UĦM Voice of the Workers eMagazine issue 13

VOICE OF THE

WORKERS ISSUE 13 APRIL 2014

EDITOR’S NOTE JOSEF VELLA

Contents More action, less talk

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Working with others to ensure healthier and safer places in Malta

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In everyone’s interest

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A Multi-faceted issue 08

Actions speak louder than words

Health and Safety at work in the EU 09 European Union initiatives 10

WELCOME TO ISSUE NUMBER 13 OF THE VOICE OF THE WORKER MAGAZINE. Access to work is a human right. Work is important for the effective realisation of a person’ s potential. The level and quality of work will also impact the general performance of the economy in general.

We have come a long way from the dark days of the industrial revolution, where worker welfare was an expendable luxury. In 21st century Europe and Malta, almost everyone agrees on the importance of having a healthy and safe workforce, working in safe conditions.

However, talking is one thing, doing is another. There is a tendency among many people VOICE OF THE

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to render lip service to health and safety at the place of work.

Nobody wants to get injured or die, but many are not really aware, or do not care, about the fact that accidents can happen, and that they happen when you least expect them. Unfortunately, the ‘anything goes’ culture is widespread in Malta. Admittedly, things are improving. But cultures and bad habits are very difficult to change.

The UĦM has long been on the forefront for this culture change.

We cannot talk about conditions of work and ignore issues of health and safety. The UĦM has been repeatedly insisting on the need for workplace Risk

Assessments. Risk Assessments are carried out by qualified Health and Safety professionals, and examine aspects such as operations, the physical environment and other factors that may have an effect on workers’ health and safety. Legal Notice 36 of 2003 stipulates that every workplace has to carry out a health and safety risk assessment, and this needs updating over time.

Unfortunately, we are quite a way off from reaching an acceptable level of compliance in this regard.

If an organization is not aware of the risks within the organization, it cannot put in place the necessary procedures and precautions to avoid accidents and protect workers health and lives.

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Workplace Risk Assessments are the employers’ responsibility.

This includes government, which is the biggest employer in Malta. Unfortunately, the situation throughout the public sector in this regard is not a happy one. Although health and safety is also included in the public sector workers’ collective agreement, many public sector organizations still lack relevant risk assessments.

Another aspect regarding workers’ health and safety that needs to be addressed is the election of workers’ representatives at the workplace. These

representatives are an important tool in the promotion and implementation of health and safety procedures at work.

Lack of employers’, as well as employees’ interest may make this appointment difficult, and this puts organizations in breach of the law. Even here, the movement of workers in Public sector organizations may make this health and safety reference point more difficult to do.

However, where there is a will, there is a way. If we really believe in workers’ welfare, we need to do everything possible so that this issue is effectively addressed.

Every worker deserves a safe and

healthy environment in which to work in. One workplace accident is one too many. Accidents do not just affect the individual. They also affect families, organizations, as well as society at large. We need to start working against the ‘everything goes’ mentality that sometimes fogs and stifles our priorities. If we are really serious about human life and welfare, health and safety needs to become a priority. And rather than pronouncing this in words, we need to translate what we profess into effective action.

Human beings deserve no less.

Enjoy!

PICTURE STORY

More action, less talk Health and Safety is a cultural challenge. We constantly need to guard ourselves into a false sense of security, and that it will never happen to us. This billboard used by the UĦM a few years ago, is witness to the fact that we need keep on insisting with ourselves, our organisations, and all workers, that human life is precious, and that health and safety is just as important as economic performance, income and standard of living. In fact, all these depend to a large extent on health and safety in the workplace.

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FEATURE STORY

Working with others to ensure healthier and safer places in Malta THE OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY AUTHORITY

The Occupational Health and Safety Authority in Malta was set up in order to develop a culture which goes beyond the workplace itself, and which adopts a holistic view of health and the valuation of risk prevention. It also works to see that there are appropriate preventative measures in all workplaces in Malta. It looks to make both employers as well as employees aware of the importance of health and safety measures in Malta, and to possess the relevant knowledge and experetise to apply Health and Safety measures at the workplace.

As the mission statement suggests, the OHSA seeks to partner with both persons VOICE OF THE

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and organizations to improve health and safety standards in the workplace. The OHSA also works within the framework of the European Union, where it participates in discussions regarding the continuous development of occupational health and safety levels across the EU. The OHSA is governed by the Occupational Health and Safety Authority Act XXVII of 2000, and Legal Notice 426 of 2007.

