Death is not a shift bonus

At construction sites across Ghana, it is common to see workers several metres above the ground without safety harnesses. Welders often work without proper eye protection, mechanics handle fuel and battery chemicals with bare hands, and carpenters operate cutting machines without guards.

These scenes have become so familiar that many people no longer question them. When a worker is injured, the incident is often treated as bad luck rather than a preventable workplace accident.

For workers who depend on daily earnings, even a minor injury can be devastating. A fractured arm, damaged eye or serious burn may mean weeks without income. In many cases, the worker must also pay for treatment without support from an employer, insurance scheme or compensation system.

<>Most Ghanaian workers have limited protection

Ghana’s first Occupational Safety and Health Profile, launched in October 2025, reported that more than 70 percent of the country’s workforce operates in the informal economy, where occupational safety protection is limited.

The report also found that occupational health services reach only about 20 percent of workers.

The Ghana Statistical Service reached a related finding in its 2024 Integrated Business Establishment Survey. It reported that 92.3 percent of business establishments in Ghana operated informally.

These figures cover mechanics, welders, commercial drivers, market traders, construction labourers, hairdressers, tailors, food vendors and many other workers whose services support everyday life in Ghana.

Informal employment does not automatically mean unsafe employment. However, informal workplaces are less likely to receive regular inspections, record accidents or provide protective equipment.

Workers may also lack written contracts, health insurance and compensation when they are injured.

This means many occupational accidents never enter official records. A mechanic who cuts his hand may dress the wound at the workshop.

A welder who develops an eye problem may buy medication from a pharmacy. A construction worker with back pain may continue working because missing work means losing income.

As a result, Ghana does not have a complete record of the injuries and illnesses caused by work.

What Ghanaian studies have found

A study of 353 road-construction workers from the Ashanti, Ahafo and Western North regions found that nearly 88 percent reported experiencing a work-related injury during the preceding year. Many had been injured more than once.

Slips and trips were among the main causes. Other injuries were connected to tools, equipment and lifting heavy materials.

The waist and lower back, hands, legs and feet were frequently affected. Most of the workers were casual or contract employees.

The study had limitations because it depended partly on workers remembering previous injuries and did not cover every road-construction site in Ghana.

Even so, the findings give a disturbing picture of the risks faced by workers in the sector.

Research conducted among auto artisans at Kokompe in Accra found poor working conditions and exposure to several hazards.

Mechanics, electricians, welders and vehicle sprayers worked in crowded and poorly organised spaces. They were exposed to chemicals, noise, smoke, dangerous tools and heavy objects.

The health effects may not always appear immediately. A worker can gradually develop hearing loss after years of excessive noise.

Paint sprayers may suffer breathing problems from repeated exposure to solvents and paint particles.

Mechanics may develop skin conditions from contact with fuel, lubricants and used engine oil. Welders risk eye damage, burns and respiratory problems from intense light, hot metal and fumes.

Persistent back, neck and joint pain are also common where workers repeatedly lift heavy objects or remain in awkward positions for long periods.

These conditions should not be accepted as a normal price for learning or practising a trade.

Ghana’s laws provide protection on paper

Article 24(1) of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution gives every person the right to work under satisfactory, safe and healthy conditions.

The Factories, Offices and Shops Act, 1970 (Act 328) contains requirements on workplace safety, cleanliness, ventilation, machinery, accident reporting and the notification of certain occupational diseases.

The Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651) also places responsibilities on employers to protect workers.

The Department of Factories Inspectorate is responsible for inspecting workplaces, investigating reportable accidents and enforcing safety requirements.

Its mandate covers factories, offices, shops, construction operations, engineering works and certain other workplaces.

The problem is capacity. Ghana’s 2025 Occupational Safety and Health Profile reported that the country had only 53 active occupational safety and health inspectors.

That number is far too small for a labour force spread across thousands of formal and informal workplaces in 16 regions.

Inspectors may also lack vehicles, testing equipment and other resources required to reach small workshops and construction sites.

Most inspection activities are therefore more likely to reach organised businesses than roadside workshops, informal markets or temporary construction sites.

Ghana’s occupational safety responsibilities are also divided among several laws and institutions. This can create uncertainty about which institution should inspect a particular workplace, investigate an incident or enforce corrective action.

Why workers do not always use protective equipment

It is tempting to blame workers for failing to wear helmets, gloves, goggles or safety boots. But several factors influence their behaviour.

Protective equipment can be expensive for a worker whose income changes from one day to another. Some products sold on the market are of poor quality. Others are unsuitable for hot working conditions or do not fit properly.

Training is another problem. Giving a worker a respirator without explaining which chemical it protects against, how it should be fitted and when its filter should be changed provides only limited protection.

Workplace culture also matters. Apprentices learn by observing senior workers. If a master craftsperson has worked without eye protection for 20 years, an apprentice may copy the same practice.

Casual workers may remain silent about unsafe conditions because they fear dismissal. Construction workers may also avoid reporting pain or injuries if they think they will be replaced.

Employers and worksite managers must therefore create conditions in which workers can report hazards without being punished.

What Ghana can do

Occupational safety programmes should reach workers where they actually work.

The Department of Factories Inspectorate can work with metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies, trade associations, unions and technical training institutions to organise inspections and education in industrial areas, markets and construction zones.

Safety training should become part of apprenticeship programmes.

A person completing training as a mechanic, electrician, welder, carpenter or mason should understand how to identify hazards, use protective equipment, prevent fires and respond to emergencies.

Ghana also needs a dependable system for recording occupational injuries and diseases. Hospitals and health centres should ask patients whether their injury or illness may be connected to their work.

Serious incidents should be reported through a central system that can be accessed by the relevant regulatory bodies.

Workers need affordable and certified protective equipment. Government agencies, trade associations and private suppliers could use bulk purchasing arrangements to reduce costs.

Measures should also be taken to remove unsafe and counterfeit protective products from the market.

Periodic health screening would help identify occupational diseases before they become disabling.

Hearing tests, eye examinations, respiratory assessments and musculoskeletal checks could be organised for workers in high-risk occupations.

Informal workers also need access to social protection. An artisan who becomes temporarily unable to work should not have to depend entirely on relatives or apprentices.

Suitable insurance and injury-compensation arrangements should be developed with contribution levels that informal workers can afford.

The government must also provide the Department of Factories Inspectorate with enough inspectors, vehicles, equipment and regional offices.

Regulations have little effect if workplaces are rarely inspected and violations carry no real consequences.

Every worker should return home safely

Workplace injuries do not affect workers alone. When an income earner is injured, the whole household feels the impact. Medical expenses increase while income falls. Children’s education, rent payments and household food may all be affected.

Businesses also suffer when experienced workers are injured. Production slows, equipment may be damaged and employers must find and train replacements.

Preventing accidents is therefore cheaper than dealing with their consequences.

The mechanic at Suame Magazine, the welder at Kokompe, the mason working on a new building and the trader surrounded by unsafe electrical connections all have the same right to a safe workplace.

Ghanaians should not have to risk their lives simply because they earn their living outside a formal office or factory. A hard day’s work should end with a worker returning home safely.