The thesis explores the challenges faced by health and safety law in the UK as a consequence of the continuous changes in the employment relationship. This primarily covers the growth of the different forms of non-standard work. Health and safety law developed through a number of socio-economic changes in the UK. It has moved from only covering particular areas and particular classes of workers in the nineteenth century to wider areas of occupational health and safety and to include more of those at work. The thesis sets out the issues surrounding non-standard work arrangements and how they might affect the application of health and safety law. Key case-law is examined and the legal changes in the area of health and safety carefully analysed. Research has been carried out by others concerning the reasons for and extent of the changing nature of work as an indicator of the changes that took place in the labour market in general; but the research in this thesis concentrates on how the application of health and safety law is challenged by such changes. The central hypothesis of the thesis is that non-standard work by its very nature might put those who are employed under its various types at more risk than their counterpart standard workers. This hypothesis is developed and explored through the field-work. The field-work took the form of a postal questionnaire to workers in the UK in geographical areas selected for their differing characteristics together with some semi structured interviews which sought to introduce a qualitative data element to the quantitative data in order to enrich and elaborate upon the findings of the questionnaire. Analysis of the completed and returned questionnaires revealed that in today's workplace the nature of risk has changed, with an increase in the psychological risk related to work. Both groups of standard and nonstandard workers suffered from stress-related illness. This illustrates the complexity of the concept of vulnerability and how that might challenge the application of health and safety law and affect its efficacy. A number of unexpected issues surfaced through the field-work, such as that working in the different types of non-standard work were effectively involuntary for some of those who chose to work this way. The main reason for their decisions was to be able to provide for the family income as well as to have more control over work and the ability to combine work with other responsibilities including domestic duties. Despite the relatively low number of non-standard workers who participated in the postal questionnaire, it seems that they are in a better position than was hypothesized at the outset, before the field-work took place. Analysis of the semi-structured interviews revealed that interviewees had considerable knowledge and awareness about their employer's general duties in terms of risk assessment and safety training in addition to other significant aspects. This applies to both standard and non-standard workers, which indicates the important improvement in the management of occupational health and safety. However, a serious issue was common to most of those who suffered accident and/or ill-health from both groups of standard of non-standard workers: not reporting their experiences to their employers. In addition, many of those workers did not seek legal advice following their accident and/or ill-health because of fear and uncertainty about their employers' reaction. The thesis concludes with some reflections on the effectiveness or otherwise of health and safety legislation.

Bibliography: pages 195-200. / This thesis will be concerned with trying to develop an understanding of what the difficulties have been in bringing about improvements to the working environment in manufacturing. The role of labour will be of central concern, but an attempt will also be made to analyse the role of the other participants in the regulatory process, namely, the state and employers. The period with which the thesis is concerned is the 1980s. The area is clearly a very broad one and no claims will be made to providing a comprehensive study. Rather, it is hoped that the present study will provide some new data and some original insights into the regulatory process which will provoke further discussion and research in the field of occupational health and safety in South Africa.

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Social Sciences

No description available.