Accidents at work – Some Statistics • In Malta, In 2013 alone, 3119 workplace accidents accidents were reported.

• The Manufacturing sector

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recorded the highest number of accidents, followed by Construction and Transport and Storage sectors.

Almost half of victims had injuries in the upper extremities of the body, such as fingers and hands.

During 2013, there were 3 workplace accidents where workers lost their lives.

Source: NSO Across the European Union, in 2011, there almost 2.3 million accidents that required 4 or more days of absence of work.

600,000 of these were women.

In the same year, more than 2,200 workers lost their lives at their place of work.

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NAPO IN… SAFE MAINTENANCE Napo is an original idea conceived by a small group of OSH communications professionals in response to the need for high quality information products to break down national boundaries and address the diverse cultures, languages and practical needs of people at work. The role of Napo and his friends is to provide an appetiser to Organsational Health and Safety through their engaging characters, amusing story lines, and their humorous and light-hearted approach. “Safety with a smile” is Napo’s contribution to safer, healthier and better workplaces. Each film is co-produced by a number of European Institutions. The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work in Bilbao, Spain has funded the development of the website.

Watch videos here: www.youtube.com/results?search_query=napo+english

It will never happen to me….famous last words “When any one asks me how I can best describe my experiences of nearly forty years at sea I merely say uneventful. Of course, there have been Winter gales and storms and fog and the like, but in all my experience I have never been in an accident of any sort worth speaking about. I have seen but one vessel in distress in all my years at sea, a brig, the crew of which was taken off in a small boat in charge of my third officer. I never saw a wreck and have never been wrecked, nor was I ever in any predicament that threatened to end in disaster of any sort. I will say that I cannot imagine any condition which could cause a ship to founder. I cannot conceive of any vital disaster happening to this vessel.

Modern shipbuilding has gone beyond that.

Captain EJ Smith (Captain of the Titanic)

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HEALTH AND SAFETY

In everyone’s interest ASPECTS OF HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK EXPLAINED BY HEALTH AND SAFETY PRACTITIONER GORDON BONDIN

What is health and safety about?

Put simply and briefly health and safety is about “what can be done to protect workers, third parties, plant and machinery and the environment”. Practically, “every worker shall return home in the same condition they went for work”.

Health and safety in the workplace is also a legal requirement.

Is the onus only placed only on the employer?

No, health and safety is actually everybody’s responsibility.

It is the employer’s duty to provide a safe place of work, safe plant and appliances and safe and competent fellow workers.

On their part, the workers have a duty at law to comply with the employer and to adhere with health and safety procedures amongst other duties.

Having good work practices in the workplace brings also financial benefits; a safe environment impacts directly as well as VOICE OF THE

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indirectly on the business. This is due to minimising or eliminating lost costs, such as workers’ compensation claims, insurance claims and legal fees. The indirect costs that follow accidents include lost productivity, as well as morale of workers affected.

In what ways can injury affect a worker?

Every worker is a human being; therefore surely he/she is part of a family and a community.

An worker having an accident will have a repercussion not just on the person, but also on his/ her family. Therefore, morally speaking, an accident on a worker is an accident on his family.

Taking a hypothetical accident scenario as an example will make every worker understand the consequence of an accident by increasing his/her awareness; therefore every worker shall strive to prevent.

Hypothetical scenario: Mr. John Camilleri is married with two young children aged 4 years and 1 year. He is an employed full time tile-layer’, works as a

part – time bartender, and enjoys spending just a few hours playing a billiard game on a weekend.

Mr. Camilleri was working in a construction site and fell from an open balcony. He broke his left foot. His injuries keep him out of work and action for a whole 3 months. The consequences of his actions are both direct and indirect.

Briefly, imagine the strife of a wife who has just learnt that her husband has been hospitalised.

The pain and suffering cannot just be attributed just to the injured person.

Mr. Camilleri is immobile and therefore cannot assist his wife with the children; he cannot accompany the older child on outings; not even his family for that matter, as he cannot move or drive. He needs constant assistance. His family have to share the load. Mr. Camilleri would still receive his wage, but the income will surely decrease – he cannot attend his part-time job. Due to his immobility, he 5

cannot even keep up his hobby.

All these negative factors might also lead to stress.

