my speech at Lafarge Company on 26 June 2008

SPEECH MADE BY
THE DEPUTY SECRETARY FOR LABOUR,
MRS. EUNICE CHIPANGULA
AT LAFARGE CEMENT,
BLANTYRE,
26TH JUNE 2008

The Managing Director of LAFARGE
Distinguished Invited Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen




I feel greatly honoured and privileged to be with you here today to witness the commemoration of the LAFARGE safety month.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Ministry of Labour and in particular the Occupational Safety and Health Directorate has a mandate to regulate conditions of employment as regards safety, health and welfare of workers.
Occupational safety and health is an important subject in the world of work because it is an integral part of the Decent Work Agenda.
Decent work sums up the aspirations of people in their working lives. Ladies and Gentlemen, people need to be safe at work in the same way that they want work that is productive and delivers a fair income. They need security in the workplace and social protection for families, better prospects for personal development and social integration. Working people need freedom to express their concerns, organize and participate in the decisions that affect their lives.
You will all agree with me that if a job is well paying but unsafe, it is not decent work; if a job is done freely but exposes the worker to health hazards, it is not decent work; if the contract of employment is fair but the work impairs the workers' health and well-being, it is not decent work. We therefore need to put occupational safety and health at the heart of our strategies for economic and social progress. To achieve this, we need preventive policies and programmes and extend effective protection to vulnerable groups of workers and all those that may be affected by our undertakings.

It is therefore very pleasing to note that LAFARGE is already implementing preventive strategies.
Ladies and Gentlemen, from what we have seen today, I would like to congratulate you, Mr. Managing Director and your team for the initiatives you undertake with the aim of ensuring safety and health of your employees, customers, transporters, communities, environment as well as safety of property.
Ladies and Gentlemen, as you may be aware, the main agenda of Government is to transform this country from a largely importing and consuming economy to a producing and exporting economy. In order to realize this vision, there is need to invest in safe and healthy working environments because productivity increases when the workforce is healthy.
A work force that is on and off health wise or affected by accidents affects quality and growth in production in an industry and therefore you cannot be assured of sustainable economic development.
Let me therefore take this opportunity to appeal to other employers to emulate the good example being practiced by LAFARGE.
Since in the Labour circles, we believe in tripartism, let me also urge the workers to always cooperate with Employers on matters of safety and health.
On our part as Government, we will continue to provide the necessary guidance to ensure that safety and health principles are adhered to at work.

Let me conclude by once again congratulating LAFARGE for the commendable work that you are doing in the interest of safety and health.

I thank you for your attention

May god bless you