In the face of the extensive changes resulting from the Post-Industrial Age, many are questioning "the gifts of the chip," or, more specifically, the ability of computer technologies to deliver the comfort predicted. The objective of this thesis is to examine the law's response to computer technology concerning occupational health and safety. This inquiry is necessary due to the dramatic changes that have occurred in the workforce, altering the profile of workplace health. / The thesis begins with a reference to The Gift of Stones, a fictional account of the difficulties that stone workers experienced when the Bronze Age arrived. Modern labourers face parallel struggles due to the arrival of the Post-Industrial Age characterized by technological innovation and restructuring. The legitimacy and effectiveness of occupational health and safety law is challenged by changes to social institutions and by computer related work injuries. / In many jurisdictions, the state has responded to these changes by enacting ergonomic standards that seek to minimize the harmful effects of computer use. The thesis examines the trend towards ergonomic standards with particular focus on Canadian initiatives. In conclusion, it argues that ergonomic regulations are an important means of promoting safer computer practices. Additionally, ergonomic standards provide a mechanism for continued state regulation of occupational health and safety. The challenge for rule makers is ensuring that the standards are a component of comprehensive legal reforms.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:33:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2011-10-05Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:24:37Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 lima_am_dr_rcla.pdf: 9682673 bytes, checksum: ec90fd2dcb13a1fc1e89599cd0478b6c (MD5) / Convenio Ifpi / A dimensão territorial, a geração, a distribuição e uso de conhecimento passaram a ter um papel relevante na competitividade das empresas e no desenvolvimento regional/local, tendo-se presente que as vantagens competitivas associadas aos Arranjos Produtivos Locais, nos países menos desenvolvidos, despertaram maior interesse a partir da década de 1990. Nessa perspectiva, que abrange a multiplicidade de agentes e sua interação, com destaque ao ambiente local, estão inseridas as questões econômicas, socioculturais e ambientais que constituem aspectos fundamentais nas análises sobre a temática dos Arranjos Produtivos Locais. Não obstante isso, não pode ser desprezada ou negligenciada a questão da saúde e da segurança do trabalhador, principalmente se a atividade produtiva a ser estudada usa intensamente os recursos humanos, uma vez que a melhoria das condições de salubridade e Segurança do Trabalhador deve ser preservada com uma legislação pertinente. Assim, esta pesquisa objetiva analisar a saúde e segurança dos trabalhadores do barro do Arranjo Produtivo Local nos bairros Olarias e Poty Velho. Para isso, verifica as dinâmicas produtivas e inovativas, as especificidades desses Arranjos, os processos de interação/cooperação e os mecanismos de aprendizagem interativa e as relações trabalhistas. A pesquisa realizada configurou-se do tipo Survey, de cunho exploratório e descritivo. O instrumento utilizado para o levantamento das informações foi 02 (dois) questionários direcionados para os empresários e trabalhadores. Todas as entrevistas foram realizadas diretamente com empresários de artesanato de barro e trabalhadores do barro. No presente estudo, verificou-se que a competitividade e a sustentabilidade do artesanato de barro, atividade que contempla os setores primário... / The territorial dimension, the distribution and the use of knowledge has had an important role in the enterprise competitiveness and in the regional/local development, taking into account that the competitive advantages associated to the Local Productive Arrangements, in the less developed countries, has caused interest from the 1990s. Concerning this, this accounts for the multiplicity of the agents and their interaction, mainly the local environment, economic, socio cultural and environmental aspects are included, once they are essential for the analysis of the Local Productive Arrangement theme. However, it can not be neglected aspects concerning the worker safety and health, mainly if the productive activity to be studied makes use of human resources, because the improvement on the worker’s salubrity and safety conditions must be preserved with proper legislation. So, this research aims at analyzing the worker safety and health of the Local Productive Arrangement with clay in Olarias and Poty Velho districts. So, it verifies the productive and innovative dynamic, such arrangement specificities, the interaction/cooperation processes and the interactive learning mechanisms and labor relations. It is a survey with an exploratory descriptive approach. 02 (two) questionnaires with the entrepreneurs and workers were made to collect information. All interviews were made with the clay handicraft entrepreneurs and clay workers themselves. It was verified that competitiveness and sustainability of the clay handicraft, activity which contemplates the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors, depend on the clay worker and the environment preservation. It can be said the articulation of the strategies and actions of the Local Productive Arrangement with the public politics, the sectors of methodologies management and... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Major changes have occurred in the workplace in the past decades. Technology has changed dramatically, innovative ways of utilising nuclear power have been developed, new chemicals have been introduced to the market and the adverse effects of other chemicals on both human health and safety and the environment have been discovered. This has influenced the nature of the workforce itself. Regulators in the different jurisdictions were required to react to the challenges that these changes represent. This thesis explores the responses in the United Kingdom, the United States of America and the Republic of South Africa by identifying the occupational safety and health (OSH) regulations, administration, enforcement and penalties which have been put in place to address the above mentioned challenges. It is impossible to mention all the changes in the workforce and workplace that have occurred in the recent years, and this thesis therefore focuses on the possibilities that different types of regulation offer to address some of these changes. Alterations to existing approaches are proposed to ensure that enforcement is improved and better targeted. The utilisation of third parties as surrogate regulators is also addressed. The central theme of this thesis is how the law can stimulate self-regulation by adopting a Safety Management System (SMS) within enterprises to encourage “self-critical reflection about their OHS performance”. The purpose of criminal sanctions in occupational safety and health regulation, the role of the prosecution in the enforcement of OSH strategies and the possibility of combining prosecutions of corporations with prosecutions of individual managers and directors who are responsible for non-compliance with OSH standards are also addressed. Although it is most important to ensure that workers are not injured or do not contract occupational diseases, in practice this does unfortunately happen. Therefore this thesis also discusses the compensation of injured workers. / Professor D. S. de Villiers

No description available.