The positive business benefit of health and safety extend beyond financials.

disorders, muscular fatigue • Psychosocial: harassment, bullying, lack of training.

The employer also has a problem.

There is one less worker available, and it has become a problem to finish contracted work on time.

The employer will either try to share the load amongst the other workers, inducing more work stress on the employees, with potential and additional health and safety hazards; another option could be sub-contracting, which is costly and might not result in the optimum level of output the employer had hoped for.

But what are the hazards that one might encounter on the workplace?

This depends from the workplace activity itself. However, not all hazards are obvious. Hazard is defined as something with the potential to cause harm, damage or injury. Whilst water on the floor is an obvious hazard, would be air-condition chillers be classified as a hazard. This depends on the preventive maintenance is being carried out, and the cleaning process involved.

If preventive maintenance is carried out, the probability of encountering, say, ‘legionnaire’s disease’ from that chiller is minimal.

Workers are obliged to receive health and safety training on recruitment, as a refresher, whenever they are subject to new job and when a ‘risk assessment’ reveals the need for training.

Every employer is required to perform a ‘risk assessment’; workers shall be informed of the identified hazards and informed on the mitigation of such identified hazards. The best way of conducting a risk assessment is surely by involving the workers themselves. Workers have to understand that the risk assessment is done with intention of identifying any potential hazard which can cause harm, injury and damage; this is a good tool for the workers and it is in their interest to participate.

Mr. Camilleri might consider taking legal action against his employer for failing to provide a safe system of work and failing to provide a safe place of work.

Was a risk assessment provided and explained to Mr. Camilleri?

Was Mr. Camilleri provided with training or awareness? Was Mr. Camilleri observing good practices? Or did Mr. Camilleri venture into a ‘no go area’? What was the level of supervision? Was the contractor (employer) fully negligent? Or did Mr. Camilleri ‘contribute’ to the accident?

Since the accident occurred in a construction site, was legal Notice 281 of 2004 – Work Place (Minimum Health and Safety Requirements for Work at Construction Sites) Regulations observed?....all these questions have to be answered during eventual court proceedings and assertions need relevant proof.

Surely, applying temporary but effective safety measures might have worked out cheaper for everyone in the end. Having a ‘safe system of work’ is cost effective for the organisation; not only morally but also financially.

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If hazards are not always obvious, how can we detect and prevent them?

The entire point is that it is not enough to look for the visible hazards; one needs to check for the hazards you cannot see. This can only be achieved through training. If properly designed and delivered, and with the right trainee attitudes, worker awareness will increase.

Hazards can be split into the following categories: Physical: Noise, UV rays, vibration.

• Biological: viruses, bacteria (rodent urine cannot be seen by the naked eye: i.e. drinking directly from a can which has been contaminated by mice urine might cause ‘leptospirosis’– cans are stored in warehouses and delivered without cleaning).

• Chemical hazards: chemical burns, toxic substances • Ergonomic: Musculoskeletal

What is a Health and Safety representative’s role at the workplace?

The ‘health and safety Authority Act’ clearly spells out the definition of a Health and Safety representative. “Workers’ Health and Safety Representative” means a person, elected, chosen or designated, as prescribed in regulations, to represent workers on all matters relating to the promotion and protection of their occupational health or safety” Legal notice 36 of 2003 “General Provisions for health and safety at workplaces regulations” spell out the rights of the ‘health and safety representative’; in brief his role is basically that of representing the workforce on health and safety matters with the employer and O.H.S.A. he / she can do health and safety inspections, investigate accidents and complaints. This does not mean that workers have 6

no right to speak to the employer on health and safety matters; the health and safety representative’s role is to ease communication between the employer and employees, and is actually the ‘employer’s watch dog’ on health and safety within the workplace.

What about the use of Protective Equipment?

