Time bomb: Millions of lives left exposed as safety rules gather dust

When this year ends in about six weeks, one of the most memorable tragedies will be the Hillside Endarasha Academy fire that claimed the lives of 21 young souls and left lifetime scars on survivors, parents and the school community.

When investigators into the September fire incident finished examining the site and handed it back to the administrators to resume operations, the Kenya Human Rights Commission was not pleased.

The lobby successfully petitioned the High Court in Nyeri, arguing that the reopening had been “rushed without having put in place all the requisite measures to ensure the safety of the pupils in accordance with the prescribed safety standards for school structures and school learning environment.”

Justice Kizito Magare’s order was specific; proper safety compliance needed to be put in place and verified.

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For nearly half a century, 47 years to be precise, the landscape of occupational safety in the country has largely remained stagnant, with regulations frozen in time since 1977.

Despite legal reforms in other sectors, the crucial rules governing the safety and health of workers languished in obscurity, ultimately resulting in a neglect so profound that even the passage of time seemed to be overlooked.

However, a significant shift occurred in May when the Directorate of Occupational Safety and Health Services championed a long-overdue review, unveiling a set of relevant regulations.

Yet, in a striking irony, an investigation by The Standard revealed a lack of awareness about these updates among government officials and many workers in  the private sector, highlighting a monumental failure by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection to effectively communicate and engage with those they serve.

The Occupational Safety and Health (First Aid in the Workplace) Regulations, 2024, mandated specific requirements that might have prevented – or at least mitigated - some of these tragedies. Today, these regulations gather dust in government offices while lives continue to hang in the balance, waiting for another disaster to strike.

The regulations are explicit: workplaces with fewer than 10 workers must have at least one trained first aid provider. Those with 51 to 100 need five providers. For every additional hundred workers, two more trained providers are required.

Yet across high-traffic institutions – schools hosting thousands of students, bustling marketplaces, crowded malls and transport hubs – these basic safety requirements remain largely unfulfilled.

The human cost is staggering: 380 workplace fatalities in 2023 alone, out of 6,979 reported accidents. These aren’t just statistics, they’re stories of families torn apart, dreams shattered and futures erased.

With student populations ranging from several hundred in smaller schools to upwards of 3,000 in big national schools, education institutions are especially vulnerable. The new rules require schools to maintain fully equipped first aid rooms manned by registered nurses or medical practitioners when they host more than 500 people.

“You’ve shocked me,” admitted one private school director upon learning of the new regulations. This response, echoed across sectors, reveals a dangerous knowledge gap that puts thousands of lives at risk daily.

This brings to mind the September 2022 fire accident in a crowded classroom at a primary school in Kisumu, resulting in the death of three students and injury of 15 others. Other more tragic incidents like the death of 67 boys in a dormitory fire at the Kyanguli High School in Machakos in 2001 are still fresh in our minds.

Investigations revealed that most school lack proper fire safety measures and adequate emergency response training for teachers and staff.

The crisis extends far beyond school walls. Insurance companies are beginning to scrutinise safety compliance during policy renewals, though enforcement remains inconsistent.

The agricultural sector, where workers handle dangerous machinery and chemicals, operates with minimal safety oversight. Financial institutions, despite their modern facades, often lack basic emergency response capabilities.

At one leading bank, a senior manager recalled the last safety drill in 2020. “Covid-19,” she said. “That’s when we last had any training. Our first aid boxes? I’m not even sure where they are anymore.” Her office overlooks a busy street where thousands pass by daily.

Yet, in a contemporary working environment, the safety and health of all is not just a critical labour right but a fundamental human right and an integral objective of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

Kenya is a signatory to several ILO conventions, including the Employment Injury Benefits Convention of 1964, the Occupational Safety and Health Convention of 1981, and the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health of 2006. However, Kenya is yet to ratify other important conventions.

The Labour and Social Protection ministry is mandate by the Occupational Safety and Health Act 2007 and the Work Injury Benefits Act, 2007, to enforce the regulations.

But the reality paints a largely dysfunctional system where employers relentlessly continue to neglect the safety regulations leading to avoidable loss of life, irreversible disability and in some instances loss of livelihoods and property.

Persistent efforts to reach Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua for comments were unfruitful as calls made and questions sent to him since last week remain unanswered, despite promises to respond appropriately.

The National Assembly Labour and Social Affairs Committee chairman, Muchangi Karemba, and his deputy, Fabian Muli, also did not respond.

A spot check at building blocks that host national and county government offices, major organisations like financial institutions, petrol stations, malls, supermarkets and open-air markets, busy mobile phone shops and customer-care centres, hospitals and hotels confirmed everyone's worst fears.

At Afya House, the Health ministry headquarters, the irony is thick enough to cut with a knife. “We have fire extinguishers,” admits a senior official, requesting anonymity. “But they’re more like wall decorations. More than 90 per cent of us wouldn’t know how to use them if our lives depended on it. Some people just got a tender to supply and fix them and that was the end of it. Even first aid boxes are largely unavailable or just empty”

In all, workers in government and the private sector openly admitted that little or no training on occupational safety and health has been conducted since the publication of the new regulations six months ago. Many could not even identify the location of first aid boxes and fire extinguishers, even in few places where they are available.

The Ministry of Labour has failed in two key duties: Ensuring that all workplaces comply with the rules and conducting the legally required inspections.

In early 2023, a six-storey building collapsed in Nairobi’s Huruma Estate, killing 37 people and injuring dozens. This preventable disaster highlighted the critical need for strict adherence to safety protocols in the construction sector.

These incidents underscore the urgent need for adherence to safety protocols, particularly in crowded and high-risk environments like hospitals.

Evidence has showed that lack of trained personnel and emergency response plans contribute to chaotic scenes, resulting in loss of lives that could have been saved.

These incidents paint a grim picture of the status of occupational safety, revealing deep flaws in the systems designed to protect.