Compensating for workplace safety

A recent media report on survivors of a major fire accident in a labour camp in Bahrain made a rather poor impression about the safety and compensation culture in the region.

Reportedly, two Indian workers, escaping with minor injuries, were sent home, their company paying only part of their dues.

In spite of authorities emphasising the need for the utmost safety at workplaces and forcing employers to act in accordance, accidents at work still occur at alarmingly high rates, in a region where construction is a major economic driver.

Investigations done by risk managers and civil defence teams say work-related accidents are caused by a great range of factors, from trips and slips on work premises to incidents involving defective machinery, hazardous chemicals, transport vehicles and much more.

The common thread, invariably, is human error and omissions.

Safety lapses

With the fast pace of competition and efficiency, at times minor lapses are given the 'Nelson's eye' by managers.

At workplaces in the Middle East, often driven by internal and customer targets, getting the job done on time and in budget can sometimes be traded against worker safety.

Despite the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognising the right of all people to just and favourable conditions of work, it is estimated by the International Labour Office that workers suffer 270 million accidents at work each year, with more than 355,000 fatalities.

While the economic losses involved are the equivalent of four per cent of the entire world's GDP, in terms of shattered families and communities, the damages are incalculable.

Worldwide occupational accident statistics supplied by the ILO present a disturbing picture for several regions, including the Middle East.

While the fatality rate in established market econ-omies is around 5.3 deaths per million people, in the Middle East it rises to 22.5 per million a ratio only exceeded by Asia, excluding China and India.

While worksite accidents cannot be completely eliminated, it is important that the victims mostly poor construction workers receive adequate compensation.

The average construction worker needs to be provided with satisfactory answers to the following simple questions: what happens if I am injured on the job? Who is responsible for my medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, loss of ability to return to work, or, in the most severe case, loss of life?

In most countries of the Middle East, injured workers may seek compensation from their employers pursuant to that country's Workers' Compensation Act or Federal Labour Law.

The other option would be a civil suit, under the common law or Sharia, though the process is cumbersome and time consuming.

Jurisdictions

An injured worker, in most jurisdictions, is only entitled to lost wages and payment of medical treatment.

A majority of jurisdictions have a salary scale which determines how much an injured worker will be awarded for his lost wages. Pain and suffering is not compensable unless you can establish gross negligence on the part of the employer.

The mode and the quantum of compensation stipulated under the Workers' Compensation Laws also vary under different jurisdictions.

An employer in the UAE is liable to compensate the victims of work related accidents in accordance with the Federal Law, though the authorities have not mandated any compulsory insurance.

In Saudi Arabia however, the workers compensation is administered by General Organisation for Social Insurance, which collects a percentage of monthly wages as contributions from the employers.

It is only natural that small and medium enterprises may find it difficult to compensate the victims following a major accident like the one in the labour camp in Bahrain which was gutted in a blaze killing 16 people. But then, they can always pay a small sum and obtain an employer liability insurance so as to take care of such contingencies.

The writer is Deputy General Manager with Al Rajhi Company For Cooperative Insurance, Riyadh. The views expressed herein are his own and not necessarily subscribed to by his employers.