Robens legislation

Where there is no penalty applied, a citation may operate like an improvement notice under Robens legislation, although even some Robens-based jmisdictions provide for on-the-spot fines. 

Until the introdnction of Robens legislation in maity jurisdictions, they had separate Acts primarily on safety for areas snch as construction, factories, shops and warehouses, and machinery. These were often administered by a labour department while occupational health issnes were separately administered by a health department. 

In 1970 the Robens Committee was set up to review the provision made for the safety and health of persons in the course of their employment. At that time safety requirements were contained in a variety of enactments (as the list of relevant statutory provisions in schedule 1 of HSW indicates). An estimated five million employees had no statutory protection. Protection was uneven. Administration was diverse and enforcement powers were considered inadequate. The wording and intent of the legislation were not directed towards personal involvement of the worker and in parts it was outdated. 

The legislative changes proposed by the Robens Committee were as radical as the organizational changes it had suggested. The Committee recommended... 

The research sample included nineteen safety representatives. They were from a variety of railway departments and trade unions. They had been safety representatives for a varying number of years— from less than a year to fourteen years those interviewed were evenly spread across this range. This group of safety representatives was asked a series of questions about their own experiences and knowledge of health and safety in an effort to ascertain to what extent they were able to participate in the way suggested by Robens and required by the legislation. The broader workforce were also asked for their knowledge of and views about safety representatives. 

Some Robens-based OHS legislation provides a process for issue resolution where a workplace has not agreed on its own process. This is often presented in the form of a flowchart. The usual advice to employees if they have an OHS problem is to raise it with their supervisor in the first instance. Where an atmosphere of tmst prevails this is good advice. However, if the employee feels that raising an issue may result in discrimination, the employee may rightly prefer to go through the health and safety representative, or a union. The health and safety representative or a union may resolve the issue with management or it may be dealt with by the health and safety committee. If it cannot be resolved, an OHS inspector may be asked for a determination and issue a notice. Further review by heads of OHS authorities, or courts varies with the particular jurisdiction. In New Zealand, for example, the District Court resolves disputed notices. 

Major issues affecting maity stakeholders m be resolved by the tripartite body set up in Robens-based legislation. In those jurisdictions with PINs or default notices, resolution proceeds further automatically because an inspector m be required to confirm or disallow the notice. 

A key concept in Robens-style legislation is to take the concept of the general duty of care developed through common law tort cases (and already in some factories legislation) and apply it to a variety of stakeholders in the workplace. Canada now views this as part of an organization s due diligence. 

The key section in Robens-style legislation is the duty of employers. Errrplqyers are reqnired to provide a work environment, plarrt and system of work which, so far as is reasonably practicable (the wording of this varies between jrrrisdictiorrs), do not preserrt a threat to the health and safety of employees. They must also consult with workers and provide adequate information, instruction and training, and report accidents of certain types (in some cases also critical incidents) to the relevant OSH authority. Employees are also subject to a number of duties which are enforceable in law. 

All new legislation provides a mechanism to promote the resolution of occupatiorral health and safety issues at the workplace level. The purpose of these arrangements is to reinforce the Robens principle that the solntions for accident prevention are essentially a maher to be resolved between those who create the risks and those who work with them. There is also a clear intention on the part of governments to rednce the industrial relations conflicts often associated with occnpational health and safety issnes. 

In much Robens-based legislation this progressive principle is now embedded in the form of various notices available to correct the work system prior to the occurrence of an event that is likely to injure or cause damage. This is adopting a proactive position on the management of risk rather than taking action only after loss has occurred - the reactive approach. The US citation approach, if used before an accident, is similar in some respects. 

Mary Robens-based Jirrisdictions as we have noted provide for the election of health and safety representatives. The method of election of the representative is generally given in the legislation. 

Taylor, G.A. (1988). Dicey v. Robens - An Analysis of Some of the Consequences of the Modern Approach to Occupational Health and Safety Legislation. Australian Industrial Safety, Health and Welfare, 17.10.88, 44, 549-54, 578. Sydney CCH Australia. 

Most Robens-based OHS legislation refers to reasonable practicability , usually defined as balancing risks against the cost and technical feasibility of controls. 

Legislation in many Robens-based jurisdictions provides for health and safety representatives. Functions of health and safety representatives may include ... 

The reasonable practicability guideline used in much Robens-based legislation requires the cost of prevention to correspond with the size or magnitude of the risk. 

Whilst most Robens-style OHS legislation makes some reference to the manufac-tirrer s duty of care in providing a safe product, there is also a duty of care for organizations to eliminate hazards where practicable. The apphcation of risk management principles to the pitrchase of new products is one method to hmit the introduction of new hazards into the organizatioa... 

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