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Part I: Description of the survey units

1. Respondents

Altogether, 678 responses were received from the Czech Republic. All respondents belonged to CMKOS. 52.7% of the respondents were worker representatives, while 32% were health and safety representatives, and 15.3% were of some other position. The reason for this distribution is not known from the survey - does it mean that there are fewer safety representatives in the Czech Republic because the unions have decided to give health and safety responsibilities to worker representatives; is the legal framework not developed for health and safety representatives as an institution? The interest given to occupational safety and health and environment (osh/env) on the part of unions will always be a trade off between worker representatives who also deal with osh/env and can relate it to other areas of union concerns, and osh representatives who have training in the field but little to do with other areas of union activity.

Figure 1. Workplaces by industry

2. Field of activity

The field of activity will have a profound effect on a union’s health and safety policy. The service sector, for example, is obviously less hazardous, or at least has different hazards, than manufacturing or construction. Even within a sector health and safety hazards will differ. In the Czech sample, the four dominant industries were mining and quarrying (25.3%), textiles, clothing and leather industries (11.1%), metal manufacturing (9.8%) and chemical products (9.2%).

Primary production (mining and quarrying, and agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing) accounted for 26.8% of all the Czech survey units. Secondary production’s share was 41.7% (of which manufacturing made up 33.4% and energy, electricity, gas and water supply together with construction 8.3%). The service sector’s share was 31.5%, made up of only 6.1% "office-type" work such as banking and administration, and the rest such industries as transport and communications, health care, retail and wholesale, education, etc. The biggest service industry sample was education services (5.4%). (See figure 1.)

How does this survey distribution compare with the national situation in the Czech Republic? Taken as a percentage of GDP, agriculture accounted for 4.7% in 1998, industry for 43.7%, and services for 51.6%. The skew towards mining and quarrying in the survey probably reflects the distribution decisions made by the unions involved which in turn perhaps reflects rates of unionisation, concerns of which industries are more dangerous, etc. In a small survey carried out by ILO-CEET in 1997 the Czech trade union, CMKOS, undisputably identified mining as the number one concern taking into account the rate of accidents and occupational diseases. This was followed by forestry and logging. In third place was construction (based on accidents alone) or, if work-related diseases are also taken into account, then metalworking, woodworking, agriculture, food and related industries and the chemical industry were also of concern.

Figure 2. Workplaces and companies they belonged to by the number of employed persons

3. Size

Generally, the bigger the workplace the safer it is. This is because bigger workplaces may have distinct health and safety policies, sometimes a health and safety director, often occupational health personnel; they will be aware of osh legislation, have more resources to put into improvements; they are more likely to be inspected; and, most importantly, have some trade union representation.

The majority of the workplaces surveyed (56.2%) employed a maximum of 50 persons, while most of the workplaces (84%) belonged to companies/units that employed more than 100 employees, and 38.4% belonged to companies of over 1000 employees (See figure 2).

The manufacturing industries were characterized by larger workplaces. In fact, this was the only sector in the survey where the share of small workplaces (less than 50 employees) below 50% (See figure 3).

Figure 3. Main sectors of industry by the size of the workplaces

Energy means energy, electricity, gas and water supply

Japanese statistics on occupational accidents by size of workplace confirms that the smaller the workplace the higher the frequency rate of accidents - accidents being seven times more frequent in workplaces of 100-299 employees than in workplaces of 1,000 or more. For example, in manufacturing in Japan the frequency rate in 1997 for occupational accidents was 1.97/100,000 workers in workplaces of 100-299 employees; 1.10 in workplaces of 300-499 employees; 0.62 in workplaces of 500-999 employees; and 0.32 in workplaces of over 1,000 employees.

In all sectors of industry, there was an overwhelming trend to a decrease in the number of employees over the last three years. The number had decreased in 70.9%, stayed the same in 17.8% and increased in 10.2% of the workplaces. Reducing the number of employees was most common in primary production (in over 80% of these workplaces), whereas this phenomenon was at its lowest in manufacturing (See figure 4). Reducing the number of employees can be due to several factors which the survey did not question - unemployment with loss of production, introduction of new technology, etc. or same volume of production with fewer employees, leading to cross-skilling, lean production, longer hours, stress, etc. It is obvious that the latter reason will have an effect on occupational safety and health at the level of the workplace.

Figure 4. Change in the number of employees over the last three years

Energy means energy, electricity, gas and water supply

4. Property form and ownership

Type of ownership can very well have an effect on occupational safety and health. Foreign-owned companies often come with a background of health and safety legislation and practices in other (usually industrialised) countries. Even if in reality their standards fall to some extent, it should be expected that they maintain some. They also usually have more resources to put into improvements.

Both the pace and the extent of privatization of state-owned enterprises has been impressive in the Czech Republic. Starting in early 1991 a mass privatization programme using an innovative voucher system meant that by 1996 over 80% of the economy was technically in private hands. However, large public stakes in the banking system, which in turn holds large shares of "privatized" industrial firms mean that this statistic should not be taken at face value. By mid-1997 the National property Fund residual stake in privatized firms and 56 so-called strategic enterprises (public utilities, four big banks, steelmakers) represented only 2% of GDP.

Figure 5. Property and ownership forms of the workplaces

In this survey, 62.4% of the workplaces belonged to privatised enterprises, 5.8% to new private enterprises. 17.8% of the workplaces surveyed were in the public sector and 10.6% were public-owned enterprises. Of all survey units 80.5% were domestically owned enterprises, and new private enterprises were almost all totally domestically owned (See figure 5).

