Occupational Safety and Health in the Czech Republic

Part VII: Information

Information on substances, machines, hazards, osh legislation, etc. comes in many forms and from many different sources:

One of the more immediate forms of information is the label on a container of a chemical, for example. This will, or should, reveal the identification of the substance through its name (often this will only be a code or trade name), relevant danger signs, and minimal health and safety warnings. In 71% of the workplaces surveyed, containers of materials were labeled. Labeling was more common in those industries where handling of hazardous solids and liquids is common. For example, in the chemical industry it was 95%. It was also more common in privatised enterprises than in public-owned enterprises, and in workplaces that belonged to companies with at least some degree of foreign ownership rather than in domestically owned workplaces. But 18% of respondents said that containers of materials were not labeled in their workplaces. Considering that labels are the first warning of hazards then this result is surprisingly high. The reasons are not known, but it may be that chemicals are decanted into other smaller containers, a dangerous practice when they are not labeled.

Figure 23. All workplaces and all manufacturing workplaces of different ownership form where the full list of substances used in the workplace was available to the workers and union representatives

In 94.9% of those workplaces where containers were labelled, the labels were in a language understandable to the workers.

A full list of substances used in the workplace was available to workers in 57.2% of workplaces and to union representatives in 54.7% of the workplaces. This is an important consideration for research, getting information on the substances, and for emergency personnel in case of accident or fire. It was more likely that workers and union representatives had access to the full list of substances in foreign-owned companies and in manufacturing workplaces (See figure 23).

Chemical safety data sheets should be delivered with the chemical, or they are available from suppliers. They contain more information on the characteristics of a product, how to handle it safely, the PPE needed to prevent exposure, occupational exposure limits, first aid advice, etc. In 39.3% of the workplaces surveyed, workers had a full access, in 24.6% limited access and in 7.6% no access to chemical safety data sheets. The percentage of those who did not know if they had access or not was very high, 28.4%. Workers’ access to chemical safety data sheets was therefore somewhat less common than their access to a full list of substances used in the workplace, but the pattern was similar: access was most common in workplaces with some degree of foreign ownership and in manufacturing (See figure 24).

Figure 24. All workplaces and all manufacturing workplaces where workers had a full or limited access to chemical safety data sheets

In 82.5% of those workplaces where workers had either full or limited access to chemical safety data sheets, the respondents considered that the information contained in the sheets was adequate for workers to perform their jobs safely. However, only 76.2% said that this information was understandable to the workers. This is an important factor, not just for the language of the user, but also for comprehension even when the data sheet is in the reader's mother tongue.

Knowing how and where to obtain information about chemicals and other hazards is an important step in helping to improve the workplace and members' work-related health problems. There are many sources of information - from suppliers, government inspectors, health professionals, unions on a local, national or international level, etc.

Figure 25. Information sources used for health and safety hazards

The survey found that the three most common outside sources of information concerning health and safety hazards for the respondents were the national union, health/environmental professionals, and an international trade union. 61.6% of the respondents had enquired for information from the national union, 55.7% from a health/environmental professional and 54.7% from an international union (See figure 25).

Concerning the awareness of workers to occupational hazards, only 3.7% of the respondents claimed that workers were not aware, although this figure rises to 11.6% for a lack of awareness of the environmental effects of their industry or workplace. 46.8% of the respondents said that workers are somewhat aware and 49.5% that they are very aware of occupational risks. 60.4% said that workers are somewhat aware and 28.1% that they are very aware of the impact of the workplace on the environment.


		International Labour Organization - Central and Eastern European Team For further information, please contact the Central and Eastern European Team by e-mail at budapest@ilo.org
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Part VII: Information

1. Labels

2. List of substances used in the workplace

3. Chemical safety data sheets

4. Outside information sources