Ensuring occupational health and safety in Oman

Recently, an unfortunate tragedy was reported, when a man was killed and three others were injured after an escalator collapsed on them. However, this is not the first work site injury reported in Oman, and neither is it uncommon.
In 2008, the Ministry of Manpower issued Ministerial Decision no. 286/2008 introducing the Regulation of Occupational Safety and Health for Establishments governed by the Labour Law. The Regulation provided for a comprehensive regulatory framework with the aim of improving health and safety standards at the workplace and protecting workers from various occupational hazards. The Regulation consists of 43 Articles, covering a wide range of issues including lighting, ventilation, heat stress, noise, uniforms, personal protection equipment, first aid and occupational diseases.
In fact, occupational safety is a paramount principle of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) but the reality is that for blue-collar and white-collar workers across the world, such assurance is a luxury. The ILO estimates that 2.02 million people die each year from work-related accidents or diseases. A further 317 million people suffer from work-related diseases, and there are an estimated 337 million fatal and non-fatal work-related accidents per year.
Although Oman does have the mandatory midday break rule during the summers, according to which blue-collar workers should not work outdoors between 12.30pm and 3.30pm, many companies aren’t abiding by the rule. Since the temperatures in the Sultanate can cross 35 degrees Celsius even in the non-summer months, there have been arguments over whether the rule should be limited only to the three summer months, as many workers suffer from strokes and other heat-related illnesses even during the other months.
Another issue is that of work uniforms and equipment for personal protection. As part of austerity and cost-cutting measures, many companies in the Sultanate are not complying with the specified safety standards of Oman’s Labour Law. Safety hats, gumboots, proper uniforms and, most importantly, training on using and maintaining equipment to ensure safety, needs to happen on a regular basis.
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The laws of the land are strong and strict enough, but they need to be checked and inspected regularly to make sure that organisations aren’t flouting the rules. The Ministry of Manpower can set up helplines to report complaints or ask for help to curb the exploitation of workers.
Regular medical check-ups also need to be conducted to find out if workers are fit to take up outdoors jobs or those involving heavy manual labour. And most importantly, once mandatory health insurance has been implemented, workers are bound to feel more secure.