Safety at work must be practiced at all times and employees should not be overworked or put at risk said Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour (M.C.I.L.) boss, Pulotu Lyndon Chu Ling. 

He made the comments as World Occupational Safety and Health (O.S.H.) Day was marked the Tatte building on Tuesday.

In an interview with the Samoa Observer, Pulotu urged all employers and employees to adhere to safety and health requirements to lessen the burden on both parties for a safer working environment.

"It is a must and I urge employers to stay aware of these things and for the employees to be aware of their safety and health because if an accident happens then it first falls on the employer," he said.

"There will be further investigation later to find that it was also the employee for not complying with their safety but it first falls on the employer.

"So it's important to remind all parties of their obligations. The constituency of employees have their obligations to their employers and the constituencies of workers have obligations to adhere to the requirements and conditions of safety and health.

"And also for the government to emphasize on carrying out these policies. So, this triangle is important."

One of the issues presented to the C.E.O by this newspaper was the rubbish collectors sitting on rubbish in a truck while collecting rubbish across the country.

Asked whether the Ministry can prevent such practices as it involves the safety and health of the employees, Pulotu said 'yes'.

"It's a must because it is also under the Health policy to be protected from such things (rubbish) but under our policies, we also remind those employers and employees on these things," he said.

"For some cases, the employers must have already informed or taught them about these things but they still sit on those things they shouldn't be sitting on and should have safety gear and that's why the ministry's surveys include all employers.

"Once the Ministry catches them, we give a warning and refer them to relevant agencies for further actions like Health."

As part of the commemorations held on 28 April annually, the Ministry prepared three programs ahead of the day.

First is the awareness workshop carried out on Tuesday to bring members of the government ministries that have their policies to be presented to stakeholders including private sector, non-government organisations and other ministries to provide more awareness on the importance of occupational safety and health.

"Because it looks at our working environment to ensure that our working environment is safe," Pulotu explained.

"If the working environment is good then you would love to work and if it's problematic and not good then you also won't feel like working and that also affects your productivity."

"Second is the talk-back show on television which provides a wider awareness for the community.

"The third is the awards night at the end of this month or the beginning of next month. We also plan to carry out a prize giving for work places in the government and businesses that have obeyed in terms of occupational safety and health for the past two years.

"The celebration is just to mark the OSH Day but our obligations in vitalising occupational safety and health.

"It's an everyday priority for all of us, especially for employers. That's their main obligation. To make sure that the work environment for workers is  good so that they can boost the productivity."