Occupational health and safety activities of Port Elizabeth's integrated Department of Labour Inspectorate in 2005

This study was aimed at describing the nature of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS)inspections and blitzes conducted in the Port Elizabeth Integrated Department of Labour(DoL) in 2005, the nature and number of prohibitions, contraventions, as well asimprovement notices issued. The objectives were to determine the number of OHSinspections conducted in the Port Elizabeth Labour Centre (PELC) in 2005; to describethe nature of the inspections and the type of industries inspected in the PELC in 2005;and to determine the frequency and nature of prohibitions, contraventions andimprovement notices issued. The data was obtained from the PELC.The results of the study revealed that the inspectorate conducted a total of 1258 and thisexceeded the target of 800 OHS inspections for the PELC. However, it is questionablehow this target was developed. The target is not representative and does not give anoverall picture of conditions in the workplace. The results indicated that inspectors werenot competent in conducting boiler inspections as well on Major Hazardous Installation(MHI) since none of these inspections were conducted. On the inception of the OHS taskteam, there was a sudden increase in inspections conducted in the construction industry inOctober 2005 as well as the rate of finalisation of incidents in November 2005 and thiswas attributed to the fact that they were not conducting inspections on other labour lawsand were only focusing on OHS.An assessment of the inspectors’ inspection checklists revealed that the inspections werebeing reduced to just a yes or no tick exercise, with no recommendation on appropriateaction to be taken by the employer. It became evident that the inception of a special teamin September 2005 contributed to an increased number of OHS inspections, since theywere only focusing on OHS issues. This team ensured that in November 2005 there were43 incidents finalised as compared to the 101 finalised over 11 months. They also ensuredthat a total of 258 OHS inspections were conducted from September 2005 to December2005. Although these inspectors were not fully competent in addressing health and s afetyissues their momentary focus on OHS activities ensured that they made a difference inthe rate of finalisation of incidents. However, when some of the cases were taken tocourt no successful prosecution could be obtained because there are no OHS focusedprosecutors, which have a clear understanding of Act.Discussions with the inspectors revealed that there was a lack of morale and loss ofinterest in their work, thus causing them not to put in much effort. These discussionsrevealed that this lack of morale was caused by the frustrations they often experienced inthe execution of their duties due to lack of training as well as lack of cooperation from theemployers. Furthermore, the inspectors revealed that the great number of resignationsfrom inspectors who were leaving for greener pastures left them with a lot of work withno financial incentive. It also became apparent that there was no objective strategyunderlying the number of inspections required relative to the purpose of the inspections,taking into account the nature and complexity of the industry that is to be inspected. Thefailure of the Service Delivery Unit to give a direction on how qualitative inspectionsshould be measured demoralised them because the focus was only on the quantity (240inspections per annum) of inspections that are to be conducted by each inspector.It is recommended that training, which should include a proper career path be conductedfor inspectors to improve the inspectors’ capability and to motivate them. Strong relationswith the South African Police Services and the Department of Justice should be promotedto ensure effectiveness of service delivery. These relations will ensure that inspectors arereadily assisted by the police when they deal with uncooperative employers. Training ofprosecutors will ensure that they understand the OHSA and its implementation andtherefore effectively defend cases that are taken to court. The targets set for inspectionsshould be scientifically supported and take into account the nature and complexity of theproduction processes. Lastly, revision of salary packages should be looked into to ensureretention of competent staff.The above recommendations will only be effective if the Business Unit Manager and theRegional Manager address them through the National Department of Labour since theirimplementation will affect all inspectors.