Workplace health and safety training programme organised ob behave of the Local Government Service for coordinating officers and human resource managers of the local government service from 20th to 24th September 2022, at Anita Hotel, Kumasi, Ghana
INTRODUCTION
The training programme dubbed “Workplace Health and Safety”, organised under the auspices of the Local Government Service, took place at the Anita Hotel in Ejisu, Kumasi, in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. With assistance from the Office of the Head of Local Government Service, training facilitators were assembled from the University of Education, Winneba, in the persons of Dr. Maxwell Acheampong (acting as coordinating facilitator) and Dr. Seth Tweneboah, and from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Prof. Dadson Awunyo-Vitor and Prof. Peter Agyei-Baffour. The facilitators are associated with Sustainability Management Institute and aided by Mr. Sylvester Asare, Technical Assistant for the Institute. Regional Coordinators and Human Resources Manager under the local government scheme of service were drawn as the participants of the training from the Ashanti Region throughout the regions in the northern half of Ghana. The participants were organised in three batches with each batch taking its turn on the training on a separate day over the three days scheduled for completion of the training. Effectively, the training was delivered consecutively on Tuesday 20th, Thursday 22nd, and Saturday 24th September, 2022 to cover each of the three batches. The training, which was interspersed with practical, hands-on activities, served a three-fold purpose: it created awareness and rejuvenated thinking among the participants on the need for a workplace health and safety policy and risk management framework. It also provided the platform for the participants to critically analyse their work environment for the risk factors that create workplace health and safety issues. Finally, it provided vital information on how to keep people safe in the workplace.
STRUCTURE AND COVERAGE
As planned, the training was executed in four (4) modules: Understanding Workplace Health and Safety; Critical Issues in Occupational/Workplace Health and Safety; Occupational Hazards and Risk Management; and Workplace Safety Programmes. All the modules were covered each training day for the independent batches of participants. For each training day, a representative of the hierarchy of the Office of the Head of Local Government Service conducted the opening ceremony which involved an opening prayer from a volunteer among the trainees, an opening address from the Head of Local Government Service, and introduction of each participant of the training from the regional offices of the Local Government Service all of which happened in between 8:30 am to 9:30 am.
1st Batch (20/9/22)
The first day of the training witnessed the arrival of and personal address by the Head of Local Government Service after the first batch of training participants had been introduced. Prof. Dadson Awunyo-Vitor delivered the overview of the training on Workplace Health and Safety which opened the floor for the subsequent presentations relative to the training modules. Following that was Prof. Peter Agyei-Baffour’s presentation on ‘Understanding Workplace Health and Safety’. A snack break was observed around 11:00am, thereby encouraging further interactions among the training participants. By 12:00 noon, the trainees were welcomed back to session with a 2-hour presentation from paramedics from the Ghana National Ambulance Service and resource persons from the National Fire Service on safety at the workplace. Around 3:00pm after lunch break, Dr. Maxwell Acheampong gave a presentation on ‘Critical Issues in Occupational/Workplace Health and Safety’ and ‘Occupational Hazards and Risk Management’, which was a more interactive session that engaged the participants in brainstorming risks at the workplace and sharing experiences about safety issues that need attention. Dr. Seth Tweneboah closed the training session with a simulation exercise which engaged the trainees in a groupwork to analyse risk and safety issues in the workplace and how the participants would remedy the problem. This provided the synergy for the participants to think about Workplace Safety Programmes. Afterward, closing remarks were given by the hierarchy of the Office of the Health of Local Government Service to conclude the training for the first batch of participants.
2nd Batch (22/9/22)
The second day of the training followed the same procedure as the first day, but this time, the training witnessed the second batch of trainees. The training commenced by 9am after self-introduction of the participants was done and opening address from the Head of Local Government Service was delivered. After taking the participants on a detour through the dimensions of workplace health and safety, the paramedics and firemen provided practical lessons about dealing with injury, shock, resuscitation, airway blockage, and fire issues. The Chief Director of the Local Government remarked, after the simulation exercise that ended the training session, that the participants take the concerns about ‘duty of care’ very seriously at their workplaces, and endeavour to apply the lessons that have been learnt from the training to the work environment.
3rd Batch (24/9/22)
Training day 3 also followed the structure and coverage of the training programme as did the previous days. The highlights of the proceedings were that participants were unable to demonstrate how to douse a fire by applying a fire extinguisher. The training, therefore, provided an important occasion where the participants learned how to apply a fire extinguisher. The training provided the urgency needed by the local assemblies to develop a workplace health and safety policy for the local organisations.
Output/value
The training focused on Occupational/Workplace Health and Safety thereby drawing significant attention of the Coordinators and Human Resource Management officers to the most important phenomena of safety and health at the workplace. The training highlighted that despite considerable efforts made to incorporate Occupational/Workplace Health and Safety policy in Ghana, there is still no comprehensive policy on which organisations can draw. Meanwhile, health and safety issues continue to pose enormous risks and losses within the Local Government Service––to the people within the organisation. However, through the training, a mosaic of laws, including policies and responsibility documents within the Local Government Service, were identified to guide the participants in thinking about how to address the health and safety risks in the workplace. Through the training, for instance, the participants revitalized their thinking about keeping a workplace First Aid Boxes. Most importantly, the participants identified the absence of a Workplace Health and Safety policy in their workplace as a risk which they had to work toward addressing. In all these, the Coordinators and Human Resource Managers of the Local Government Service became more aware of their own roles and the role of the Local Government Service as an organisation in promoting occupational/workplace health and safety. The hierarchy of the Office of the Head of Local Government Service, therefore, accorded a great sense of importance to the training and urged the participants to progress sturdily in applying the lessons to their own organisations as this would advance the quest of the leadership of the Service in enhancing workplace health and safety.
REACTION FROM THE PARTICIPANTS
On the whole, the Workplace/Occupational Health and Safety training aroused and held the attention of the participants to the need for safety and security at their workplaces. The training was regarded as an innovation to inculcate health and safety practices in the organisational culture of the Local Government Service. Specifically, a considerable number of the participants lauded the training programme and called for a follow up programme that will facilitate the design of a localised health and safety policy for their separate Local Assemblies, each according to its needs. The thought-provoking contributions, questions and remarks obtained from the interactions with the participants during the training warrant the proposition that the health and safety training holds some promise for improving upon workplace safety and job satisfaction in the Local Government Service.
CONCLUSION
This Occupational/Workplace Health and Safety training has, to a larger extent, been insightful, reengaging, and providing the platform that holds a promise for better and safer workplaces within the Local Government Service. The training has revitalised the urgency among Coordinators and Human Resource Managers as responsibility holders to act on occupational/workplace health and safety as the Office of the Local Government Service embarks on support this drive. The training turned out to be a good step by the Office of the Local Government Service to initiate support of the Service for occupational/workplace health and safety, and for that matter, the total safety of all workers in the Service.
RECOMMENDATIONS
- We strongly recommend a follow up survey on the implementation of the practical steps for the realisation of a safe and healthy workplace. We view the training as a first line approach from which Coordinators and Human Resource Managers must act in accordance with the vision of the Local Government Service.
- Coordinators and Human Resource Managers need to think about designating about two workers as Health and Safety representatives that would constitute the team to monitor risks and facilitate remedial efforts.
- Occupational/workplace Health and Safety (OHS) Policy needs to be seen as a factor that can elevate employee morale and stimulate effectiveness of the Local Government Service. Hence, every local government setup needs to be supported and empowered to collect data on the risks associated with their jobs so that the data can be synthesised into a policy framework for the Local Government Service, which the Local Assemblies can rely on to draw their own Domestic Health and Safety Guidelines.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We wish to specially acknowledge and express our profound gratitude to the Head of Local Government Service, Dr. Ing. Nana Ato Arthur, for creating the urgency and supporting the whole idea of Occupational/workplace Health and Safety (OHS) within the Local Government Service, and for ensuring the Occupational/workplace Health and Safety training is executed. We extend similar appreciation to the Chief Director, Mr. Oppong Mensah the Human Resource Manager, Mr. Asante, all of the Local Government Service, for the august support they offered for the execution of the Occupational/workplace Health and Safety training programme.
