Occupational Health and Safety Authority CEO Mark Gaudi said that one cannot expect the authority to have people monitoring what both the traditional and social media are saying with regard to possible infringements of health and safety at the workplace.

Interviewed by The Malta Independent online editor Stephen Calleja on Indepth, Gauci said the traditional media has a big role to play in educating the public on issues pertaining to health and safety. But the OHSA is not in a position to follow the media all the time, he said.

On the contrary, the media, as well as the public, should inform the OHSA each time they come across occasions when there is a breach of health and safety regulations.

Gauci said that since its inception in 2002 great strides forward have been made on health and safety issues, but the OHSA works within established parameters and it is often other entities who should be held accountable.

Health and safety issues have become so ingrained in our society that fingers are pointed at the OHSA each time something happens, when it is other entities who should be liable, Gauci said.

Trade unions were against health and safety issues on the workplace, but have now understood their importance to safeguard workers, Gauci said.

Gauci recalled a day when a prominent trade unionist attacked him for promoting health and safety issues, believing that workers should not be told about risks but should be given a job.

 

These things have changed, he said, and both unions and employers understand the need for workers to be made aware of the risks involved in their job and also given the necessary training to carry out their duties in the safest way possible.