In health and safety, Protective Equipment such as safety shoes, safety helmets, high visibility, dust / gas masks etc are considered as a last resort and shall also form part of, or are in conjunction to, Every employee has the right to a safe system of work. This inform the Occupational Health equipment is considered as a and Safety Authority (OHSA) of any ‘last resort’ since it has to be breaches, but the duty of safety at used wherever there are risks all times is also the responsibility of to health and safety that cannot each and every worker. be adequately controlled in other ways. This means that an What are some essential unduly dangerous place of work elements of theThe Health needs to be addressed first by and Safety Act? eliminating the hazards first and if When it comes to legislation, one the hazards cannot be eliminated, surely agrees that the topic is the risk shall be reduced via quite vast. The health and safety engineering controls. The ‘Health Authority Act (Act 27 of 2000) and safety Authority act’ - Part II requires that every employer Principles and General Duties – 6. provides whatever information, (2) clearly spells out this hierarchy instruction and training needed of control. to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health and safety It is also important to note that of employees. However, as already Personal Protective Equipment stated before, health and safety is is only effective if appropriately everybody’s responsibility. On this point one can refer to an accident that occurred in June, 2012 in Gzira, and, as reported by the media, a Frenchwomen was hit by a pole as she passed under a construction site – the site owner, the contractor as well as a worker have all been charged.

worn. Its effectiveness is also dependent on its condition; In other words, Personal Protective Equipment shall not be worn out, and attention has to be given to its storage and shelf life (E.g. filter masks). It is also important that Personal Protective Equipment is appropriately maintained and inspected before use.

The Safety Triangle In 1969, a study of industrial accidents was undertaken by Frank E. Bird, Jr. Bird analyzed 1,753,498 accidents reported by 297 cooperating companies.

These companies represented 21 different industrial groups, employing 1,750,000 employees who worked over 3 billion hours.

To put it simply, the bottom of the triangle is the ‘near-miss accident’ whilst the top of the triangle implies the worst – Serious injury. Everyone is expected to act instantly so to prevent the pyramid from forming; mainly it everyone’s duty to report a nearmiss accident or any hazard.

Unfortunately, our Mediterranean, lassaiz-faire mentality goes counter to health and safety at the workplace.

At work, people need to keep in mind that they are not a number on a punch card; they are human beings and family members. We have a habity of taking short cuts. Unfortunately, these short cuts become habits – bad and dangerous habits.

(Gordon Bondin is a Health and Safety Practitioner registered with the OHSA Malta. gordonbondin@hsc.com.mt VOICE OF THE

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MCESD

A MULTIFACETED ISSUE Safety and health at work is one of the most essential and well developed aspects of EU employment and social affairs policy. Local authorities as well as EU bodies seek to ensure that workers are protected and safe at their place of work. Minimum health and safety requirements set up by laws ensure that workers are protected.

Health and safety is a multifaceted issue and is a concern for all including employees, employers as well as central Government.

Unfortunately accidents still happen, some which may prove to be fatal, at the work place.

Therefore coordinated and joint efforts and continuous

communication between all stakeholders is also essential and plays a role in reducing risks.

One needs to keep in mind that all type of work may involve some level of risk to health and safety of employees from office work to construction sites.

Risks may vary from physical to psychological risks. Continuous assessments of risks ensure that authorities are proactive and workers are always protected.

Awareness raising campaigns together with training will ensure that health and safety regulations are adhered to and continuous monitoring will also help in this regard.

Accidents at the place of work ultimately have a negative

impact on economic activity and growth. They bring about high risks as well as costs for employers. However, investing in health and safety will assist employers in reducing such costs in the long run.

Furthermore, it will contribute positively to a company’s performance in general.

Health and safety at work in Malta is the responsibility of the Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA) which have proven to be a very efficient and effective authority. The OHSA has been in contact with MCESD and recently had even made a presentation to the Gozo Regional Committee within MCESD some time ago.

MCESD 280/3, Republic Street, Valletta, VLT1112 Tel: (+356) 2200 3300 www.mcesd.org.mt VOICE OF THE

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Health and Safety at work in the EU policy to the Treaty aiming at ‘improvements, especially in the working environment, as regards the health and safety of workers’.

Apart from this, the new Social Chapter authorised the European Commission to promote social dialogue between employers and labour representatives at a European level.

Health and safety laws within the EU are adopted through Directives, binding the Member States to transpose them into national laws within a specific timeframe.

Up until the mid-1980s, in the Treaty there was no exact legislative competence for health and safety at work as, until then these issues were annexed to market harmonisation and the economic policies of the European Economic Community.

It was the Single European Act of 1987 that introduced the first legal provision on social

Nowadays several EU Directives that set out minimum health and safety requirements for the protection of workers have been adopted. However Member States are also free to adopt stricter rules for their workers when transposing these Directives into national law. Hence we tend to see a variation of legal requirements in different Member States.

