Industry body the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) and occupational health and safety (OHS) consultancy MSHEQ Health and Safety Consultants have partnered to promote safety training in the metals and engineering (M&E) sector.

“This is the first time we have set up this type of partnership. It makes sense to do it with Seifsa as they represent a significant number of employers in the steel and engineering industry – a huge but dangerous industry. We are excited to see where this journey takes us,” MSHEQ founder and MD Charné Vosloo said on February 23.

Vosloo referred to the partnership as a symbiotic relationship and expressed her hope for a long-term training partnership.

“Seifsa is happy to partner with MSHEQ in this initiative as we know how crucial workplace safety is, especially in our sector, and the best way to ensure the safety of workers is through high-quality training,” Seifsa CEO Lucio Trentini added.

Employment and Labour Deputy Minister Boitumelo Moloi has also expressed her desire to keep workers safe. She spoke about the importance of workplace safety at an OHS conference, in Cape town, on February 20, urging companies to develop a mandatory culture of health and safety compliance.

“We should not allow compliance to happen by accident. If you think compliance is exorbitant, try noncompliance,” she warned.

“We genuinely want employees to work safely so they can go home to their families and, just as importantly, we want employers to be committed to providing a risk-free and safe working environment. All workers have the right to refuse to work in an unsafe workplace, but how do they know if they have not been trained?” Vosloo asked, noting the mantra: ‘if we don't train them, we can’t blame them’.

MSHEQ offers 21 accredited courses in various subjects, including first aid, firefighting and risk assessment, that run over either one or two days, with the aim of preventing accidents and injuries in the workplace.

Some courses are aimed specifically at managers while others cater to the needs of high-risk workers.

“Seifsa is excited to join MSHEQ in this partnership and to shine a light on the importance of training both workers and managers to improve the safety record of companies in the M&E sector,” Trentini said.