<<If the cost of labour is low in a poor country, so too is the lower cost of implementing safety.>>
That makes sense for some safety measures, but not all. If the cost is borne in terms of lost worker productivity, then it makes sense—a safety measure resulting in a 5 percent productivity loss costs 1⁄10 as much where the cost of labor is 1⁄10 as expensive. But there are other kinds of safety costs as well—imagine a requirement that a factory have one automated external defibrillator (AED) on site for every X workers. That isn’t going to be meaningfully cheaper for the factory in the developing country.
Completely agree with Jason—its just not realistic.
Even simple things like metal Scaffolding and complicated harness/pully systems to protect from falls aren’t meaningfully cheaper here (sometimes might even be more expensive), so people often use bamboo scaffolding and ropes to secure people instead.
There should be some kind of proportionality. Here in Uganda way more people die on the roads, and of curable diseases. For construction and industry to make sense withing the economy, its always going to be at least a bit more dangerous.
But yes, all the low hanging safety fruit which doesn’t cost as much should be carefully implemented for sure.
<<If the cost of labour is low in a poor country, so too is the lower cost of implementing safety.>>
That makes sense for some safety measures, but not all. If the cost is borne in terms of lost worker productivity, then it makes sense—a safety measure resulting in a 5 percent productivity loss costs 1⁄10 as much where the cost of labor is 1⁄10 as expensive. But there are other kinds of safety costs as well—imagine a requirement that a factory have one automated external defibrillator (AED) on site for every X workers. That isn’t going to be meaningfully cheaper for the factory in the developing country.
Completely agree with Jason—its just not realistic.
Even simple things like metal Scaffolding and complicated harness/pully systems to protect from falls aren’t meaningfully cheaper here (sometimes might even be more expensive), so people often use bamboo scaffolding and ropes to secure people instead.
There should be some kind of proportionality. Here in Uganda way more people die on the roads, and of curable diseases. For construction and industry to make sense withing the economy, its always going to be at least a bit more dangerous.
But yes, all the low hanging safety fruit which doesn’t cost as much should be carefully implemented for sure.