In the year 2022, the Ghana Employers Association (GEA) made several calls on the government to pass the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) bill into law to harmonise all safety and health issues at the workplace.
Many other health and safety oriented organizations have equally echoed this voice on several platforms to creat awareness on the need for the bill to be passed into law.
The bill has been in parliament since the last 3 decades.

Credit : TUC,UK
The GEA said the bill was also to increase awareness on OSH to eliminate hazards or bring to the minimum, incidents on OSH at the workplace.
The OSH bill is aimed at improving working environment and conditions to maintain the working capacity of employees, prevent occupational accidents and diseases as well as eliminate other hazards from work.

Article 24(1) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana states that, inter alia “Every person has the right to work under satisfactory, safe and healthy conditions”, this guarantee the safety, health and welfare of persons employed at workplaces in Ghana. Article 36(10) also states, “the State shall safeguard the health, safety and welfare of all persons in employment, and shall establish the basis for the full deployment of the creative potential of all Ghanaians”. These constitutional provisions mean that all persons working both in the formal and informal economies, including self-employed persons, are to be protected by ensuring that they work under safe conditions devoid of any adverse effects on their health. It behooves the government to ensure that the safety, health and wellbeing of persons at work are safeguarded in line with these constitutional provisions.

A petition on change.org started on May 6, 2020 has so far had only 2,504 signatures out of  more than thirty million population who would benefit from the passing of this bill into law.Is this an indication that many Ghanaians are not interested in health and safety issues?
Well there are key factors that this article seems to summarize as causes of the political motivation in passing this bill into law.

Credit: Azaa Aleyev.

1. Priority of Legislation: The passage of bills depends on the legislative agenda and priorities of the government. If other legislative matters take precedence, the OHS Bill may be delayed in the legislative process.All government have not taken much interest in health and safety issues. The government takes a reactive approach to these matters. A typical example is the Bogoso explosion which affected over 3300 people,injured 59 and killed about 17 people. The government agency the mineral commission which is prudent in supervision of activities of mining industry launched a full scale investigation and imposing huge fines to the companies at fault. The government needs to take a more proactive duty of prevention of accidents as this through a more broader scope of occupational health and safety laws as compared to sectorial laws such as the mineral and mining regulations. The occupational health and safety law will broaden the scope of reporting,inspection and awareness of workers to empower them in acting to prevent such incidents.

Complexity and Controversy: Occupational health and safety legislation often involves complex issues and may be subject to debate and disagreement among stakeholders. Crafting comprehensive legislation that addresses the diverse needs of workers, employers, and regulatory agencies can be challenging and may lead to delays. Various sectors of the economy such as agriculture,mining, construction,health, financial all have individual operating procedures. It is important that critical analysis of various sectors actions,controls and guidelines in meeting these regulations are attainable. Passing a bill into law that is not actionable will lead to retirement and deterioration of the law. This is what many government agencies are still studying ie.the controversy of laws affecting the performance of some of these sectors.

Resource Constraints: Developing and implementing effective occupational health and safety regulations require adequate resources, including funding, technical expertise, and institutional capacity. Resource constraints may hinder the government’s ability to prioritize and enact OHS legislation. Indeed there are lots of human resources that are still not exploited in terms of supervision and monitoring of health and safety in Ghana. Passing this law will create mean creation of safety inspectorate officer positions at all levels of district,municipal and regional administrative offices as well as all government agencies. Is the government ready to absorb these workers on its public pay roll? A law is only non functional if there is no monitoring and supervision of the in actions and poor actions causing a crime.
The government therefore may not be willing to immediately pass into law such bills that have a potential cost impact on its purse.

Lobbying and Opposition: Certain industries or interest groups may oppose stringent OHS regulations due to concerns about potential costs, compliance burdens, or impacts on business operations. Lobbying efforts and opposition from influential stakeholders can influence the legislative process and delay the passage of OHS legislation.

Administrative and Institutional Challenges: Establishing the necessary administrative structures and institutional frameworks for implementing and enforcing OHS regulations can be complex. Delays in addressing administrative and institutional challenges may hinder the progress of OHS legislation.

Capacity Building and Awareness: Enhancing awareness of occupational health and safety issues and building capacity among employers, workers, and regulatory agencies are essential for effective OHS regulation. Delays in capacity-building efforts and awareness-raising initiatives may contribute to delays in passing OHS legislation.

It’s important for stakeholders, including government agencies, employers, workers’ organizations, and civil society groups, to collaborate and advocate for the passage of comprehensive OHS legislation that protects the health and safety of workers in Ghana. Continued efforts to raise awareness, build consensus, and address barriers to legislative progress can help advance the agenda for occupational health and safety reform.