These guidelines have been prepared by the International Labour Office in order to assist employers and national organisations with practical advice on implementing and improving occupational safety and health (OSH) management systems, in order to reduce work-related injuries, occupational ill health and diseases and unsafe working conditions. The guidelines may be applied on two levels: they provide a national OSH framework for legal and voluntary regulatory standards; and encourage the integration of OSH management principles with overall policy management at the organisational level.
As the influence of labor unions declines in many industrialized nations, particularly the United States, the influence of workers has decreased. Because of the need for greater involvement of workers in changing production systems, as well as frustration with existing structures of workplace regulation, the search has begun for new ways of providing a voice for workers outside the traditional collective bargaining relationship. Works councils—institutionalized bodies for representative communication between an employer and employees in a single workplace—are rare in the Anglo-American world, but are well-established in other industrialized countries. The contributors to this volume survey the history, structure, and functions of works councils in the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain, Sweden, Italy, Poland, Canada, and the United States. Special attention is paid to the relations between works councils and unions and collective bargaining, works councils and management, and the role and interest of governments in works councils. On the basis of extensive comparative data from other Western countries, the book demonstrates powerfully that well-designed works councils may be more effective than labor unions at solving management-labor problems.
Every organization must comply with occupational health and safety regulations. Yet it is frequently unclear which actually apply in a given real-life situation, plus the field is loaded with technical terminology and complicated regulations. Many managers, trainers, even safety and health professionals therefore find it hard to know how to comply, with exactly what. Written to make this important discipline more understandable, Concise Guide to Workplace Safety and Health: What You Need to Know, When You Need It systematically addresses, for each of the 34 topics covered, core issues such as relevant regulations, required program elements, and definitions of key terms. Organized for quick access to information, this handy reference book demystifies required documentation, training elements, medical requirements, recordkeeping, and more. Conveniently, the author uses the same 20-part format for every topic. For example, if you want to know only about the documentation required, you can immediately turn to a topic’s Section 9 (Written Documentation Required). If training requirements are the issue, simply go to a chapter’s Section 12 (Training Requirements). Also provided for each topic are links to quality background and training information, with sample forms and programs where available. The guide covers safety and health topics of interest to a wide cross section of industries and businesses. The author’s relaxed, yet focused approach and consistent format allow efficient access to a broad range of occupational health and safety information. The topics covered include not only those that are currently regulated, but also emerging issues such as injury and illness prevention programs, and the rapidly growing field of nanotechnology.
Discusses the extent and causes of strain injuries, assessing workplace risks, managing a prevention plan, the legal framework in Europe, and economic reasons for tackling strains.
Improving maternal health and reducing child mortality are among the eight UN Millennium Development Goals. This publication contains guidance on maternity protection in the workplace, focusing on measures that can be taken to establish a decent workplace and to identify workplace risks. The starting point is the Maternity Protection Convention (No. 183), adopted by the International Labour Conference in 2000 and its accompanying Recommendation (No. 191). The guide is intended for general use as a reference tool for employers, workers, trade union leaders, occupation health and safety advisors, labour inspectors and others involved in workplace health and maternity protection.
This volume, developed by the Observatory together with OECD, provides an overall conceptual framework for understanding and applying strategies aimed at improving quality of care. Crucially, it summarizes available evidence on different quality strategies and provides recommendations for their implementation. This book is intended to help policy-makers to understand concepts of quality and to support them to evaluate single strategies and combinations of strategies.
