Bunge committee offers advice for healthy workforce

DODOMA:THE Parliamentary Committee on Social Welfare and Community Development has urged the government to increase staffing at the Occupational Safety and Health Authority (OSHA) to strengthen the protection of workers’ health, safety and welfare across the country.

Committee Chairperson Hawa Chakoma made the call in Dodoma over the weekend while opening a committee meeting to review implementation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, Cap 297, Revised Edition 2023.

The review focused on workplace registration and the provision of occupational safety and health education to the public during the 2025/26 financial year.

Ms Chakoma said the authority needed more personnel, particularly safety and health inspectors, to effectively serve the growing number of workplaces across the country.

“We recognise the important work being done by OSHA in providing guidelines aimed at strengthening safety and health systems at workplaces. However, we believe the current number of employees, particularly safety and health inspectors, is insufficient to serve all workplaces in the country,” she said.

She noted that OSHA had only 376 employees, a number she said was inadequate to meet the authority’s operational requirements.

The committee’s recommendation comes as the Government continues efforts to strengthen OSHA’s capacity through recruitment and improved inspection equipment.

The authority has recruited more than 116 employees over the past two years, while the process of recruiting additional staff is ongoing.

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The government has also secured modern workplace inspection equipment worth 2.2bn/- during the past two years to improve OSHA’s ability to carry out its duties.

The committee was presented with a report by Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (Labour, Employment and Industrial Relations), Mr Deus Sangu, who was accompanied by senior officials, including Permanent Secretary Mary Maganga and OSHA Chief Executive Officer Khadija Mwenda.

Minister Sangu assured the committee that the Government would continue promoting compliance with occupational safety and health requirements in both the public and private sectors.

“There is no preferential treatment in workplace safety and health inspections between the public and private sectors because safety and health concern all workers,” he said.

He assured the committee that the government would enforce the law in all workplaces regardless of ownership.

Ms Maganga said the training was important in equipping the employees with the knowledge and skills needed to perform their duties effectively and understand the working environment in the public service.

She urged them to avoid unacceptable conduct, including the use of inappropriate language when expressing their views, and instead promote respectful communication and constructive ideas that could improve institutional performance.

According to the report, OSHA registered 16,813 workplaces during the year and provided occupational safety and health training to 45,089 stakeholders, exceeding its target of reaching 40,000 people.

Ms Mwenda explained that workplaces registered by OSHA must meet prescribed requirements, including having two interdependent parties—an employer and an employee.