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 1999. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: As part of South Africa's transformation, legislative changes have been introduced to support the Constitutional rights of the people, including the right of access to health care. In restructuring the health services, the redistribution of resources between the private and public sector is addressed through a long-term vision which includes a Social Health Insurance scheme. The focus has been shifted to primary health and prevention, with community based services at the centre. Various Acts and regulations have been introduced to give substance to the transformation, including the Acts affecting medical schemes and the pharmaceutical services, labour legislation, education and training. The Bargaining Councils and Occupational health services have been extended to include primary health care, and in many cases this is extended to the dependents of the workers, bringing them into the ambit of the private sector. The proposed redistribution of resources into the public sector has placed the low-wage earner at risk as the cost of private health care increases. The legislation controlling medical schemes and pharmaceutical services are a threat to the viability of the Health Care Funds, particularly in the short-term until the Social Health Insurance has been established. The restrictions placed on dispensing and the measures which are intended to make drugs more affordable also provide a challenge to the low-cost medical funds. The relevant legislation is being subjected to judicial challenges, and the replacement legislation promulgated prematurely, resulting in confusion and uncertainty. It is within this context that the Funds must prepare for the changes ahead. A management consulting case study is presented using the Clothing Industry Bargaining Council of the Western Cape with the Clothing Industry Health Care Fund which provides comprehensive primary health services in Fund owned clinics, factories and through panel doctors. Because of the complexity of the organisation and the issues surrounding the implementation of changes to the pharmaceutical services, Yolles' viable approach to management systems has been used as a framework for the consultancy intervention. This is a newly published approach grounded in chaos theory, which directs the nature of inquiry according to form and the behaviour of the situation, aiming to maintain viability and adaptability. This case study examines the impact of the legislative changes on the health services which are accessed through the workplace, and tests the applicability of the viable approach to management systems. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: As deel van Suid-Afrika se transformasie is veranderings aangebring aan die wetgewing om die Konstitusionele regte van die mense te ondersteun, insluitend die reg van toegang tot gesondheidsorg. Met die herstrukturering van die gesondheidsdienste, word die verdeling van bronne tussen die privaat en publieke sektor aangespreek deur middel van 'n lang-tenmyn visie wat 'n gemeenskapsgesondheidsversekering insluit. Die lokus het herskuil na primêre gesondheid en voorkoming, met gemeenskapsdienste as sentrum. Verskeie wette en regulasies is voorgestel om as kern van die verandering te dien, insluitende wette wat die mediese skemas en farmaseutiese dienste, asook die werknemer, opleiding en opvoeding beinvloed. Die gesondheidsdienste van die Onderhandelingsrade en die Beroepsgesondheiddienste is uitgebrei om primêre sorg in te sluit. Dit sal ook die afhanklikes van die werkers dek en hulle sodoende binne die privaatsektor betrek. Die voorgestelde herverdeling van bronne in die publieke sekdor veroorsaak dat daar 'n risiko is vir die werker met 'n lae inkomste as gevolg van die stygende koste van gesondheidsorg. Die wetgewing wat mediese skemas en farmaseutiese dienste beheer veroorsaak ook dat die Siekefonds se lewensvatbaarheid bedreig word, veral in die korttenmyn tot tyd en wyl die gemeenskapsgesondheidsversekering gestig word. Die beperkings wat op reseptering geplaas word en die metodes wat beplan word om medisyne meer bekostigbaar te maak, veroorsaak ook 'n uitdaging vir die inkomste mediese fondse. Die relevante wetgewing word tans in die hof betwis, en die plaasvervangende wetgewing is voortydig gepromulgeer, wat verwarring en onsekerheid veroorsaak. Die siekefondse moet hulle binne die konteks voorberei vir die veranderinge wat voorlê. 'n Bestuurskonsultasie gevallestudie is voorgelê, met die hulp van die Klerasienywerheid Gesondheidsorgfonds (Weskaap), wie se siekefonds omvattende primêre gesondheidsdienste lewer binne klinieke, fabrieke en deur gemeenskapsgeneeskundiges. Omdat die organisasie en die omstandighede rondom die veranderings aan die farmaseutiese dienste kompleks is, word Yolles se lewensvatbare benadering (viable approach) as 'n raamwerk gebruik vir die konsultasie. Die model is nuut gepubliseer, en is gebaseer op chaos teorie, wat rigting gee aan die aard van die ondersoek volgens die vorm en die gedrag wat die situasie aanneem. Dit is daarop gemik om lewensvatbaarheid en aanpassingsvermoë te ondersteun. Daar word 'n studie gemaak van die impak wat die veranderings tot wetgewing op gesondheidsdienste wat deur middel van die werksplek bereik word mag hê, en toets die toepaslikheid van Yolles se model in die konteks van bestuurskonsultasie.

