OSH Brief No.

1:

Occupational safety and health (OSH) is a discipline • chemical (dusts, fumes, vapours, gases);
with a broad scope involving many specialized fields. • physical (noise, vibration, lighting, radiation,
In its broadest sense, it aims at: temperature) ;
• biological (infestations, bacteria, viruses,
• the promotion and maintenance of the mold);
highest degree of physical, mental and social • psychological (stress and strain); and
well‐being of workers in all occupations; • ergonomic (badly‐designed machinery,
• the preparation and preservation of mechanical devices and workstations used by
conditions in the workplace that reduce or workers).
prevent the likelihood of persons being
injured while performing their work; Often, these hazards combine to make the problem
• the prevention among workers of departures worse for the worker, as for instance in the case of a
from health caused by their working worker in a noisy factory not hearing an alarm call, or
conditions; a worker feeling dizzy from chemical fumes and falling
• the protection of workers in their places of down stairs without a handrail.
employment from risks resulting from factors
adverse to their health; and There is a view that most industrial accidents in the
• the placing and maintenance of workers in an region are caused by "careless" or "accident‐prone"
occupational environment adapted to their workers, who do not take safety at work seriously.
physical and mental capacities. This puts the blame on the workers and implies that
work could be made safer simply by changing their
Until recently, occupational health was often behaviour. Accidents will not stop simply by making
considered less of a problem than industrial safety. workers more safety conscious; this may help, but it
Whereas accidents occur suddenly, sometimes does not get at the root of the problem, namely the
causing traumatic effects, an industrial disease may unsafe process. The cure lies in designing work
take years before it produces any obvious effect on systems that take into account the fact that workers
the health of the worker, by which time it may be too are human and sometimes make mistakes.
late to do anything about it. Unsafe working
conditions, such as an unguarded machine, are far The accepted approach to occupational safety and
easier to spot than a dust problem, dangerous noise health starts from the premise that the problem of
levels or exposure to carcinogens. Every day workers accidents and industrial diseases results from the
in the Caribbean are faced with the hazards of dust, hazards and dangers already built into the workplace.
fumes, gases, vapours, noise, vibration, high The way to make work safer is to modify the
temperatures, etc. workplace and any unsafe processes so that the
hazards or dangers are removed at the source, rather
A workplace can contain a bewildering number of than try to get workers to adapt to unsafe conditions.
hazards for the unsuspecting worker. First, there are
the more obvious unsafe working conditions, such as
unguarded machinery, slippery floors and inadequate
fire precautions. Then there are the more insidious
hazards that fall into a number of categories:
Accidents in the workplace • encouraging a culture of reporting of accidents
and incidents;
Accidents are caused by unsafe acts or unsafe • the prompt investigation of accidents and
conditions or a combination of both. Research has incidents;
shown that no accident ever has a single cause. The • the communication of information about the
International Loss Control Institute puts forward a hazards and their control measures in the tasks
theory of accident causation suggesting multiple being performed;
causes for accidents such as: • the provision of adequate supervision; and
• the lack of management control, that is, the lack • continually improving OSH performance.
of a Safety and Health Management System; and
• indirect causes (root causes):
• procedural (organizational factors) Benefits of investigating incidents and accidents
• technical (job factors)
• behavioural (personal factors) • Prevents similar occurrences
• immediate causes (direct causes), the acts or • Prevents business losses
conditions that precipitated the event. They • Improves worker safety attitudes
are often easily recognized but addressing • Improves safety performance
these symptoms alone will not prevent • Identifies weaknesses in the system
recurrence. • Allows monitoring for trends and patterns