Altogether there were 118 units (17.6%) that were at least partly foreign-owned. Some degree of foreign ownership (partly, predominantly or totally) was much more common in secondary production than in primary production or services (See figure 6). It was also much more common that units with at least some degree of foreign ownership, rather than domestically owned enterprises, had increased the number of employees over the last three years.

Figure 6. Main industrial sectors by ownership form

Energy means energy, electricity, gas and water supply

5. Women

The Czech national female activity rate of those aged 15 and over in 1998 was 47%. However, in this survey there were 99 workplaces (16.3%) in which no employees were women and 14 workplaces (2.3%) where all employees were women. In 56% of the workplaces, women's share of the labour force was 40 percent or less (See figure 7).

It must be pointed out that women tend to be employed in so-called "women’s work" and this is confirmed by the survey. The average percentage of women’s share of the workforce was highest in the health and education sectors. In manufacturing, women’s employment was highest in the textiles, clothing and leather industry. It was lowest in mining and quarrying, the metal and chemical industries. It was also much higher in the public sector than in other property forms: 67% of the public sector units had more than 50% women employees compared with only 37.7% in the whole Czech sample.

Figure 7. Workplaces by the percentage of women employees

Do women workers make "safer" workers? This is often said, but may be due simply to the fact that they are concentrated in the relatively safe service sector and not so exposed to the traditional hazards of the construction, mining and metal transformation industries, for example. This is not to say that they are not exposed to injury and illness at work - just different types, such as repetitive strain injury and stress which are fast becoming among the major health strains on a company’s and country’s economy in terms of sheer numbers affected.

It must be pointed out that women tend to be employed in so-called "women’s work" and this is confirmed by the survey. The average percentage of women’s share of the workforce was highest in the health and education sectors. In manufacturing, women’s employment was highest in the textiles, clothing and leather industry. It was lowest in mining and quarrying, the metal and chemical industries. It was also much higher in the public sector than in other property forms: 67% of the public sector units had more than 50% women employees compared with only 37.7% in the whole Czech sample.

Do women workers make "safer" workers? This is often said, but may be due simply to the fact that they are concentrated in the relatively safe service sector and not so exposed to the traditional hazards of the construction, mining and metal transformation industries, for example. This is not to say that they are not exposed to injury and illness at work - just different types, such as repetitive strain injury and stress which are fast becoming among the major health strains on a company’s and country’s economy in terms of sheer numbers affected.

Table 1. Accidents at work in the European Union (1994), all branches of activity:

6. Employment relationship

Different types of employment status have an independent effect on health-related outcomes at the workplace. This is an important consideration given the present trend towards a proliferation of non-standard workforms (fixed-term contracts, agency work, part-time work, self-employment, etc.). According to a study carried out by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, the working conditions of temporary employees are worse than those of permanent employees. The former are more exposed to painful work positions, intense noise, repetitive movements and short repetitive tasks. From the point of view of work organisation temporary workers, although less exposed than permanent workers to high speed work, have much less autonomy over the management of their work and time. They are also less consulted about organisational change, receive less training and have fewer discussions about their work problems with colleagues, bosses and worker representatives.

Figure 8. Workplaces by the trade-union membership level

Most employees in the Czech survey had a permanent employment relationship. In 60.6% of the workplaces, all employees were permanent, and in 95% of the workplaces at least 76% of the employees were permanent. Permanent employment contracts were much more common in manufacturing than in services. There were differences within manufacturing, however, with permanent jobs being least dominant in the food, beverages and tobacco industry. Within the service sector, hotel and catering, research and development and business services accounted for the most precarious contracts.

Within primary production, the agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing industry and the mining and quarrying industry represented two extremes, with permanent jobs being most common in quarrying, and least common in agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing.

7. Trade-unions

Research evidence clearly demonstrates that any programmes that have a lasting benefit on worker morale, improved health and safety and environmental conditions, and productivity are those negotiated with trade unions. Examples abound of studies that show that workplaces with strong trade union representation are safer than those where unions do not exist or are weak. The consensus is that workers who are members of trade unions are more likely to exercise their rights to a safe working environment , they are supported by their trade unions which provide them with training in health and safety and with up-to-date information on workplace risks, making them better equipped to identify risks and propose solutions, especially as part of their work on joint health and safety committees. (For more details on trade union support for worker representatives see Part VIII, Structures for dealing with occupational and environmental health.)

Figure 9. Workplaces of different sectors having a trade-union membership level of 76% or higher

In 70.7% of the workplaces surveyed, trade union membership level was above 50% (See figure 8).

The average trade union membership level was 79.3% in primary production workplaces (mainly in mining and quarrying), 62.2% in construction, energy, electricity and water supply, 61% in manufacturing and 59.3% in services (See figure 9). The service sector encompassed a very heterogeneous group of industries and workplaces in respect to trade union organization, with notable differences between the industries, and also between the workplaces within each industry. Transport and communication was well organized, whereas research and development, hotel and catering and state administration were weakly organized. In banking, finance and insurance, for example, 37.5% of the workplaces had a membership level of only 0-25%.

Figure 10. Workplaces with different percentage of women employees by trade union membership level

Trade union membership level was higher also in those workplaces which were most clearly male-dominated. When the share of women employees increased, the trade union membership level declined. Only 50% of those workplaces where all employees were women had a membership level of 51-100%, whereas 83% of those workplaces where all employees were men attained these membership levels (See figure 10).

There was also a clear relationship between public sector workplaces in the survey and a relatively low trade union membership level. This may reflect, as discussed above, the large numbers of women employees in health and education, which belong predominantly to the public sector.

In almost all workplaces, the relations of trade union with the employer were cooperative in issues concerning occupational health and environment. Only in 4.5% of the workplaces were relations considered uncooperative.

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