Chapter 1: Introduction 1. 1 Introduction ‘ Osha: The devil’s in the details’ ‘ Get protected with Osha’ ‘ The Osha Authority’ Occupational Safety and Health Authority (Part 2) ‘ Warnings from the workplace’ ‘ Companies charged under Osha appear in court’ .
If one were to peruse the newspapers over the past year one would observe some of the aforementioned headlines in the local newspapers in Trinidad & Tobago, which indicate that OSH is in the air and it is imperative that companies get on the compliance bandwagon or face the consequences as outlined in the law.
The Occupational and Safety Health legislation is not only relevant to all branches of industry and commerce but it is also affects all aspects of work. In essence, if forms the foundation on which appropriate health and safety systems must be built. The OSH Act as it pertains to Trinidad and Tobago, initially enacted in 2004, was amended and assented to by the President in early 2006. Senior management commitment to the establishment of a healthy and safe workplace and to the integration of this important area in all workplace activities. 3.
Treatment of health and safety legislation as a minimum standard rather than maximum. 4. Clearly stated responsibilities of all personnel in maintaining a safe workplace. The policy should state the arrangements in place to support and implement it.
Such items as safety meetings, safe working procedures, occupational hygiene, and safety training should be outlined. 5.
Accountability of all levels of management for carrying out H&S responsibilities. 6. The importance of consultation and co-operation between management and employees for effective implementation of policy, 7. Commitment to regular reviews of the policy and to monitoring its effectiveness.
8. Commitment to provide adequate funds and details of how money will be available. For example, when confronted with conflicting priorities or allocation of limited resources, does safety get more importance? Equal importance? How is this decided? 9.
What benefits does management hope to derive from an effective programme? 10. The policy should address the types of hazards associated with the workplace.
Depending on the types of tasks performed and the hazards present, it may be necessary for the employer to become fairly specific and detailed in outlining hazards at the workplace. It must be emphasized that it is extremely important that the H&S policy be incorporated into regular workplace duties and actions. In other words H&S must become part of the culture of the organization.
Many writers including Poon, Leung and Fung agree that responsibility should be extended throughout the organizational structure to ensure policy objectives become integrated into all activities. For example, a policy could specify: •individual responsibilities (Outlined in Appendix I), •legal responsibilities, •accountability systems, •promotion of safety awareness, •education and training needs, •reporting and correcting safety and health problems, and •injury and illness control information. Furthermore, the policy has to be communicated to others.