16 Oct 2018

Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) director, Ms Goitseone Mosalakatane says government is committed to ensuring safety in the workplace.

Addressing a workshop for Safety Health and Environment (SHE) coordinators in Palapye recently, Ms Mosalakatane urged coordinators to be committed to ensuring that the work environment was hazard and disease free.

She urged them to carry out correct preventative and protective measures for the safety of employees, property and environment in their respective ministries.

Ms Mosalakatane said it was important for SHE coordinators to share information that would assist respective ministries to engage the public service in the newly established safety programme.

She said DPSM had made an effort to come up with a safety programme to manage all safety issues and concerns in ministries.

She also said it was important for SHE coordinators to collaborate on issues related to employee safety and to engage in all safety initiatives in order to make a difference in the welfare of public seramts.

She also implored them to run their organisations strategically towards the safety of their employees.

DPSM corporate services senior manager, Ms Rose Nkolonyane explained that DPSM had passion and commitment in promoting the safety and health of employees.

She said SHE coordinators should share information, ideas, experiences and safety practices and to stand firm in all safety initiatives needed by the public service.

Ms Nkolonyane also urged SHE coordinators to look at the logistics and develop a comprehensive and inclusive proposal for their safety operations to present it to the tripartite leadership so that their safety needs at ministry level were met.

She said collaboration and solidarity would make work easier.

DPSM senior assistance director, Ms Olebeng Kgabo said the safety, health and environment programme was established in 2016 and placed under the employment relations unit.

She said its goal was to nurture a safe and healthy work environment as well as protect co-workers, employers, customers and many who might be affected by the work environment.

Ms Kgabo explained that the SHE programme existed to provide policies, guidelines, standards and direction for managing health and safety issues in the public service.

She said they promoted a culture of safety through a comprehensive safety programme for all employees in the public service, and to prevent incidents or accidents resulting from abnormal operating conditions in the workplace.

“DPSM will develop and implement a health and safety management system that is appropriate to the size and nature of the public service.

The health and safety management system will establish arrangements for formulating policy, planning, implementation, monitoring and review of the safety initiatives,” she indicated.

Ms Kgabo pointed out that the DPSM objective was to collectively make a proposal on SHE operations to be appreciated and approved by the tripartite leadership being the National AIDS Coordinating Agency, Ministry of Health and Wellness and DPSM.

She further urged coordinators to lead by example, and to identify and control hazards in their work areas using risk assessments. ENDS