The most important health and safety Directive to date has been the OSH Framework Directive (Directive 89/391/EEC) which guarantees minimum safety and health requirements for workers throughout Europe. On the basis of the Directive a series of individual directives were adopted. These cover: • Workplaces, equipment, signs, personal protective equipment • Exposure to chemical agents and chemical safety • Exposure to physical hazards • Exposure to biological agents

• Provisions on workload, ergonomic and psychosocial risks • Sector Specific and worker related provisions Health and safety at work is one of the areas where the EU has had the biggest impact with a solid legal framework covering the maximum number of risks with the minimum number of regulations.

In 2004 the European Commission, published a Communication (COM (2004) 62) on the practical implementation of the provisions of some of the directives, namely the OSH Directive. This Communication stated that there was evidence of the positive influence of EU legislation on national standards for occupational safety and health made up of both national implementing legislation and practical application in enterprises and public sector institutions.

The Commission also works with the European Agency for Health and Safety at Work and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions to disseminate information, offer guidance and promote healthy working environments – particularly in small businesses.

MEUSAC 280 Republic Street, Valletta VLT 1112 Tel: +356 2200 3315 • Fax: +356 2200 3329 • Email: info.meusac@gov.mt www.meusac.gov.mt VOICE OF THE

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European Union initiatives

DOCUMENTS

The Untold Story: the EU’s Health and Safety Strategy, published by ETUI www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQ4mnHGRcqM&list=PL EMGazkRRWoGe0o22HlJCLRMNrgChCbTk Health, Safety and Risk Prevention Improving information, consultation and participation in enterprises You can download here a report realised by ETUC (The european Trade union Confederation ) with the intention to produce a useful source of knowledge for social-dialogue players at enterprise level, on the systems and treatment in each Member State of issues relating to working conditions and their consequences in terms of worker health and safety: www.etuc.org/publications/health-safety-and-riskprevention-improving-information-consultation-andparticipation#.Uzkq1oUytWw Identification of research priorities contributes to Europe 2020 goals EU-OSHA (European Agency for Safety and Health at work) has identified priorities around four key theme areas for occupational safety and health (OSH) research in the coming years: (1) demographic change; (2) globalisation and the changing world of work; (3) safe new technologies; and (4) new or increasing occupational exposure to chemical and biological agents. The priorities, detailed in a report, emphasises how OSH research can contribute to achieving the targets set by the Europe 2020 strategy and Horizon 2020 programme for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. https://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/reports/ priorities-for-occupational-safety-and-healthresearch-in-europe-2013-2020

Joint HOSPEEM-EPSU Statement on the new EU occupational safety and health policy framework EPSU (European Federation of Public Service Unions) and HOSPEEM (The European hospital and healthcare employers’ association ) agreed on a joint statement on the future EU Policy framework/strategy on occupational safety and health for the years 2014-2020 (http://www. epsu.org/a/9117). The document was elaborated in summer/automn 2013 and should add to the contributions EPSU and HOSPEEM had sent in August 2013 in the context of the EC consultation.

With this joint statement the EU sectoral social partners for the hospital/health care sector wish to send a clear political signal to the European Commission and other stakeholders underlining the need and usefulness of having such a EU-level policy framework/strategy and highlighting some of the key topics and procedural requirements HOSPEEM and EPSU would see to be reflected.

Please read here the joint statement: http://www.epsu.org/a/10168

NEWS

VIDEOS

The European Union places great emphasis on the aspect of health and safety in the workplace. Apart from the setting up and work of the European Agency for Occupational Safety and Health, there are considerable synergies taking place between stakeholders, in terms of promotion, research, as well as implementation.

The Brussels Office of the Confederazione Italiana Agricoltori has gathered some of the initiatives currently being taken at the EU level.

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UNION ÓADDIEMA MAGÓQUDIN (Malta Workers’ Union) Dar Reggie Miller, St Thomas Street, Floriana, FRN 1123 - Malta Tel +356 21220847 - +356 21234801 - +356 21236484 • Email info@UHM.org.mt www.UHM.org.mt Operational Programme II - Cohesion Policy 2007-2013 Empowering People for More Jobs and a Better Quality of Life Project part-financed by the European Union European Social Fund (ESF) Co-financing rate: 72.25% EU, 12.75 MT, 15% Private Funds Investing in your future VOICE OF THE

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