The Board under the Department of Occupational Health & Safety Department draws its mandate from Part IIISection 11 subsection 3 (a) and (b) of the Workers’ Compensation Act No. 10 of 1999. These are;
a ) The prevention of accidents or of any disease which is due to the nature of any occupation
b) The promotion of the health or safety of workers
These are inspections conducted by the department to avert accidents and diseases at the workplaces. These are informed by the departmental annual work plan. They take the form of those done solely by the department and those undertaken collectively by the department and the Ministry of Labour & Social Security as joint inspections.
This is a gratis service provided on request. Lectures on health and safety are provided at seminars and workshops at places of work and higher learning institutions throughout the country
The Vision Zero Campaign is a global accident prevention initiative developed by the International Social Security Association (ISSA) in conjunction with the International Labour Organization (ILO). The initiative seeks to provide a global platform and strategy for accident prevention and promotion of workers’ safety, health and wellbeing. The global launch took place during the XXI World Congress on Safety and Health at Work 2017 which was held in Singapore from 3rd to 6th September 2017. The main aim is to achieve a world of work free of occupational accidents and diseases. Workers’ Compensation Fund Control Board (WCFCB) has aligned the Vision Zero Campaign to the National Vision of 2030.
The first African launch of the Vision Zero Campaign was held in April 2018 in Ivory Coast. This was Followed by Lagos-Nigeria in June 2018 and the Ghana launch in October 2018. The WCFCB in collaboration with the International Social Security Association (ISSA) and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security held a National Launch of the Vision Zero Campaign in Zambia on 14th December 2018.
Therefore, Zambia became the fourth African country and the first in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to successfully launch the Vision Zero Campaign.
This is a campaign aimed at promoting and developing a future cadre of safety-conscious workers among school going learners. This is promoted through the formation of Safety Clubs in Schools. So far, sixty nine ( 69 ) safety clubs have been formed in sixty nine ( 69 ) schools in nine ( 9 ) branches.