When an accident occurs, what we observe is the

immediate cause. However, there are a number of It is worth repeating that the best approach to
factors impacting on the situation which could have occupational safety and health starts from the
led to the final outcome. Indirect or root causes could premise that the problem of accidents and
have created the initial deficiencies leading to the occupational diseases results from the hazards and
final outcome. dangers that are already built into the systems of
work. The way to make work safer is to modify the
Factors endemic to accident causation workplace and any unsafe processes so that the
hazards or dangers are removed “at the source",
• Procedural factors such as inadequate work rather than try to get workers to adapt to unsafe
standards or procedures, poor communication conditions.
and coordination of activities and inadequate
supervision. Cost of accidents and diseases to
• Technical factors such as the design and
layout of equipment, inadequate
business
maintenance, equipment and material
selection and use. Businesses in the Caribbean need to adopt and
• Behavioural factors such as physical and implement workplace policies on OSH, not just
mental capabilities, lack of knowledge and because of national and international legislation, or
information relevant to performing the task, on social and moral grounds, but because it is good
stress and boredom as well as a lack of the for business. According to the International Labour
necessary skill to carry out the task. Organization (ILO), most future economic growth will
come through the development of small and medium‐
• Lack of management control implying that
sized enterprises (SMEs) and yet these are the most
there was no management system in place.
likely to ignore any national and international
This leads to an inadequate safety culture.
standards on OSH. For example, most workplace
accidents in SMEs never get reported and diseases go
undiagnosed. Poor OSH practices cost Caribbean
The organizational safety culture is determined, businesses through:
amongst other things, by:
• lost working days;
• management’s commitment to making OSH a core • medical and insurance expenses;
value of the organization, on par with production; • reduction in production;
• active participation of workers at all stages • compensation and/or fines;
(planning, implementation and review of OSH • training and re‐training workers;
programmes); • equipment damage and repairs;
 • low staff morale; and • The promotion of high levels of safety and
• poor publicity. health at work is the responsibility of the
society as a whole and all members of society
But good OSH practices impact on the bottom line must contribute to achieving this goal by
because there is a close link between national ensuring that priority is given to OSH in
competitiveness and good OSH performance. national agendas and by building and
maintaining a national preventative safety
Scale of the problem and health culture.

• A national preventative safety and health

As outlined at the XVIII World Congress on Safety and culture is one in which the right to a safe and
Health at Work in 20081, there has been mounting healthy working environment is respected at
pressure in workplaces globally to mark a new turning all levels, where governments, employers and
point and reinforce occupational safety and health, workers actively participate in securing a safe
since work‐related injuries and diseases have caused a and healthy working environment through a
staggering number of economic and human losses. In system of defined rights, responsibilities and
the ILO Director‐General's Message for World Day for duties, and where the principle of prevention
Safety and Health at Work on 28 April 2011, it was is accorded the highest priority.
revealed that every year around 337 million people
are victims of work accidents and more than 2.3 • The continuous improvement of OSH should
million people die because of occupational injuries or be promoted by a systems approach to the
work‐related diseases. Again, as is common with so management of occupational safety and
many developing countries, Caribbean statistics on health, including the development of a
OSH may be considered somewhat “hypothetical” in national policy taking into consideration the
that many accidents never get reported and many principles.
occupational diseases are not recognized for what
they are. Linked to inspection systems with limited
capacity, coverage and equipment, it is clear that the Effectively implementing OSH
true picture of OSH incidents may never be known.
policies and practices
On the economic front, such workplace calamities can
translate into significant economic loss. This means Based upon stakeholders’ demands, the main course
that large sums of money are paid out in the form of of action to be pursued can be broken down into
various kinds of compensation for injuries, work three distinct areas :
absence due to work‐related illnesses and medical
treatment, as well as disability benefits and 1. Policy development at the national and enterprise
compensation to the bereaved families. The levels guided by international labour standards on
prevention of such unsustainable losses calls for a OSH.
closer cooperation among relevant OSH stakeholders
• the development of national and enterprise‐
not only in the Caribbean but also around the world.
level OSH policies and programmes based
Occupational safety and health still fails to get enough
upon tripartite and bipartite cooperation.
attention despite a wide range of organizational
These OSH policies should be consistent with
efforts including OSH strategies, programmes and
national development objectives and policies
inspection activities in parallel with the provision of
as a whole3. Such policies should include a
education, training and information. Thus it is
plan for mobilizing the requisite institutional
necessary to raise greater awareness of OSH and
and financial resources and should be
select champions in order to make OSH policies a
reviewed regularly; and
priority on national and international agendas.
• strengthening/developing laws and
regulations on OSH ensuring that all areas of
For the Caribbean it is therefore vital at this time that economic activity and workers in both the
the key points of the Seoul Declaration on Safety and formal and informal sectors are covered.
Health2 be reinforced, namely:

