1. EMERGING TRENDS IN OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY
AND HEALTH IN PLANTATION SECTOR
M.M.C.B Ehelamalpe

2. OSH - OHS – WHS ?
Occupational safety and
health (OSH) also
commonly referred to as
occupational health and
safety (OHS) or workplace
health and safety (WHS) is
an area concerned with the
safety, health and welfare
of people engaged in work
or employment.

4. DEFINITION
 “ The main focus in occupational health is on three different
objectives:
 The maintenance and promotion of workers’ health and working capacity;
 The improvement of working environment and work to become
conducive to safety and health and
 Development of work organizations and working cultures in a direction
which supports health and safety at work and in doing so also promotes
a positive social climate and smooth operation and may enhance
productivity of the undertakings.
 The concept of working culture is intended in this context to mean a
reflection of the essential value systems adopted by the undertaking
concerned.
 Such a culture is reflected in practice in the managerial systems, personnel
policy, principles for participation, training policies and quality management
of the undertaking. “
— Joint ILO/WHO Committee on Occupational Health

5. ABOUT THE ILO
 The tripartite U.N. agency (Geneva), since
1919 the ILO brings together
governments, employers and workers
representatives of 186 member States , to
set labour standards, develop policies and
devise programmes promoting decent
work for all women and men.
The ILO has designed guidelines as a practical tool for assisting
organizations and competent institutions as a means of achieving
continual improvement in occupational safety and health (OSH)
performance.
The guidelines have been developed according to internationally
agreed principles defined by the ILO’s tripartite constituents.

6. Occupational safety and health (OSH) is
generally defined as the science of..
the anticipation, recognition, evaluation and
control of hazards…
 arising in or from the workplace..
that could impair the health and well-being of
workers,
taking into account the possible impact on the
surrounding communities and the general
environment.

7. HEALTH
 Health is the physical and psychological well being
of employees in and out of the workplace.
 Health is a state of complete well being, not merely
and absence of illness.

8. SAFETY
 Safety is an environment that is free of accidents
and occupational diseases that may cause personal
injury or ill health to employees.

9. ACCIDENT
 An accident is an unexpected, unplanned, unforeseen,
undesired, event in sequence of events..
 that occur through a combination of courses, mainly
unsafe conditions and/ or unsafe acts,
 that result..
 in an interruption of work,
 physical harm (injury or disease ) to a person or many,
 damage to property,
 a near miss,
 a loss, or any combination of these effects.
 E.g.:- Worker slips on the oil spot on the floor, falls and
breaks hip.

10. Unsafe
Acts
• Unsafe
Procedures
• Improper Training
• Stress
Unsafe work
Environment
• Unsafe Machines
• Unsafe Physical
Environment

11.  Psychological Stress
 “Too difficult tasks” and “Too easy tasks” are qualitative
stress for someone.
 And workloads such as “Too much work” or “Too little
work” quantitative stress workloads for others
 All these factors contribute to make errors while at
work leading to accidents.
 Physical Stress
 Physical factors like noise, vibration, hear, radiation,
improper ventilation etc. are contributing factors for
stress at work, which lead to accident
STRESS
Stress in the work place can be
divided into two..

12. HAZARD
 It is a condition in the workplace, which by itself or
by interacting with the other variables can result in
death, injuries, property damage or other losses.

13. NEAR MISS
 An undesired event, which under slightly different
circumstances, could have resulted in Harm to people,
damage to property or loss to process

15. HAZARD MANAGEMENT/ RISK CONTROL

17. PLANTATION SECTOR AND OHS
 Plantation sector is one of the most hazardous of all
economic sectors and many agricultural workers
suffer occupational accidents and ill health each
year.
 It is also the largest sector for female employment in
many countries, especially in Africa and Asia.
 Agriculture employs some one billion workers
worldwide, or more than a third of the world's labour
force, and accounts for approximately 70 per cent of
child labour worldwide.

18. FARMERS INVENTED MULTI-TASKING!
 Multi-disciplinary experts:
 Machinist
 Chemist
 Biologist
 Veterinarian– large & small
 Heavy equipment operator
 Grain & feed expert
 Electrician
 Weight lifter
 Marketing manager
 Office administrator
 Legal eagle

19.  contributory causes of such accidents and ill health
are many, but often include:
– working with machines, vehicles, tools and animals;
– exposure to excessive noise and vibration;
– slips, trips and falls from heights;
– lifting heavy weights and other work giving rise to
musculoskeletal disorders;
– exposure to dust and other organic substances, chemicals,
and infectious agents; and
– other working conditions common to rural environments,
such as exposure to extreme temperatures, inclement
weather and attacks by wild animals.

