F.O.L.

BILINGE-Health and Safety in the workplace

UNIT 10
HEALTH AND SAFETY IN THE WORKPLACE

Look!! That man is in danger!! Hes not wearing the protection equipment!!!

http://training.itcilo.it/actrav_cdrom2/es/osh/com/10-12u.jpg

SUMARY I. - WORK AND HEALTH I.I. - Work I.2. - Health II. - REGULATIONS TO PREVENT LABOR HAZARDS

I. - WORK AND HEALTH 1.1. - Work Having a job is very important for everyone. Human beings need to work to earn a living. Citizens need a job to live independently in our society. People look for a job because they need money to support themselves and their families. Ideally, a person should
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F.O.L. BILINGE-Health and Safety in the workplace

find a job that he/she really enjoys, a job that satisfies your dreams, but this will not always be the case. Therefore a job is useful because everyone can earn money, but there are many other professional and personal satisfactions that a job can provide. Who has heard the saying: "Mission Accomplished(misin cumplida) or who has not heard someone say "I love my job, I cant believe they pay me to do it" (U.S.A.)...... When you go to work for a company, you start relationships with different colleagues, customers, suppliers of the company, employees of banking, etc.. ... Most of these relationships begin as work relationships but often end up as regular friendships. Through these relationships important contacts may be made. You can use those contacts to improve your future career; so you may move on to another company, start your own business, find new partners for a business idea, etc.. Once you've found a job, you hope to be promoted within the company and to climb the corporate ladder to earn more money and / or have more responsibility and more professional prestige. EXERCISE#1 1. Give two reasons why finding a job is important.

2. Each of the following sentences has a mistake. Correct the errors and write the sentences accordingly: a. b. c. d. Finding a job is not useful at all. People will always find a job that satisfies their dreams. Jobs are always safe. The workplace doesnt allow you to make new friends.

1.2. - Health In order to do your job properly, you need to be in good health; however when an employee works, his/her health deteriorates and at the same
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F.O.L. BILINGE-Health and Safety in the workplace

time, our bodies get worn out (hurt) and sometimes we may have an accident. What does to be healthy mean? Most of us define health as "not having any disease." Consider the definition of health given by the International Labour Organization: "Health is that state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease. Therefore we have seen that the two concepts: Work and Health are closely related and linked. You cant have one without the other. Observe the following graph: +
HEALTH

WORK

EXERCISE #2 1. 2. Explain the definition of health in your own words. The following definition is slightly incorrect, write it properly:

a. Health is that state of complete physical and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease. EXERCISE #3 Who do you think is responsible for a workers health? Choose from the following list: - His father - The Business Owner - His Boss or Manager
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F.O.L. BILINGE-Health and Safety in the workplace

- The coworkers - His teachers - Himself - The inspectors - Health and Safety Committee/Official - His girlfriend/boyfriend We have stated that the work can seriously endanger our health and this is demonstrated by the shocking statistics about workplace accidents. In Spain every day, three workers die at work. The following statistics from the Hospitality Sector show common workplace hazards in order from most common to least common: Cuts: 44% Injuries due to loading and unloading heavy materials: 35% Crushing: 28% Accidents while travelling to or from work: 24% Falling Objects: 23% Electrocution: 17% Poisoning: 16% Explosion: 11% Other: 11%

EXERCISE #4 1. Go to the link below and find some examples of workplace injury. Note that "some near misses are mentioned"(accidentes blancos)
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Topics/YoungWorker/WCBInitiativesYWAccidents.asp?ReportID=31142 http://www.ccohs.ca/youngworkers/resources/realWorld.html

2. The table below shows different types of work and their possible hazards. The table is not organized correctly; organize the table by matching the hazards with the correct type of work.
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F.O.L. BILINGE-Health and Safety in the workplace

Cleaning

Office/clerical

Catering, restaurants, fast food

Who are the main victims of these work related accidents? The following groups of people are the most affected by these accidents: Foreigners Teen workers, especially those who have just started to work for a company. Workers over the age of 45 Temporary Employees

