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The Occupational Health and Safety Act 1993 and its attendant regulations in South Africa require industries to implement occupational health programmes informed by corresponding occupational health (OH) hazards. The programmes are only inferred and, in certain instances, non-prescriptive, leaving employers with the discretionary latitude to adopt and adapt preferred model programmes. On the other hand, the cited act and the health regulations are enforced using a combination of both prescriptive and performance-based regulatory approaches. Amidst implemented OH programmes and regulatory inspection and enforcement, occupational disease prevalence in the South African industry persists. This study identified the regulatory organisation, enforcement, and reporting practices of occupational health programmes in South Africa. This qualitative study analysed seven health-related regulations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1993 in South Africa, and 114 company reports (51 sustainability and 63 integrated reports). The frequency of conducting OH programme aspects was clearly prescribed and enforced through the prescriptive regulatory framework. Training, personnel, and risk assessment methods were the most ambiguously regulated programme aspects, and their enforcement varies between prescriptive and performance-based regulatory frameworks. Ninety-nine companies reported implementation of generic occupational health and safety programmes, with twenty-one reporting specific OH programme implementation. The current state of affairs complicates both employer compliance obligations and regulator enforcement efforts. The situation is compounded by an absence of model programmes in some instances and requires policy reforms.
Oscar Rikhotso (Fri,) studied this question.