21. EMERGING OHS TRENDS IN PLANTATION SECTOR
 HAZARDS
 Chemical hazards
 Many agricultural workers are exposed to chemicals on a daily
basis. If they do not observe proper precautions, illness or even
death may ensue. It’s impact worst with application using aero
plains in huge plantations.

23.  Respiratory hazards
 Farming situations present several respiratory hazards to farm
workers. Exposure to these hazards has been linked to
excessive coughing and congestion of farm workers and
families. Symptoms of chronic bronchitis were observed in as
many as 50 percent of and grain handlers.

24.  Heat stress
 Heat stress occurs when the body builds up more heat than it
can handle. High temperatures, high humidity, sunlight, and
heavy workloads increase the likelihood of heat stress.

25.  Skin disorders
 Contact dermatitis is a skin disorder that occurs among agricultural workers.
There are two general categories: irritant and allergic.

26.  Cancers
 Skin cancer is a concern on the farm due to the long hours workers
spend in the sun.
Skin cancer is a concern on the farm due to the long hours workers
spend in the sun.
 Noise
 Prolonged exposure to excessive noise, such as that produced by
tractors, combines, choppers, chainsaws and factory machineries, can
cause permanent hearing loss unless noise-control measures are
taken.
 Reptile and insect bites
 This was a common occupational hazard among plantation workers
who were engaged in fieldwork most of the day. Eg: snake/viper bites,
bumble bee attacks.

27. OTHER EMERGING TRENDS
 Child workers involvement in Plantation Sector of
Developing Countries
 Population and health trends –
 By 2020 there will be more than one billion people aged
60 years and older in the world.
 Therefore, trends such as socio-cultural diversity, and an
aging society with longer life expectancy and chronic
diseases will be reflected in the workplace.
 Mental health

28.  Social protection
 In countries where not all agricultural workers currently, paying
particular attention to the needs of temporary,casual and
migrant workers.
 Working hours
 The pace of agricultural work has increased with the useof task
rates and piecework.
 Long hours of work, particularly intense manual labour,
contribute to workers’ fatigue and lead to accidents on the job.
 Alcohol- and drug-related problems
 The workplace should be drug- and alcohol-free in accordance
with national law and practice.
 HIV/AIDS
 HIV/AIDS should be treated like any other serious
illness/condition in the workplace.

29.  Workplace violence, harassment and bullying
 Every person has the right to be treated with dignity and respect
and to be free from all forms of violence, harassment, and bullying
in the workplace.
 Smoking at work
 These policies should also specify where smoking may be
permitted during agreed rest breaks without creating hazards for
other workers or the risk of fire on the premises.

30. WHAT DOES AN INJURY COST?
 Direct costs
 Medical costs
 Workers’ Compensation
 Indirect costs
 Cost of replacing staff and training time
 Loss of productivity due to learning curves
 Accommodating injured employee
 Wages paid to employee not covered by workers’
compensation
 Cost of work stoppage
 Cost of replacing damaged materials, equipment &
property

33. PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
 Personal protective equipment (PPE) provides
supplementary protection against exposure to
hazardous conditions in agricultural production
where the safety of workers cannot be ensured by
other means, such as eliminating the hazard,
controlling the risk at source or minimizing the risk.

34. SAFETY SIGNS / WARNINGS

41. ERGONOMICS
 Ergonomics (or human
factors) is the scientific
discipline concerned with
the understanding of
interactions among humans
and other elements of a
system, and the profession
that applies theory,
principles, data and
methods to design in order
to optimize human well-
being and overall system
performance.

46. INTERNATIONAL LABOUR STANDARDS
 Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155)
 Occupational Safety and Health Recommendation, 1981 (No. 164)
 Safety and Health in Agriculture Convention, 2001 (No. 184)
 Safety and Health in Agriculture Recommendation, 2001 (No. 192)
 Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129)
 Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Recommendation, 1969 (No. 133)
 Plantations Convention, 1958 (No. 110)
 Plantations Recommendation, 1958 (No. 110)
ILO web

47. LOCAL ACT, ORDINANCE AND REGULATIONS
RELATED TO OHS
 Factories Ordinance No.45 of 1942
 Factories (Amendment)Act No.19 of 2002
 Factories (Sanitary Conveniences)Regulations 1965
 Factories (Dangerous Occurrences Notification) Regulations
1965
 Factories (Washing facilities General) Regulations 1965
 Factories (General Standards of Lighting) Regulations 1965
 Factories (Meal Room) Regulations 1965
 Factories (Steam Boiler Attendants Certificates of
Competency) Regulations 1965
 Factories (Notifiable Industrial Diseases) Regulations 1972
 Factories (Protection of Eyes) Regulations 1979
 Factories (First Aid) Regulations 1995

48. THANK YOU