Abstract:
Introduction: The Government has initiatives to promote decent and safe work through establishment of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) regulations administered through enforcement of the OSH Act 5 of 2003. The regulating authority, Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OSHA), has registered and inspected workplaces in the country however, there have been high rates of non-compliance with these regulations/standards from the time these regulations came to existence. Data from OSHA revealed that up to the operational year 2019/20 only 1242 (0.7%) out 173,116 inspected workplaces in the country were awarded OSHA compliance certificates after implementation of workplace specific minimum OSH compliance requirements. This study aimed at determining factors facilitating, barriers hindering implementation of minimum OSH compliance requirements among compliant and non-compliant inspected workplaces and enforcement actions for non-compliance.
Methodology: The study employed descriptive cross-sectional design with qualitative approach in exploring the determinants for implementation of OSH compliance criteria among inspected workplaces in Kinondoni Municipal - Dar es Salaam. Purposive sampling was applied to obtain representative workplaces and respective informants from compliant and non-compliant inspected workplaces. Selection was done through document review from the enforcing authority. Two IDI guides and observation checklist were utilized as data collection tools. Saturation was reached when 27 safety focal persons (14 compliant and 13 non-compliant workplaces) were interviewed. Deductive thematic analysis for qualitative data was applied through four themes; workplace internal factors, external forces, workers’ safety practices and regulatory/reinforcement actions.
Results: The study found out that workplace internal factors, external forces, workers’ safety practices and regulatory/reinforcement actions influence implementation of the minimum OSH compliance requirements to both compliant and non-compliant workplaces.
