Theme: Beyond Compliance: Prevention in action

Programme Director: Ms M Ruiters- Chief Inspector

Inspector-General, Ms Aggy Moiloa

Senior Management of the Department,

Representatives of the Compensation Fund, Federated Employers Mutual Assurance and Rand Mutual Assurance,

Leaders of organised labour and all representatives:

COSATU- Mr M Murudi

FEDUSA- Ms R Ajam

SAFTU-Mr Z Vavi

AUDA-NEPAD- Mr N Khoza

ILO-Mr S Mbhele

BUSA-Ms L Sethusha

Distinguished regulators, inspectors and professionals,

Our valued exhibitors and partners,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning.

It gives me immense honour to address you on important occasion of the Occupational Health and Safety Conference.

This gathering brings together Government, Organised Business, Organised Labour, Regulators, inspectors, professionals, exhibitors and international partners. Over the next few days, you will have an opportunity to engage, reflect, exchange ideas and identify practical solutions to strengthen prevention in workplaces.

Let me begin by acknowledging the exhibitors participating in this conference.

Your presence is an integral part of advancing occupational health and safety in our country. Prevention cannot be an outcome of policy implementation only. Innovation, technology and practical solutions would enhance the ability of workplaces to pinpoint risks, manage hazards more effectively and protect workers better.

Your contribution therefore strengthens the collective effort to build safer workplaces. Without strong collaborative efforts, we are unlikely to make any significant inroads to improve the outlook of the country's occupational health and safety profile.

This is not the responsibility of a single institution, it is a shared responsibility amongst government, employers, workers, professionals and regulators.

At the centre of that shared responsibility is a simple but powerful principle:

Every worker has the right to return home safe and healthy at the end of every working day.

Not injured.

Not ill.

Safe and healthy.

In June 2022, the global community took an important step forward when the International Labour Organization recognised occupational health and safety as a fundamental right and principle at work. This recognition affirmed what we have long understood and embraced.  The Department solidified its commitment by drafting and launching the OHS strategy in October 2024.

Safe and healthy working conditions are not optional; they are a fundamental human right. For South Africa, this principle is not only an international commitment, but also a constitutional imperative. Our Constitution guarantees the right to an environment that is not harmful to health and wellbeing. This right extends directly into our workplaces.

 It means that protecting workers from occupational injuries and diseases is not simply a regulatory requirement, but a constitutional responsibility as well.

Workers are not tools of production; they are made of flesh and blood. It is imperative to protect their lives and dignity.

The theme of this conference: “Beyond compliance: prevention in practice", captures an important reality. For many years, occupational health and safety has often been approached as a compliance matter, however, compliance alone does not prevent injuries and illnesses. Neither does it prevent diseases.  What truly protects workers is prevention. The old adage: prevention is better than cure, is very apt.

Prevention means identifying risks before harm occurs. It means designing safer and healthier systems of work. It means anticipating hazards and eliminating them before they cause injuries and illnesses.

Let me therefore state this clearly. The Department of Employment and Labour does not accept the proposition that injury and disease are part of the job. Workers should never have to sacrifice their health or their lives to earn a living. Occupational injuries and diseases are not inevitable. They are preventable. No job should cost a worker their life. That is why preventive systems must exist in every workplace. But these systems cannot remain static. Technology is evolving.  Work processes are changing. New hazards are constantly emerging.

 Systems have got to be adaptable. Our prevention systems must therefore be continuously reviewed and strengthened to ensure that they remain relevant and effective.

The safest workplace is not the one with the best paperwork, it is the one where risks are prevented before harm occurs.

Strong outcomes in occupational health and safety also require robust governance. Occupational health and safety cannot be treated as a technical issue on the margins of organisational management. It must be embedded in leadership, decision-making and accountability. Boards must ask pertinent questions about occupational health and safety; this should be a key result area for Boards. Executives must prioritise occupational health and safety. Managers must champion health and safety and lead by example. When leadership takes occupational health and safety seriously, the entire organisation tends to follow.

Organised business and employers play a central role in this effort. Employers design the work environment.  They determine the systems of work and provide the equipment and training that workers rely on. Employers therefore have a responsibility to ensure safe systems of work, effective risk management and proper supervision. But beyond compliance, employers must also recognise an important truth: Occupational health and safety is not an obstacle to productivity. It is a driver of productivity.

Healthy workers are more productive, more engaged and strengthen organisations. Simply put, good health and safety is good business and ethical.

Organised labour and workers are equally important partners in building healthy and safe workplaces. Workers are often the first to see emerging risks. They understand the realities of the workplace and could provide valuable insight into how hazards can be managed or eliminated. Worker participation through health and safety committees, consultation and reporting systems is therefore essential. 

When employers and workers collaborate, occupational health and safety moves beyond policy. It becomes a workplace culture.

Allow me at this point to recognise a particularly important group present here today, our inspectors. Inspectors are the backbone of occupational health and safety enforcement in South Africa. Their work responds directly to ILO Convention 81, Convention 155 and Convention 187. They are the ones who enter workplaces and evaluate the preventive systems that are being implemented. They engage with employers and workers and ensure that the law translates into real protection for workers.

For this reason, I want to state unequivocally that the inspectors present here are the guests of honour at this conference.

 May I therefore ask all inspectors to please stand so that we may recognise and applaud them. Your work saves lives. Your work prevents injuries and occupational diseases. Your work ensures that the rights of workers are protected in practice.

Inspectors are not just regulators; they are protectors of workers' lives. Moreover, they are advocates of change. Through their work, they help in transforming workplaces into safer and healthier environments. they promote accountability. they strengthen compliance and advance fairness in the world of work. In doing so, they also strengthen social justice in our society.  They also contribute to creating stable and safe workplaces that support investment, productivity and sustainable economic growth. With this important responsibility also comes an equally important obligation, inspectors must always conduct their work with the highest levels of professionalism, integrity and ethical conduct. The credibility of our inspection system depends on commitment to fairness, transparency and accountability.

When inspectors act with integrity, they build trust in the regulatory system, strengthen compliance and reinforce and legitimise the law.  Inspectors also give practical meaning to the Constitution by protecting the dignity, health and lives of workers in their workplaces every day.  Your selfless toil does not go unnoticed. I am immensely proud of you.

Occupational health and safety professionals also play a critical role in the area of prevention.

OHS practitioners, occupational hygienists, ergonomists, engineers, occupational medical practitioners and other specialists provide the expertise required to identify hazards, assess risks and implement effective control measures, including medical surveillance.

 Professional bodies support this work by maintaining standards, promoting ethical conduct and ensuring continuous professional development. Without competent professionals, there can't be viable prevention.

Let me also emphasise an important principle.  The occupational health and safety regulatory framework provides the minimum standard required by the law. It is the baseline not the aspiration. Employers, organised business, organised labour and workers must always strive to go beyond the minimum requirements. Excellence in occupational health and safety is achieved through continuous improvement, innovation and a genuine commitment to prevention.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Our objective must remain clear. We want a South Africa where no worker loses their health or their life because of their work.  A South Africa where workplaces protect dignity, health and wellbeing. Achieving this vision requires leadership, partnership and a shared commitment to prevention. Let us therefore use this conference to strengthen that commitment. Let us move beyond compliance.

Let us strengthen prevention and build workplaces where every worker can return home safe and healthy, because when we protect workers, we protect families. When we protect families, we strengthen communities, and when we build safer and healthier workplaces, we build a stronger, more productive and more just nation.

Work must never cost a worker their life. Health and safety must never be treated as option. The dignity of workers must always come first.

Let us honour that responsibility in every workplace, every day.

Thank you.​

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