| The Occupational Safety and Health
Department (OSHD) was established in the Ministry of Labour
to protect the safety and health of workers in Jamaica. It is
our mission to encourage, promote and facilitate an adequate
standard of Occupational Safety and Health for all workers in
Jamaica by: |
- The effective auditing of all operations
under its supervision;
- Offering guidance and advise on safety
and health issues;
- Providing timely and reliable statistics
to all relevant bodies (for example, Parliament, PIOJ and
ILO) locally and internationally, to which it reports.
- Creating a public awareness and appreciation
of its role and functions
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| The Legislation |
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| The OSHD's basic mandate comes
from the Factories Act (1943) and its associated regulations,
namely; The Factories Regulations (1961), The Building and Works
of Engineering Construction (1968) and The Docks Regulations
(1968). |
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| Services
offered by the Department |
The department offers the following
services: |
- Registration of factories
- Monitoring of the working conditions of:
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- factories- Factories Regulations (1961)
- building sites, works of engineering construction-
Building & works of Engineering Construction Regulations
(1968)
- docks, ships- The docks Regulations
(1968)
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- Investigating accidents
- Providing guidance on matters relating to OSH
- Keeping a registry of all factories in Jamaica
- Preparation of annual statistics for PIOJ, STATIN, ILO
and the Ministry of Labour's statistical bulletin
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You can click on one of the following links to
view the data: |
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- A summary report
of the inspections done, compiled by month and type (1996
- present).
- A detailed report
of the number of inspections done on a monthly basis (1996
- present).
- The number of accidents
reported and investigated by month ( 1996 - present)
- A distribution of
employment for the corporate area and rural parishes (2002).
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| Classification
of Industrial Establishments |
| Industrial establishments in Jamaica are classified
into one of four (4) groupings based on its hazard rating. You
may click on one of the following links for an explanation of
the categories. |
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| Life
Threatening Illnesses (LTI) |
The International Labour office (ILO) seeks
to protect the labour and welfare of workers internationally.
This they do through a system of conventions, codes and guidelines.
Conventions, when ratified by member countries, set the baseline
provisions of labour standards for these countries. These
countries are expected to uphold the codes and guidelines
of the conventions they ratify. You can get more details at
the ILO's web
site.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has a Code of
Practice which deals specifically with HIV/AIDS and the World
of Work. Among the code's key principles are:
- Recognition of HIV/AIDS as a workplace issue
- Nondiscrimination
- A Healthy Work Environment
- Confidentiality
- The Continuation of Employment Relationship
The Ministry recognizes that employees with Life Threatening
Illnesses (LTI), - including HIV/ AIDS - may wish to continue
to engage in as many of their normal pursuits as their condition
allows, including work.
Consistent with this concern for employees with life threatening
illnesses, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security has
developed a draft Policy Procedure Manual on Life Threatening
Illnesses (LTIs) In the Workplace, including HIV/AIDS. The
policy attempts to provide practical guidelines to assist
managers in dealing effectively with LTIs among employees
and also outlines the responsibilities of such employees.
There is special focus on HIV/ AIDS as one of the newest LTI's,
and as an LTI which has specific social, cultural and economic
implications. Much of the policy guidelines on HIV/ AIDS are
based on the ILO Code of Practice.
The objectives of the policy are:
- to institute a prevention programme on LTI's
- to eliminate stigma and discrimination against persons
with LTIs
- to provide treatment, care and support for workers with
LTIs
- to manage and reduce the impact of LTIs within the organisation.
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