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Unit IGC1 Element 1: Foundations in Health and Safety | 1-9 RRC International

KEY INFORMATION

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has set out Convention C155 and Recommendation R164, whichapply to workplace health and safety standards.

Most countries and regions have established legal standards that meet or exceed the minimum standards set outin C155 and R164.

These legal standards place a duty on the employer to ensure that workplaces, work activities and workequipment and substances are, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe and without risk to health.

The legal standards also place a duty on workers to look after their own and other peoples health and safety.

Failure to comply with these legal standards may lead to enforcement action by the authorities, or prosecutionthrough a countrys criminal courts. Successful prosecution usually results in a fine, but may result inimprisonment.

Work-related injuries may result in compensation being paid to the victim. In some countries this is achievedby legal action through the civil courts, while other countries may have worker compensation schemes for thispurpose.

Role of National Governments and International Bodies

THE INTERNATIONAL FRAMEWORK

There are no truly global legal standards governingworkplace health and safety. Most countries have theirown laws, developed over the years to tackle their ownissues and concerns. However, countries often end upadopting similar basic approaches to protect the healthand safety of their people; the detail may vary but theunderlying principles are the same.

A prime mover in the area of international standards in

health and safety is the International Labour Organisation(ILO), which is an agency of the United Nations (UN).Most countries are members of the ILO. The twoprimary outputs of the ILO are Conventions and

Recommendations. These set international standards.

Conventions and Recommendations can form the basisof detailed legislation in each member country - the resultbeing that basic minimum health and safety standardsare adopted. The detailed provisions will still vary, as eachmember state implements the standards in a nationallyappropriate way.

In 1981, the ILO adopted the Occupational Safety andHealth Convention (C155). This describes a basic policyfor health and safety at both the national level and thelevel of the individual organisation.

The Occupational Safety and Health Recommendation1981 (R164)supplements C155 and provides moredetailed guidance on how to comply with the policies ofC155. In particular, it identifies obligations that might beplaced on employers and employees in order to achievethe basic goal of a safe and healthy place of work.

Countries that belong to the ILO have ratified C155 andR164 and have then legislated to put their requirementsinto their own national (or regional) law.

In C155 and R164 there is a general recognition that mostof the responsibility for ensuring good standards of healthand safety at work lies with the employer - since he orshe provides the work, the workplace, the tools, systems,methods, etc. They also recognise that individual workershave responsibilities. Though the legal wording varies

between countries, the general theme is that employersand workers must exercise reasonable care to ensure safetyand absence of risk to health.

EMPLOYERS RESPONSIBILITIES

Article 16 of C155 identifies some basic obligations placedon employers:

1. to ensure thatthe workplaces, machinery, equipment andprocesses under their control are safe and without risk tohealth.

2. to ensure thatthe chemical, physical and biologicalsubstances and agents under their control are without risk to

health...3. to provideadequate protective clothing and protective

equipment to preventrisk of accidents or of adverse effectson health.

Source: C155 Occupational Safety and HealthConvention, 1981 (abbreviated)

International Labour Organisation 1981

These duties are very generally worded in the Convention.R164 expands on what they might mean in practice. Itidentifies some practical obligations to meet the objectiveof Article 16 of C155.

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TOPIC FOCUS

Specifically, Article 10 of R164 puts the followingobligations on employers:

To provide workplaces and work equipment, anduse work methods, which are safe and pose norisk to health.

To provide appropriate instructions and training.

To provide necessary supervision.

To put in place health and safety arrangementsadapted to suit the size and nature of theundertaking.

To provide any necessary personal protectiveclothing and equipment free of charge.

To ensure that the hours of work do notadversely affect employees safety and health.

To take measures to eliminate any extremephysical and mental fatigue.

To stay up-to-date with knowledge in order tocomply with the above.

In this way the responsibility is placed directly on theemployer. However, it is also recognised that individualworkers have a critical part to play in keeping workplacessafe, so workers are also given duties.

WORKERS RESPONSIBILITIES AND RIGHTSArticle 19 of C155 states that all workers and theirrepresentatives have to co-operate with their employer sothat he or she can fulfil his or her safety obligations.

R164 provides more detail on this general duty.

TOPIC FOCUS

R164 says that workers should:

Take reasonable care of their own safety and thatof other people who might be affected by the

things that they do and the things that they failto do.

Comply with safety instructions and procedures.

Use all safety equipment properly and nottamper with it.

Report any situation that they believe couldbe a hazard and which they cannot themselvescorrect.

Report any work-related accident or ill-health.

The Convention and Recommendation not only put a duty

on workers but also give those workers rights.

In addition to the basic right to a safe workplace, Article 19of C155 gives workers the following rights:

The right to be provided with adequate information onactions the employer has taken to ensure occupational

safety and health. The right to the necessary training in occupational

safety and health.

The right to be consulted by the employer on allmatters of occupational safety and health relating totheir work.

The right to leave a workplace which the worker hasreason to think presents an imminent and serious dangerto his or her life or health and not be compelled toreturn until it is safe.

THE ROLE OF ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES

There is no harmonised global standard for theenforcement of health and safety law, so legal andenforcement systems vary between countries. There are,however, some general principles that normally apply.

Each country or region has one (or more) enforcementagency responsible for enforcing health and safety law.Such an agency is effectively the health and safetypolice force. In some circumstances the agency maybe, or may enlist the help of, the national or regionalpolice. These agencies often provide advice, investigateworkplace accidents, take formal enforcement actionto force employers to comply with the law and start

criminal proceedings against persons or organisationsthey believe have committed offences.

Many countries have a separate fire authority with a

role in enforcing fire safety legislation and/or advising

employers.

In some countries insurance companies fulfil a majorrole in enforcing safety, carrying out inspections andaudits on a regular basis. These can help improvestandards, as the insurance company can demandincreased insurance premiums, or refuse to provideinsurance cover at all unless standards are improved.

CONSEQUENCES OF NON-COMPLIANCEA breach of health and safety legislation is usually acriminal offence - wherever you are in the world.

Failure to meet legal standards might lead to:

Formal enforcement action: an enforcementagency might force an employer either to make animprovement within the workplace within a giventime period, or to stop carrying out high-risk activitiesaltogether until improvements are made. Failure tocomply with formal enforcement action is usuallyconsidered to be an offence in itself.

Role of National Governments and International Bodies

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Prosecution of the organisation in the criminalcourts:successful prosecution might result inpunishment in the form of a fine.

Prosecution of individuals, such as directors,

managers and workers:successful prosecution mightresult in punishment in the form of a fine and/orimprisonment.

As well as the criminal law consequences there is also thematter of compensation for workers and others injured bya workplace accident. Depending on the region/countryconcerned, this might involve the worker:

Taking legal action against their employer throughthe civil legal system, and having to prove that theiremployer had been negligent and was therefore toblame for their injury.

Claiming compensation from national or regional

compensation schemes, with no requirement to provenegligence or blame through the use of the legalsystem.

OTHER INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS

The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO)is the worlds largest developer of management standards.ISO has developed ISO 9001(the quality managementstandard) and ISO 14001(the environmentalmanagement standard). While these are not legaldocuments they have been adopted by many companiesthroughout the world because they demonstrate good

management practice. The result is a common approach tomanaging quality and environmental matters.

At a technical level, ISO has been responsible fordeveloping safety standards to which machinery, etc.should conform, e.g. ISO 12100: Safety of Machinery. Ascompliance with the recognised international standarddemonstrates safety, national legislation often refers tothese standards.

There is an internationally recognised standard for healthand safety management. The Occupational Health andSafety Assessment Series (OHSAS) 18001 standard iscompatible with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Information on national standards can be obtained fromthe relevant national regulatory bodies, who publishguidance documents that provide information on the legalstandards required. Many of the regulatory bodies havewebsites, which are valuable sources of information, suchas:

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in the UK at:http://www.hse.gov.uk

Occupational Safety and Health Administration(OSHA) in the US at: http://www.osha.gov

Worksafe in Western Australia at:http://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/WorkSafe

MORE

http://www.ilo.org

REVISION QUESTIONS

4. Identify three of the legal duties that anemployer has to comply with.

5. Identify two of the legal duties that a worker hasto comply with.

6. What are the consequences for an employer

of non-compliance with health and safetyresponsibilities?

(Suggested Answers are at the end.)