Compactor operators demands regular occupational health check-ups

Employees from the solid waste management department, also known as compactor operators, at the Swakopmund Municipality are not happy with the way occupational health check-ups are done at their respective work places and feel that the employees working at the sewerage plant get special treatment compared to them while they almost do the same job, with the same risks.

This issue was brought to namib time’s attention by Mr Hosea Valombola a compactor operator who said that he was speaking on behalf of his colleagues. The first matter he raised was the issue of Occupational Health check-ups. He said he has been working for the Municipality for a period of over ten years, but in these ten years they have not received any occupational health check-ups until recently, which was last year on 10 February.
Responding to that and commenting on how often employees working at solid management get occupational health check-ups, the Swakopmund Municipality’s Marketing and Corporate Communications Officer Mrs Ailie Gebhardt said the frequency of testing relates to the health risks to which the employees are exposed to. “The Municipal Council of Swakopmund performed a health risk analysis and implemented the recommendations as per the report received”.
Gebhardt said on 10 June 2013 a submission was made to the Planning Forum under point 5.2 where the following was resolved: That the health services department identifies positions where annual medical check-ups will be compulsory, and payable by council, costs to be defrayed form the relevant department vote; that the union be requested to provide input in this regard; that the health services department obtains quotations from qualified professional and; that the health services Department complies a medical examination form.
“In consonance with the Planning Forum resolution provided, formal quotations were requested for the provision of medical surveillance services and in addition, the municipality council of 14 January 2016, under item 9.2 resolved that the staff members, be subjected to medical examination, that the manager of engineering services and the manager of health services identify applicable votes in the operational expenditure budget of 2015/16 to fund the envisaged medical examinations
Valombola also claims that his fellow colleagues who works at the sewerage works get tested annually but not the ones at solid waste engineering department had funds available to start executing the examinations at once, whilst the Health department had to wait for the next financial year to start” Gebhardt added. She further alleged that the Sewerage plant’s staff members were only examined one year prior to the Compactor operators.