.
A quantitative method using an exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design was used in four work settings in Phalaborwa, Limpopo Province of South Africa. In this study, an exploratory design was used to explore employees’ knowledge about occupational legislation and the benefits thereof, while a descriptive design was used to discover new meaning, namely, respondents’ knowledge of occupational legislation and the benefits thereof.
The study was conducted at four conveniently selected work settings in Phalaborwa, Limpopo Province of South Africa. The four work settings comprised a mine, a company for construction work, a security and fencing company, and a company that provided drivers for mines around Phalaborwa.
In this study, the target population was all workers regardless of trade. The accessible population of the study was workers in the selected work settings from which a sample was selected. The accessible population consisted of 1590 workers employed at the four selected work settings that took part in the study, from which 110 respondents were conveniently and purposively sampled using a non-probability sampling technique.
A self-administered questionnaire with both closed- and open-ended questions was used to gather data. Hard copies of the questionnaire were distributed with the assistance of two field workers to those workers who had signed a consent form and were willing to participate in the study following an explanation on what the study entailed. The questionnaires were returned to the researcher after completion. Data analysis was done by means of descriptive analysis using Statistical Package for Social Sciences.
Validity of the data collection instrument was ensured by conducting a pretest. Content validity was ensured by including a variety of open-ended questions. Questions were formulated in simple, clear language and clear instructions were given to respondents for the completion of the questionnaire.
Before commencement of the study, permission was obtained from the management of the four work settings that took part in the study. All respondents who took part in the study gave informed consent before taking part in the study. The study was approved by Tshwane University of Technology’s ethical research committee. The reference number for the ethics permit is Ref: REC2012/05/005(3).
The demographic profile for the study comprised of respondents’ educational level and employment duration in years.
Fifty (45.45%) of the 110 respondents who took part in the study had worked for 0–5 years, 25 (22.72%) for 6–10 years, 8 (7.27%) for 11–15 years, 15 (13.63%) for 16–20 years and 12 (10.90%) had worked for more than 20 years. The implication of work duration is that workers who have been working for 5 years or less might not be experienced enough at their work. Additionally, it is possible that they could have not received enough training on occupational legislation from their employers or managers.
Eight (7.27%) respondents had no formal education, 33 (30.00%) had only primary education, 26 (23.63%) had secondary education and 43 (39.09%) had tertiary education. The implication of no formal education and primary education among respondents is that they might encounter challenges in understanding occupational legislation. There might also be challenges with language where occupational legislation is introduced and written in English.
The results on knowledge of occupational legislation are depicted in
Participants’ knowledge of occupational legislation (
Respondents were also asked whether there were regular sessions for teaching of occupational legislation at their work settings, and most of them (92; 83.64%) indicated that there were no regular sessions for teaching of occupational legislation at their work settings. Only 18 (16.36%) respondents indicated that there were regular sessions for teaching of occupational legislation at their workplace.
Respondents were given five occupational acts that were relevant to the study and asked to indicate those that they knew from the list. These five acts were the
Participants’ knowledge of occupational legislative acts (
Occupational legislation | Number | Percentage (%) |
---|---|---|
15 | 13.63 | |
8 | 7.27 | |
10 | 9.09 | |
11 | 10.00 | |
6 | 5.45 | |
None | 82 | 74.54 |
Regarding the health and safety benefits of occupational legislation for workers, five benefits were mentioned by respondents as indicated in
Health and safety benefits of occupational legislation for workers as indicated by respondents (
Health and safety benefits of occupational legislation | Number | Percentage ( |
---|---|---|
Guides in prevention of occupational injuries and illnesses | 38 | 34.54 |
Ensures safety at work | 20 | 18.18 |
Gives rights to employees | 19 | 17.27 |
Ensures compensation of workers for illnesses and injuries | 10 | 9.09 |
Prevents exploitation of employees | 7 | 6.36 |
None | 27 | 24.54 |
As depicted in
The poor knowledge of occupational legislation can be attributed to poor literacy levels by some of the respondents as the findings indicated that 8 respondents (7.27%) had no formal education while 33 (30.00%) had only primary school education. Occupational legislation is mostly written in English and most teaching is done in English; therefore, respondents’ limited education levels may have contributed to lack of knowledge about occupational legislation. Reading legislative acts is not easy, as the language reads differently from regular English; hence it is difficult to those with low literacy to comprehend occupational legislation.
The other factor that contributed to lack of knowledge about occupational legislation in these work settings was lack of regular training sessions at workplaces, as reported by 92 respondents (83.63%). The employer has a duty to inform, train and supervise employees about health and safety at work through the teaching of occupational legislation, among others (South Africa
Employers have the duty to inform workers about work-related hazards for their health and safety (South Africa
As shown in
In the prevention of occupational injuries and diseases in work settings, the
Leffakis and Schoff (
Nineteen respondents (17.27%) indicated that occupational legislation affords rights to workers in the workplace. Michell (
According to 10 respondents (9.09%), workers benefit from occupational legislation as they are compensated for occupational injuries and illnesses. Hattingh and Acutt (
Another health and safety benefit of occupational legislation for workers is that it helps to prevent exploitation of workers by employers in work settings, as indicated by eight participants (6.50%) in this study. To this effect, it has been reported by Ioannides, Oxousi and Mavroudeas (
To facilitate knowledge about occupational legislation that would enhance the health and safety of workers at work settings, five recommendations were suggested. The recommendations were that in work settings the occupational health nurse must facilitate regular training sessions about occupational legislation. The training sessions must be conducted in a language that workers can understand. Management should support and capacitate the occupational health nurse to provide meaningful training sessions for both employers and workers about knowledge and application of occupational legislation. Consultants may also be engaged to address specific legislative issues related to occupations. Furthermore the occupational health nurse must ensure that work settings display hard copies of occupational legislation (written in different languages to accommodate employees), in compliance with legislative requirements. Work settings, with the input of the occupational nurse, must formulate policies derived from occupational legislation to facilitate health and safety as well as compensation to workers.
Most workers are not knowledgeable about occupational legislation. Some workers do not know the benefits of occupational legislation.
The study was conducted to determine the knowledge of workers about occupational legislation and its benefits. According to the findings, most of the respondents were not knowledgeable about occupational legislation, as only 16.36% knew about it. The lack of knowledge can be attributed mainly to the fact that there is a lack of training about occupational legislation in the workplaces, as reported by 83.63% of the respondents. Even with limited knowledge about occupational legislation, the respondents mentioned five benefits that are derived from the implementation of occupational legislation. Five recommendations were made as a way of facilitating the knowledge of occupational legislation for workers.
The authors declare that they do not have any financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article.
M.L.P. was the researcher who collected data, analysed it and wrote the report. He also was the first and corresponding author of the article. M.S.M. was the supervisor for the study and provided guidance in the writing of the article.