The main objectives of the Work Safety Act 2008 are as follow -
• To keep workers secure at the work place and also promote their well being.
• To eradicate the source of risk to people at work whether it is either from the work itself or from colleagues.
• To protect the people from the risk resulting due to poor work done by their fellow workers.
• To provide workers with a safe and healthy environment that will not bring them any injury or illness.
• Meeting the requirements of workers psychological and physical needs.
• Fostering co-operations with consultations between workers and employers or between workers unions and employer organizations.
• The Act also seek to have a framework of continuous improvement, as technology improves so does the standard of work.
It is important to note from this Act that its objectives are so patterned that they will be in line with need for maintenance of workers equipment, improving the working environment and protecting the workers from the risk at work.
The way this spells out for Asbestos workers is that while working with damaged asbestos the workers should have their personal respiratory devices that will filter the fibers from the air and allow the workers to breathe. The workers also need to be given a protective suit so that the asbestos should not come in contact with their skin. The Act also states that the harmful asbestos material should be substituted wherever possible. The Work Safety Act strictly adheres to the ALARA principle, which is case of asbestos means “As Low As Reasonably Achievable”, i.e. the asbestos exposure needs to be negligible.
Another thing that the Work Safety Act 2008 plans to do is to create awareness of the risk of asbestos exposure along with how it should be handled and this awareness it carries out by conducting written test among the workers. The risks are then conclusively assessed by considering the type of asbestos worked with, material friability, conditions of asbestos used along with potential hazard and personal protective equipment used. The Act then works on these to provide a better working environment.
