Occupational Safety

Topic 6

Starter

Look at the pictures. What do you think the term “Occupational safety” means?

Add more items.

PPE Slip Corrosive Danger Zone Occupational Safety Fall Explosive Emergency

Reading

1 Discuss.

1. What should be the goals of occupational safety?

2. Whom or what shall the occupational safety protect?

2 Read the text, translate and chose the correct variant of the verb.

Occupational safety and health (OSH) also commonly refer/referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS) or workplace health and safety (WHS) is an area concerning/concerned with the safety, health and welfare of people engaged in work or employment. The goals of occupational safety and health programs include to foster a safe and healthy work environment. OSH may also protect co-workers, family members, employers, customers, and many others who might be affected by the workplace environment.

Occupational safety and health can be important for moral, legal, and financial reasons. Good OSH practices can also reduce employee injury and illness related costs, including medical care, sick leave and disability benefit costs.

As defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) "occupational health deal/ deals with all aspects of health and safety in the workplace and has a strong focus on primary prevention of hazards." Health has defined/has been defined as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. " Occupational health is a multidisciplinary field of healthcare concerned with enabling/enable an individual to undertake their occupation, in the way that causes least harm to their health.

Since 1950, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have shared/shared a common definition of occupational health. It was adopted/has been adopted by the Joint ILO/WHO Committee on Occupational Health at its first session in 1950 and revised at its twelfth session in 1995. The definition reads:

"The main focus in occupational health is/are on three different objectives: (i) the maintenance and promotion of workers’ health and working capacity; (ii) the improvement of working environment and work to become conducive to safety and health and (iii) development of work organizations and working cultures in a direction which supports health and safety at work and in doing so also promotes a positive social climate and smooth operation and may enhance productivity of the undertakings."

Those in the field of occupational health comes/come from a wide range of disciplines and professions including/included medicine, psychology, epidemiology, physiotherapy and rehabilitation, occupational therapy, occupational medicine, human factors and ergonomics, and many others. Professionals advise on a broad range of occupational health matters. These include how to avoid particular pre-existing conditions causing a problem in the occupation, correct posture for the work, frequency of rest breaks, preventative action that can be undertaken, and so forth.

3 Look through the text again. Write the words in bold next to their synonyms.

	goal, aim
	thinking, brainy, connected with mind
	prosperity, well-being, health
	favorable for
	weakness, sickness
	human engineering
	to encourage, to form

4 Correct the mistakes.

1. Occupational safety and health (OSH) is an area concerned only with health of people engaged in work or employment.

2. OSH protects only people engaged in work or employment.

3. OSH practices can also increase employee injury and illness related costs, including medical care, sick leave and disability benefit costs.

4. Since 1950, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have no common definition of occupational health.

5. The main focus in occupational health is on the maintenance and promotion of workers.

6. Health has been defined as "a state of complete physical well-being and the absence of disease or infirmity.

5 Discuss.

1. Do you think that OSH is important? Why?

2. Does OSH work in everyday life? Do you know any examples?

3. Is it important to follow the occupational safety rules aboard the vessel and why?

Labour protection

Starter

Do you agree with the statement? Why?

Is labour protection important for the seafarers?

Reading

1 Answer the questions.

1. How is maritime labour protected?

2. What is MLC?

3. When was MLC adopted?

2 Read the text and find the answers to the questions from ex. 1.

The Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) is an International Labour Organization convention established in 2006 as the fourth pillar of international maritime law and embodies "all up-to-date standards of existing international maritime labour Conventions and Recommendations, as well as the fundamental principles to be found in other international labour Conventions". The other "pillars are the SOLAS, STCW and MARPOL. The treaties applies to all ships entering the harbours of parties to the treaty (port states), as well as to all states flying the flag of state party (flag states, as of 2013: 50 per cent).

The convention entered into force on 20 August 2013, one year after registering 30 ratifications of countries representing over 33 per cent of the world gross tonnage of ships. Already after five ratifications the ratifying countries (Bahamas, Norway, Liberia, Marshall Islands, and Panama) represented over 43 per cent of the gross world tonnage (which is over 33 per cent; the second requirement for entry into force). As of October 2014, the convention has been ratified by 65 states representing 80 per cent of global shipping.

Some seafarers criticize the convention, saying that it lacks teeth, does not address real issues, and skirts important seafarer needs such as decent sized cabins, cupboards in cabins, shore leave, and rest hours by including them into the non-mandatory section "B" of the convention—or worse, by not addressing them at all.

The convention consists of the sixteen articles containing general provisions as well as the Code. The Code consists of five Titles in which specific provisions are grouped by standard (or in Title 5: mode of enforcement):

• Title 1: Minimum requirements for seafarers to work on a ship

• Title 2: Conditions of employment

• Title 3: Accommodation, recreational facilities, food and catering

• Title 4: Health protection, medical care, welfare and social security protection

• Title 5: Compliance and enforcement

For Each Title, there are general Standards, which are further specified in mandatory Regulations (list A) as well as Guidelines (List B). Guidelines generally form a form of implementation of a Regulation according to the requirements, but States are free to have different implementation measures. Regulations should in principle be implemented fully, but a country can implement a "substantially equivalent" regulation, which it should declare upon ratification.

The basic aims of the MLC, 2006, are:

■ to ensure comprehensive worldwide protection of the rights of seafarers (the Convention is sometimes called the seafarers’ Bill of Rights); and

■ to establish a level playing field for countries and shipowners committed to providing decent working and living conditions for seafarers, protecting them from unfair competition on the part of substandard ships.

3 Discuss what information is included into each title of MLC.

• Title 1: Minimum requirements for seafarers to work on a ship

• Title 2: Conditions of employment

• Title 3: Accommodation, recreational facilities, food and catering

• Title 4: Health protection, medical care, welfare and social security protection

• Title 5: Compliance and enforcement

4 Read the main provisions of MLC and translate new words.

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