EXERCISE #5 Go to the links below and write down how many teenagers die in the USA every year and how many teenagers are seriously injured every year in Canada, USA and in spain: http://www.ugt.es/actualidad/2009/abril/informe_siniestralidad_UGT_20 09.pdf
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/adoldoc.html http://www.ccohs.ca/youngworkers/resources/truthHurts.html http://www.ccohs.ca/youngworkers/educators/

Every year about 70 teens die from work injuries in the United States. Another 70,000 get hurt badly enough so they have to go to a hospital emergency room. In 2007, there were 38 fatalities among young workers. ***

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F.O.L. BILINGE-Health and Safety in the workplace Each year, over 48,000 young workers are injured seriously enough to require time off work. *** (Canada) Cada da fallecen 3 trabajadores, 23 trabajadores sufren accidentes graves en su puesto de trabajo en Espaa y 2.499 accidentes leves ocurren al da. (Espaa) (Del informe de UGT2009)

II. - REGULATIONS TO PREVENT LABOR HAZARDS I. La Ley de Prevencin de Riesgos Laborales (Ley31/1995): The law states in article 14.1 that workers have the right to an effective protection in the workplace. The employer has the duty of protecting workers from labour hazards. The employer must guarantee the security and the health of the workers. The law says that the employer must use proper preventative measures like the following ones: -1- Avoid Hazards -2-Evaluate the hazards where they originate -3-When planning a job, it is important to properly match workers with jobs in which they are qualified to complete. -4-Be aware of technological advances. -5-Always avoid using dangerous processes or machinery when possible. -6-Include in preventative safety measures, new technologies, effective organization, good working conditions, healthy coworker relationships, the effects of environmental factors in the workplace. -7-Adopt measures in the workplace that protect the entire work force and not just one worker. III. - EMPLOYER OBLIGATIONS RELATED TO THE DOCUMENTATION OF WORKPLACE HAZARDS The employer must evaluate the existing hazards in the business. He also has to take the necessary preventative measures. This would include the periodic safety checks in the workplace. The employer is obligated to review the health of all employees.

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The employer must keep and have ready all of the safety documents. The employer must keep the employees up to date on the hazard prevention measures used in the workplace. The employer must guarantee that the workers have and use proper safety equipment.
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/youth/restaurant/index.html http://osha.europa.eu/en/sector/horeca/accident_prevention_html

IV. - WORKERSRIGHTS AND DUTIES ABOUT HEALTH AND SAFETY Let me introduce you to the British law and have a look:
Employers have legal obligations to ensure a safe and healthy workplace. As an employee, you have rights, and you have responsibilities for your own wellbeing and that of your colleagues. This article explains what these responsibilities are, and how you can meet them.

Your rights
Your rights as an employee to work in a safe and healthy environment are given to you by law, and generally can't be changed or removed by your employer. The most important rights are:

as far as possible, to have any risks to your health and safety properly controlled to be provided, free of charge, with any personal protective and safety equipment if you have reasonable concerns about your safety, to stop work and leave your work area, without being disciplined to tell your employer about any health and safety concerns you have to get in touch with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) or your local authority if your employer won't listen to your concerns, without being disciplined to have rest breaks during the working day, to have time off from work during the working week, and to have annual paid holiday

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/HealthAndSafetyAtWork/DG_ 4016683 EXERCISE #6 Translate into Spanish the text you have already read in class.

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F.O.L. BILINGE-Health and Safety in the workplace

Now lets have a look at the Spanish Labour Law. Section 14 ( Ley de Prevencin de Riesgos Laborales) says on one hand, workers have the right to an effective protection at the work; on the other hand employers have the duty to protect workers from risks at work. The Administration has the same obligation towards the Civil Servants. The right to an effective protection includes: -The right to be informed at work - The right to consult -The right to participate in taking decisions at work - The right to have education about risks at work - The right to stop work and leave the work area 2. The employer duty about protection includes that the employer must guarantee workers security in all aspects related to work. You can have more information at: http://www.cgt.info/nacarcgi/files/utiles/LPRL.pdf

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