HSE management

Health & Safety & Enviroment section

KEY INFORMATION

 The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has set out Convention C155 and Recommendation R164, which
 apply to workplace health and safety standards.
 • Most countries and regions have established legal standards that meet or exceed the minimum standards set
out
 in C155 and R164.
 • These legal standards place a duty on the employer to ensure that workplaces, work activities and work
 equipment 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 people’s health and safety.
 • Failure to comply with these legal standards may lead to enforcement action by the authorities, or prosecution
 through a country’s criminal courts. Successful prosecution usually results in a fine, but may result in
 imprisonment.
 • Work-related injuries may result in compensation being paid to the victim. In some countries this is achieved
 by legal action through the civil courts, while other countries may have worker compensation schemes for this
 purpose.
ILO

 THE INTERNATIONAL FRAMEWORK

 There are no truly global legal standards governing
 workplace health and safety. Most countries have their
 own laws, developed over the years to tackle their own
 issues and concerns. However, countries often end up
 adopting similar basic approaches to protect the health
 and safety of their people; the detail may vary but the
 underlying 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 two
 primary outputs of the ILO are “Conventions” and
 “Recommendations”. These set international standards
ILO LAW

 Conventions and Recommendations can form the basis

 of detailed legislation in each member country - the result
 being that basic minimum health and safety standards
 are adopted. The detailed provisions will still vary, as each
 member state implements the standards in a nationally
 appropriate way.
Occupational Safety and
Health Convention

 In 1981, the ILO adopted the Occupational Safety and

 Health Convention (C155). This describes a basic policy
 for health and safety at both the national level and the
 level of the individual organisation
Occupational Safety and Health Recommendation

 The Occupational Safety and Health Recommendation

 1981 (R164) supplements C155 and provides more
 detailed guidance on how to comply with the policies of
 C155. In particular, it identifies obligations that might be
 placed on employers and employees in order to achieve
 the basic goal of a safe and healthy place of work..
EMPLOYERS’ RESPONSIBILITIES

 Article 16 of C155 identifies some basic obligations placed

 on employers:
 1. “…to ensure that…the workplaces, machinery, equipment and
 processes under their control are safe and without risk to
 health.
 2. …to ensure that…the chemical, physical and biological
 substances and agents under their control are without risk to
 health...
 3. …to provide…adequate protective clothing and protective
 equipment to prevent…risk of accidents or of adverse effects
 on health.”