Policy

The policy should be:

• specific to the organization and appropriate to its size and the nature of its activities;
• concise, clearly written, dated and made effective by the signature or endorsement of the employer or the most senior accountable person in the organization;
• communicated and readily accessible to all persons at their place of work;
• reviewed for continuing suitability; and
• made available to relevant external interested parties, as appropriate.

The OSH policy should include, as a minimum, the following key principles and objectives to which the organization is committed:

• protecting the safety and health of all members of the organization by preventing work-related injuries, ill health, diseases and incidents;
• complying with relevant OSH national laws and regulations, voluntary programmes, collective agreements on OSH and other requirements to which the organization subscribes;
• ensuring that workers and their representatives are consulted and encouraged to participate actively in all elements of the OSH management system; and
• continually improving the performance of the OSH management system.

The OSH management system should be compatible with or integrated in other management systems in the organization.

Worker participation

Worker participation is an essential element of the OSH management system in the organization.

The employer should ensure that workers and their safety and health representatives are consulted, informed and trained on all aspects of OSH, including emergency arrangements, associated with their work.

The employer should make arrangements for workers and their safety and health representatives to have the time and resources to participate actively in the processes of organizing, planning and implementation, evaluation and action for improvement of the OSH management system.

The employer should ensure, as appropriate, the establishment and efficient functioning of a safety and health committee and the recognition of workers’ safety and health representatives, in accordance with national laws and practice.