Orientador: Auro Aparecido Mendes / Banca: Enéas Rente Ferreira / Banca: Fadel David Antonio Tuma Filho / Banca: Lélio Galdino Rosa / Banca: Paulo Borges da Cunha / Resumo: A dimensão territorial, a geração, a distribuição e uso de conhecimento passaram a ter um papel relevante na competitividade das empresas e no desenvolvimento regional/local, tendo-se presente que as vantagens competitivas associadas aos Arranjos Produtivos Locais, nos países menos desenvolvidos, despertaram maior interesse a partir da década de 1990. Nessa perspectiva, que abrange a multiplicidade de agentes e sua interação, com destaque ao ambiente local, estão inseridas as questões econômicas, socioculturais e ambientais que constituem aspectos fundamentais nas análises sobre a temática dos Arranjos Produtivos Locais. Não obstante isso, não pode ser desprezada ou negligenciada a questão da saúde e da segurança do trabalhador, principalmente se a atividade produtiva a ser estudada usa intensamente os recursos humanos, uma vez que a melhoria das condições de salubridade e Segurança do Trabalhador deve ser preservada com uma legislação pertinente. Assim, esta pesquisa objetiva analisar a saúde e segurança dos trabalhadores do barro do Arranjo Produtivo Local nos bairros Olarias e Poty Velho. Para isso, verifica as dinâmicas produtivas e inovativas, as especificidades desses Arranjos, os processos de interação/cooperação e os mecanismos de aprendizagem interativa e as relações trabalhistas. A pesquisa realizada configurou-se do tipo Survey, de cunho exploratório e descritivo. O instrumento utilizado para o levantamento das informações foi 02 (dois) questionários direcionados para os empresários e trabalhadores. Todas as entrevistas foram realizadas diretamente com empresários de artesanato de barro e trabalhadores do barro. No presente estudo, verificou-se que a competitividade e a sustentabilidade do artesanato de barro, atividade que contempla os setores primário... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The territorial dimension, the distribution and the use of knowledge has had an important role in the enterprise competitiveness and in the regional/local development, taking into account that the competitive advantages associated to the Local Productive Arrangements, in the less developed countries, has caused interest from the 1990s. Concerning this, this accounts for the multiplicity of the agents and their interaction, mainly the local environment, economic, socio cultural and environmental aspects are included, once they are essential for the analysis of the Local Productive Arrangement theme. However, it can not be neglected aspects concerning the worker safety and health, mainly if the productive activity to be studied makes use of human resources, because the improvement on the worker's salubrity and safety conditions must be preserved with proper legislation. So, this research aims at analyzing the worker safety and health of the Local Productive Arrangement with clay in Olarias and Poty Velho districts. So, it verifies the productive and innovative dynamic, such arrangement specificities, the interaction/cooperation processes and the interactive learning mechanisms and labor relations. It is a survey with an exploratory descriptive approach. 02 (two) questionnaires with the entrepreneurs and workers were made to collect information. All interviews were made with the clay handicraft entrepreneurs and clay workers themselves. It was verified that competitiveness and sustainability of the clay handicraft, activity which contemplates the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors, depend on the clay worker and the environment preservation. It can be said the articulation of the strategies and actions of the Local Productive Arrangement with the public politics, the sectors of methodologies management and... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor