By Byron Mutingwende

Nicholas Goche, Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare has said much needs to be done in order to prevent workplace accidents and deaths.

Goche made the remarks while officially opening a workshop on safety and health at work at the Rainbow Towers Hotel in Harare last week.

The calls come as the country recorded 71 workplace deaths and 3, 598 serious injuries from January to August 2014. Statistics showed that there were 4 158 work-related serious injuries and 75 deaths in 2011. In 2012 there were 5, 141 serious injuries with 107 of them fatal; while the year 2013 had 5, 666 injuries of which 76 were fatal.

“These statistics are not just numbers. They talk about people like you and me who left home for work one day but never returned or found ourselves on a hospital bed badly injured.

“We need to do much more together in order to prevent these accidents at work.

“A positive paradigm shift in the workplace safety and health culture is essential among social partners of government, business and labour if we are to win this war against accidents,” Goche said.

The conference hosted by National Social Security Authority was a platform to deliberate, participate and explore further ways to preventing injuries and fatalities at the workplace.