Sad News: Machine grinds labourer to death

The sad news of a labourer who has been grinded to death by a machine he was working on has hit the news. According to the news first published by mynewsghana.net, the employer of the victim, who is a Chinese took to his heels when the incident occurred.

This sad event happened in Anhwiankwanta in the Bekwai Municipality of the Ashanti district on Monday.

The youth of the area decide to take things into their own hands but the police intervened in what would have turned bloody.

The victim in an attempt to remove an unwanted material stuck in the machine was rather hauled in the pounding mechanical machine.  The casualty, a 22-year old male by name Francis Kwame Adu had his body crushed and grinded by the machine. An interview by MyNewsGh.com with some workers of the company revealed that the company did not follow safety measures. The workers also work without the necessary protection bundles although their job is a hazardous one.

The inhabitants have therefore requested that the Bekwai Municipal Assembly should shut down the company.

The labour laws of Ghana frown on employers exposing their workers to danger that is likely to affect their health and safety. However, do employees know their rights to safety under the labour law and how to seek for the proper implementation of these by the employer within the work environment?

Ghana Labour and Safety of workers

According to the Labour Act 2003, of Ghana, Act 651 section 9 which borders on duties of employers subsection c, the employer is by law required to

Take all practicable steps to ensure that the worker is free from risk of personal injury or damage to his or her health during and in the course of the worker’s employment or while lawfully on the employer’s premises;

Section 10 which covers issues relating to the Rights of a worker, subsection “A” also states that it is the right of the worker to

Work under satisfactory, safe and healthy conditions

Many Ghanaians are suffering in their work environments due to poor or no adherence to safety rules and precautionary measures. This occurrence may be just a drop in the ocean and many more workers in Ghana may be working in more life-threatening work environments in silence.