www.ilo.org/safework/info/meetingdocs/lang‐‐en/WCMS_151736
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Seoul Declaration on Safety and Health at Work – /index.htm
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www.safety2008korea.org Again as outlined in the Paris Declaration highlighting the importance of
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Seoul Declaration on Safety and Health at Work ‐ Harmonisation, Alignment and Ownership
2. Implementation at the national and enterprise Conclusion
levels
In conclusion therefore, it is worth repeating that
• creation/strengthening of a national tripartite
poor standards of safety and health at work mean
body for OSH;
poor business. Every year in the Caribbean, a number
• creation, development and strengthening of of workers are killed or injured in industrial accidents
the national enforcement system, ensuring an or suffer from occupational diseases, many of which
integrated inspection system under one go unreported or undiagnosed. In the past, any facts
authority; or figures related to labour protection have often had
• developing a culture of voluntary compliance little impact on decision‐makers as accidents and ill
whereby inspectors move away from strict health at work had always been seen as a natural
enforcement to the provision of advisory consequence of production. Some employers and
services at the level of the enterprise; policy makers have questioned the need to change
• ensuring that the social partners work their approach to business and occupational safety
together at the enterprise level on OSH issues and health, especially if there were many unemployed
through joint bodies in which both workers workers outside the factory gates willing to take on
and employers cooperate on an equal basis; any form of employment. Such losses, whether
and counted in human or financial terms, were considered
• introducing a systems approach to OSH inevitable. But times have changed whereby
management at the enterprise level as employers, factory owners, workers and governments
outlined in the ILO Guidelines on OSH are increasingly recognizing that the social and
Management Systems (ILO‐OSH 2001).4 economic costs of workplace accidents and diseases
are unacceptably high and place a considerable
3 Training, promotion, awareness‐raising and burden on the competitiveness of the enterprise and
advocacy the economic welfare of the country. Compliance
with International Labour Standards, national law and
• ensuring that the social partners have the practice, and industry codes at the level of the
requisite education and training on OSH to enterprise is now seen as a fundamental prerequisite
participate effectively at the national and for a successful modern company. Such compliance is
enterprise levels. All programmes should even more vital for the region’s business sector as
utilize effective participatory methods and members of the World Trade Organization. Improving
national expertise wherever possible; occupational safety and health is in the best interest
• development of the requisite education and of all stakeholders, namely, governments, employers
training materials, curricula, training‐of‐ and workers, and requires consultation, co‐operation
trainers programmes, audio‐visual aids etc. and commitment from all concerned. Good safety and
for specific use in the region;5 health management and practice form one of the
• raising of public awareness on social, moral main foundations of success of any business – it is
and economic aspects of OSH, decent work something to which many companies aspire. There
and environmental sustainability; are no short cuts to improving safety and health in the
• assistance in the strengthening/developing of workplace – it has to be seen as part of a total quality
a workers’ compensation scheme that covers management (TQM) philosophy whereby “best safety
all workers and provides reliable data on and health practices are managed in” rather than
occupational accidents and diseases; and relying solely on “inspecting defects out”. Accordingly,
• OSH education of students and school businesses in the Caribbean, particularly SMEs, must
children with a view to establishing a safety now modernize and adapt to the new economic
culture in future generations. realities in order to survive and prosper in the global
marketplace.

4 st
As outlined in the Conclusions adopted at the ILC at its 91 Session 2003
on a Global Strategy on OSH
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These could include booklets on SME and Micro OSH Policy Development
and Implementation; Decent Work; Risk assessment and management;
Effective operation of safety committees; OSH checklists; OSH in key
sectors such as construction and meat and leather, and easy‐to‐
understand hazard leaflets, environmental sustainability etc.