The formulation of guidelines for an occupational health and safety program to address women’s health concerns of mineworkers at a selected coalmine in Mpumalanga South Africa

Abstract

The inclusion of women in mining and the growing number of women working underground in South Africa are by no means indicative of a woman-friendly and gender equal work environment. The impact of the hazardous underground mining environment on women’s health has been well documented. However, occupational health and safety legislation and regulations do not specifically address women’s health concerns, and guidelines to address and incorporate women’s health concerns into their onsite Occupational Health Services (OHS) do not exist. Consequently, women’s health concerns are often considered to be non-work related and are therefore excluded from the services offered by onsite OHS centres. Thus, this study aimed to: 1) explore and describe women’s health concerns of underground coalmine workers, and 2) formulate guidelines to address women mineworkers’ health concerns in the mine’s OHS programme. A case study research design was followed. The study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, the researcher explored the women’s health concerns of mineworkers, the perceptions of the professional nurses working at the OHS centre on women’s health at a selected mine, and the mine managers’ expectations regarding the implementation of the guidelines to address women’s health concerns. Primary data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews. Data analysis lead to the development of a set of initial statements that were further developed as guidelines in phase 2 of the study. In the second phase of the study, the researcher used an E-Delphi technique and an online platform with support from University of Pretoria’s Learning and Management system. The online platform was used to facilitate discussions among a sample of occupational health and safety experts on the draft guidelines. The E-Delphi process was implemented in four stages: preparatory, exploratory, consensus and verification phases. Eight guidelines were formulated to respond to the women’s health concerns at the coalmine. The guidelines related to the following aspects: 1) enabling a supportive organisational environment wherein women mineworkers can function to their full potential; 2) effective measures for controlling hazardous environments that could affect women mineworkers; 3) a ‘fit for work and fit for life’ work environment for women underground coalmine workers; 4) supportive structures that facilitate a conducive environment in which women underground coalmine workers can express their health concerns; 5) processes that uphold women underground mineworkers’ human dignity and adhere to the human rights framework for non-discrimination against women; 6) procedures needed to adhere to safety procedures in reporting accidents and injuries; 7) measures to enhance accessibility, availability and relevant on-site health care services to promote women mineworkers’ health and wellbeing, and 8) methods to capture the needs, inspiration of hope and resilience of women underground coalmine workers. Substantial effort is needed to improve the safety of and quality of healthcare for women mineworkers. Implementing the guidelines could advance attainment of this goal, both for women and men at the selected coalmine. When women’s human rights are upheld, women and men benefit, together with positive outcomes for productivity.