REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD HOW THE EMPLOYERS ORGANISATIONS CAN INFLUENCE THE PRIORITIES AND OUTCOMES OF DWCPS Presentation by Dr Janet L Asherson IOE

MAKE IT HAPPEN AT THE WORKPLACE GB//ILO CONFERENCEEOs in member StatesCompanies in membership SMEs in supply chain

Governments, authorities, institutions that make policies, laws and taxes EMPLOYERS’ ORGANISATIONS AND WHAT THEY DO AT NATIONAL LEVEL Employers organisations represent and serve members Businesses all sizes sectors

EMPLOYER ORGANISATIONS WHAT ARE THEY AND WHAT ARE THEY FOR LOBBYING AND REPRESENTING MEMBERS  ANALYSING INFORMATION FROM ‘GOVERNMENTS/INSTITUTIONS’  ASSESSING IMPACT ON BUSINESS  INFORMING AND CONSULTING BUSINESS  ANALYSING INFORMATION FROM BUSINESS  INFLUENCING GOVERNMENTS/INSTITUTIONS INFORMING AND SUPPORTING BUSINESS DIRECTLY  MINIMISING THREATS  MAXIMISING OPPORTUNITIES  IDENTIFYING PRIORITIES FROM ALL POLICY DEVELOPMENTS AND MAKING THEM REAL FOR BUSINESS  PROVIDING SERVICES BEING AN ADVOCATE FOR BUSINESS IN THE BROADER COMMUNITY  BY MAKING GOVERNMENT AND OTHERS UNDERSTAND HOW BUSINESS WORKS AND HOW BUSINESS VALUES AND IDEAS CAN BENEFIT ALL

OSH IS A KEY COMPONENT OF DECENT WORK Occupational Health SafetyWellbeing Risk management Industrial relations Environment Products and Ethics Public Health And Community Contributes to sustainable businesses and society Corporate Social Responsibility

OSH IS KEY PERFORMANCE ISSUE FOR EMPLOYERS AND ENTERPRISES  ALL BUSINESSES ARE AFFECTED BY OSH  OSH FAILURES CAN BE COSTLY – LOST BUSINESS, REPAIR, RECOVERY AND COMPENSATION  ACCIDENTS ARE HIGHLY VISIBLE AND CAN RUIN BUSINESS REPUTATIONS  ACTIVE ENFORCEMENT TO CREATE A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD FOR EMPLOYERS  OSH STANDARDS BASED ON LEGAL SYSTEM – LAWS AND TAXES ARE GREATEST THREAT TO BUSINESSES  EXTENSIVE INTERNATIONAL LAW AND STANDARDS INCREASINGLY COHESIVE, CONNECTED AND COMPLEX  OSH HAPPENS AT THE WORKPLACE OSH MANAGEMENT REQUIRES KNOWLEGE AND INVOLVEMENT OF EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES  THOSE WHO CREATE THE OSH RISK MUST BE RESPONSIBLE FOR MANAGING IT  PEOPLE AT THE WORKPLACE HAVE TO PROVIDE SOLUTIONS TO MANAGE RISKS AT WORKPLACE  EMPLOYERS HAVE RESPONSIBILITY FOR OSH COMPLIANCE AND NEED THE AUTHORITY TO MANAGE OSH IN A WAY THAT DOES NOT UNDERMINE THEIR ABILITY TO CONDUCT LEGITIMATE BUSINESS

