Comparison of Estonian and Finnish OSH legislations with regard to BOHS

Kari-Pekka Martimo PAA 16.2.2004

General remarks

E

One Act on OH&S from 1999

E

Act on OH&S includes also regulations related to safety issues, OD/WRDs and their notification, OHC, registration of service providers

F

Separate Acts on Occupational Safety and OHS

F

Act on OHS originally from 1978 (renewed 2002); Act on OS originally from 1958 (renewed 2003)

Contents of OHS by the Acts

E E E E E

risk assessments medical examinations organisation of medical rehabilitation provision of advice to employers • Adaptation of work • Use of work equipment and personal protection psychological counselling

F F F F F F F F F

workplace visits medical examinations making suggestions • To both employers and employees provision of information, incl. assessment of work load support to disabled workers collaboration help to organise first aid assisting in work place health promotion assessing quality and outcome

Basic OHS

• Surveillance of work environments • Risk assessment • Surveillance of health • Proposing preventive and control actions • Diagnostics of occupational diseases • Providing first aid • Providing GP level health service (where appropriate)

Surveillance of work environments

E

Related only to the possibility of making risk assessment

F

Duty of OHS to perform repeated workplace visits in order to be organized and implemented to the extent required by work, work arrangements, personnel and workplace conditions, and any changes in these

Risk assessment

E

Obligation of the employer to conduct internal controls of work environment and to prepare a written action plan

E

OHS provider may conduct risk assessments incl. measurements

F

Obligation of OHS to investigate and assess healthiness and safety of work and work conditions having regard to exposure substances, workload, work arrangements, risk of accidents and violence

Surveillance of health

E

Employer is required to organise medical examinations if workers’ health may be affected by risk factors of the work environment or the nature of work, and bear the costs (into force 1.7.2003)

E

Possibility/right of OHS to perform examinations

E

Decree on health exams

F

Obligation of OHS to investigate, assess and monitor work-related health risks and problems, employees’ health, work ability and functional capacity;

F

Also at different stages of an illness

F

Decree on health exams in work with special risks

Preventive and control actions

E

Employer is responsible to transfer worker to another position at his request and on the decision of a doctor

E

Possibility of OHS to organise medical rehabilitation, and to advice employers on adaptation of work, use of protection, and improvement of working conditions

F

OHS make suggestions for actions to improve healthiness and safety at work, to adapt work to needs of employee if necessary, to maintain and promote work ability and functional capacity

Diagnostics of occupational diseases

E

Employee’s right to receive compensation for health damage caused by work (procedure established by the Government 1992)

E

Definitions and duties related to OD and WRD, and the obligation of OHPs to make the diagnosis

E

List of ODs; two notification systems

F

Act and Decree on Occupational Diseases

F

Act on Insurance of Occupational Diseases and Accidents

F

Employer may organize medical treatment and other health care services for employees

F

One notification system

Providing first aid

E

Employer responsible for arranging training on first aid and access to first aid equipment

E

Not listed in the possibilities of OHS

F

OHS include also participation in organizing first aid

GP level health service

E

Duty of OPs to examine and diagnose ODs and WRDs, but not included in the list of OHS and nothing about compensation

E

Curative care not mentioned in the Act

F

Employer may organize medical treatment and other health care services for employees

F

Reimbursement from Social Insurance Institution

• • • •

Basic OHS

Work life will need OH&S more than ever Full coverage of services infrastructures need to be organized (OHS for all!) Appropriate content and competence of OHS need to be ensured (to meet the needs of work life) Sufficient numbers of expert human resources are needed and their training be organized to meet the needs of work life

Basic OHS

• • • New service provision models (fragmentation) are needed Multidisciplinary, comprehensive content and approach are inevitable OHS have been found productive in the view of health, work ability and enterprise as well as in the view of national economy

Customer needs of OHS

Society:

• • • • Coverage Contents Costs Effectiveness

Individual and organisational customer:

• Availability • • • Participation Confidentiality Benefits

Coverage / Availability

E E

Employer is required to organise the provision of OHS and bear the costs related to them (into force 1.7.2003) Two models; “legal person” or self- employed OHS provider

E

Enforcement by Labour Inspectorate

F

Compulsory to all employers

F

Four models to arrange OHS

F

Written agreement and action plan required and available to all employees

F

Enforcement by Labour Inspectorate

Multidisciplinarity

E

OHS mean performance of duties by OH physicians, OH nurses, occupational hygienists, occupational psychologists OR ergonomists

F

Included in Good Occupational Health Practice defined in the Act

F

OH professionals (physician and nurse) AND experts (hygienist, physiotherapist, psychologist)

Quality

E

Regulation No 144 of MoSA – Quality system by 31.12.2004: • Patient satisfaction • Management of risks • Professional quality • Organisational Quality – Supplementary training

F

OHS obligated to assess and monitor quality of activities (incl. customer satisfaction)

F

Decree on GOHP: • Principles of GOHP • Contents of OHS • Qualifications

Effectiveness

E E

Act on OHS: – Aim of OHS to contribute to the development of a safe work environment, to prevent WRDs, and to preserve and promote health and work ability of workers Regulation No 144 of MoSA: – Customer satisfaction – Customer complaints – Complications

F

Act on OHS: – Obligation to assess and monitor the impact of activities

F

Decree on GOHP: – Impact of measures taken on work environment and work community – Employee exposure, accidents and ODs – Health, work ability and sickness absenteeism – Working methods of OHS – Implementation of suggestions made by OHS

Group discussions

The tasks of the groups: – to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of OSH in Estonia (SWOT –analysis) – to suggest ways to eliminate the obstacles to BOSH – to name the main actors in the field – to draw up a list of priorities – to present a plan of actions to be taken in the near future – to discuss the role of OHC in the process

Group discussions

Aims of the group discussion: - To assist in making the analysis of OHS in Estonia - To give material for the final report of the twinning project - To make suggestions to Estonian government and European Union - To support the future role of OHC

Group discussions

The topics and the rapporteurs of the groups: 1) Legislation 2) Infrastructure 3) Personnel and training 4) OHS processes 5) Customers, information - Tiit Kaadu - Urmas Krass - Ahe Vilkis Ülle Sarap - Eva Tammaru

Strengths

SWOT -analysis

Weaknesses Opportunities Threats

SWOT -analysis

• How to use the strengths to achieve the opportunities?

• How to improve the weaknesses to achieve the opportunities?

• How to develop the strengths to minimize the threats?

• How to avoid weaknesses from realizing the threats?