To provide for the health and safety of persons at work and for the health and safety of persons in connection with the use of plant and machinery; the protection of persons other than persons at work against hazards to health and safety arising out of or in connection with the activities of persons at work; to establish an advisory council for occupational health and safety; and to provide for matters connected herewith.

Responsibilities/Duties of Employers to their Employees

It is of the utmost importance that employers provide and maintain a working environment that is at all times safe and without risk to the health of their employees.

The following are the general responsibilities/duties employers have in regard to their employees:

• ensuring that the maintenance and provision of systems concerning machinery, plant, and work are without risks to health and thus safe;

• before resorting to personal protective equipment, practicable steps have to be taken to mitigate or eliminate any hazard or potential hazard to the health or safety of employees;

• making arrangements to ensure the safety and absence of risks to health in connection with the production, processing, use, handling, storage or transport of articles or substances;

• establishing what hazards to the health or safety of persons are attached to any work which is performed, any substance or article which is produced, processed, used, handled, stored or transported and any plant or machinery which is used in a business; the employer should further establish what precautionary measures should be taken with respect to such work, article substance, plant or machinery in order to protect the health and safety of employees, and he must provide the necessary means to apply such precautionary measures;

• providing information, instructions, training and supervision necessary to ensure the health and safety at work of employees;

• not permitting any employee to do any work or to produce, process, use, handle, store or transport any article or substance or to operate any plant or machinery, unless the precautionary measures contemplated in the first two paragraphs, or any other precautionary measures which may be prescribed, have been taken;

• taking all necessary measures to ensure that every person in his employment or on premises under his control where plant or machinery is used comply with tire requirements of this Act.;

• enforcing measures necessary in the interest of health and safety;

• ensuring that work is performed and that plant or machinery issued under the general supervision of a person trained to understand the hazards associated with it and who have the authority to ensure that precautionary measures taken by the employer are implemented; and

• informing all employees regarding the scope of their authority as contemplated in section 37 (1) (b) of the Act.
  
  

Responsibilities/Duties of Employers to persons other than their Employees

The following are the general responsibilities/duties employers have in regard to persons other than their employees:

• Every employer should ensure that persons other than those in his employment who may be directly affected by his activities are not thereby exposed to hazards to their health or safety.