 LAWS DEVELOPED INTERNATIONALLY BY TRIPARTITE CONSENSUS  EMPLOYERS SHOULD INFLUENCE LEGAL TRANSPOSITION TO BE IMPLEMENTABLE, PRACTICAL AND ENFORCEABLE  KNOW WHO TO INFLUENCE AND MATCH LIKE WITH LIKE  KNOW WHEN TO INFLUENCE  EOs ARE REALISTIC – THEY DON’T EXPECT TO WIN EVERY BATTLE BUT CAN PROVIDE EARLY ADVICE TO MEMBERS ABOUT CHANGES  CAN HELP OSH AUTHORITIES DEVELOP GUIDANCE AND TRAINED PERSONNEL (SECONDMENTS, EXCHANGES)  CAN PROVIDE ACCESS TO EXPERTS AND SECTORS TO MAKE GUIDANCE RELEVANT, USING LANGUAGE OF BUSINESS  CAN HELP AUTHORITIES IDENTIFY PRIORITIES AND ALIGN THEM WITH OTHER CURRENT INITIATIVES EMPLOYER ORGANISATIONS INFLUENCING OSH AUTHORITIES ON POLICY, PRACTICALITIES AND PRIORITIES

EOs ARE A KEY NETWORK FOR EFFICIENT EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION AND INFLUENCE COMPANIES NGO’S TRADE UNIONS ENFORCING AUTHORITIES INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND STANDARDS EMPLOYERS ORGANISATIONS

EOs PROVIDING OSH SERVICES TO BUSINESS  Always new companies, some die and others rise from the ashes  The market, the politics and companies are always changing  There are many competing demands, duties and initiatives in companies  Always new ideas aimed at continuous improvement  Identify those that have a synergy  OSH in companies is - Training Training and Training  Always new staff  New ways of controlling risks  New risks arising out of change, technological developments and innovations  Motivation needs to be maintained  CONSTANT CHANGE PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES FOR EOs TO ASSIST MEMBERS

EOs HELPING BUSINESS UNDERSTAND OSH  No use talking conventions and recommendations if business is talking holistic wellbeing and developing resilient staff, KPIs, leading and lagging indicators  Who in a company is the focus for OSH - CEO, HR, Works Manager, Medical department, Quality control, Engineering standards  Recognise business silos - don’t try and sell risk assessment to the CMO, don’t try and sell wellbeing programmes to the safety engineer  Find out who has the authority and budget to promote OSH  Don’t have too many initiatives thrown at business at the same time. Coordinate them with other initiatives

WHAT EOs CAN PROVIDE FOR OSH IN ENTERPRISES  NETWORKS OF EXPERTS TO EXCHANGE INFORMATION ON BEST PRACTICE  CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS ETC ON OSH LAW AND POLICY  SURVEYS BRIEFINGS, POLICY UPDATES, PUBLICATIONS  PROVIDE MODEL POLICIES, TEMPLATES FOR WORKING METHODS AND RISK ASSESSMENTS  TRAINING COURSES ON OSH LAW, TECHNICAL AND PRACTICAL ISSUES  TOOLKITS TO HELP MANAGERS AND EMPLOYEES UNDERSTAND WHAT TO DO FOR GENERAL OSH  BENCHMARKING COMPANY PERFORMANCE  ADVICE ON LAW AND INTERPRETATION IN GENERAL TERMS EITHER IN WORKSHOPS OR IN COMPANY  PROVIDE IN HOUSE CONSULTANCY TO ADVISE COMPANIES ABOUT THEIR RISKS AND LIABILITIES  PROVIDE AUDITS AND IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMMES

EOs WORKING WITH ILO OFFICES AND OTHERS ON DWCP  Have an idea of what you want to achieve to give visibility to DWCPs  Identify resources – OSH and those that are within OSH disciplines e.g engineers, insurance, medics etc.  Identify business priorities that have synergy with OSH initiatives.  Look at other DWCPs and see what tools they have used, what has worked and what hasn’t (doesn’t mean it will be the same in every country )  Identify how success can be measured, who and how information will be provided. Leading and lagging indicators, business confidentiality.

USEFUL TO ENGAGE WITH MULTINATIONALS AND EMPLOYER ORGANISATIONS Because they have  Been there and done it  Have powerful momentum and motivation to manage health and safety to protect their reputation  Have powerful leverage on business environment and supply chain  Recognise legal standards, codes and compliance holds some of the key to reputation  Have other improvement programmes that have H&S synergy

REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD