By Precious Tetteh / Christabel Kporvie
Accra, May 2, GNA – The Ghana Tourism Development Company Limited (GTDC), in partnership with the Department of Organisation and Human Resource Management, University of Ghana Business School (UGBS), commemorates 2026 World Day for Safety and Health at Work.
The event, sponsored by Sandvik and also supported by the Chartered Institute of Human Resource Management (CIHRM), was held on the theme: “Good Psychosocial Working Environment: A Pathway to Thriving Workers and Strong Organizations.”
The celebration brought together policymakers, academics, human resource practitioners, and students to deliberate on the importance of creating safe and supportive work environments that promote both physical and mental well-being.
Prof Joseph Awetori Yaro, Provost of the College of Humanities, University of Ghana, said the Day, celebrated annually on April 28, formed part of a global effort to promote safer working environments.
He said the day sought to draw attention to the widespread impact of occupational illnesses, injuries, and deaths while encouraging a culture of prevention in workplace health and safety.
“Today marks the beginning of a movement, one that affirms that individuals who dedicate their time, skills, and energy to organisations across Ghana, Africa, and the world deserve workplaces that respect their full humanity, physically, mentally, and socially,” he said.
Dr Abdul Rashid Pelpoe, Minister of Labour, Jobs and Employment, who was the guest speaker, said systems that genuinely protected workers and prevented harm before it occurred must be built.
He said psychosocial hazards were real, measurable, and significant and must not be treated as minor concerns, adding that a worker was not a machine but a human being with a body, a mind, a family, and a right to dignity.
“When the mind of a worker is broken, the nation loses strength. Ghana cannot build a modern economy on unsafe workplaces. We must reject any culture that treats preventable incidents as routine or acceptable. No worker should leave home in the morning and return injured”, the Minister added.
He said when fear, harassment, insecurity, intimidation, and excessive pressure became normal features of the workplace, both individuals and organisations suffered and so the government recognised the safety, health and well-being of workers as fundamental rights essential to national development.
Prof Kwesi Amponsah-Tawiah, Keynote Speaker and a lecturer at the Department of Organisation and Human Resource Management, UGBS, said about 2.93 million workers die annually from occupational accidents and work-related diseases, with an estimated 395 million non-fatal injuries recorded each year per International Labour Organization (ILO) data
He said poor psychosocial working conditions also had significant economic implications, noting that nearly 12 billion working days were lost globally each year due to mental health challenges.
He said depression and anxiety alone cost the global economy about one trillion dollars annually, while low employee engagement and workplace-related health issues accounted for losses of up to 10 trillion dollars.
Prof Amponsah-Tawiah said the situation called for urgent action by organisations to prioritise and improve psychosocial working environments to enhance productivity and worker well-being.
GNA
