FROM EMPLOYEE REPRESENTATION TO
PROBLEM-SOLVING
- MAINSTREAMING OHS MANAGEMENT
BJARKE REFSLUND, PETER HASLE AND RIKKE
SEIM
CENTER FOR INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION, AALBORG UNIVERSITY,
DENMARK
A study of the changing role of OHS reps
Background
Wo r k e r r e p r e s e n t a t i o n i n o c c u p a t i o n a l h e a l t h a n d s a f e t y c a m e
a f t e r a p r e s s u r e f r o m u n i o n s a n d we r e o f t e n r e g u l a t e d i n
collective agreements
I n D e n m a r k t h e Wo r k E n v i r o n m e n t A c t f r o m 1 9 7 5 s e c u r e t h e
right
E U f r a m e wo r k d i r e c t i v e f r o m 1 9 8 9 : O H S r e p s i n a l l c o u n t r i e s
A change in the Danish OHS legislation 2010
• M o r e f l e x i b l e wa ys t o o r g a n i s e t h e O H S wo r k a n d r e p s
• H o we v e r s t i l l O H S r e p s a n d a b a s i c o r g a n i s a t i o n ( l e s s r a t h e r
flexible)
2
Research design
T h e s tu d y in c lu d e d 6 0 D a n i s h c a s e c o m p a ni e s
• O n - si te vis its a n d i n te r vi ew s w i th k e y p e r s on nel r e l a te d
to th e o r g a n isation’s O H S m a n a g eme nt ( 2 - 6
p e r s ons/firm)
• R e p r ese ntative s a m p l e o f th e 6 0 c o m p an i es
• T h e c a s e s w e r e s tr a ti fi ed o n fi ve m a i n l a b o u r m a r ke t
s e c tors – c o n s truction, ma n u fa cturin g, p r iva te s e r vic e,
k n o w l e dg e a n d h e a l th care
T h e D a n is h c o n te xt
• Str o n g e n c o mp assi n g u n i o n s, l e g i ti m i z e d,
in s titu ti ona l i ze d
• C o n s e nsua l a n d p r o d ucti vi ty e n h a n ci n g a p p r oach
3
Empirical findings
C h a n g i n g r o le s fo r th e O H S - rep resen ta ti ve s
• Five id e a l typ e s
Ma i n s tre amin g o f O H S o r g a n i sati on
Pr o fe ssi o na l i zati on
• Bu t a l s o s o me a d h o c O H S w o r k /org ani s ati on a n d “ s i d e car” OHS
4
Changing roles for the OHS-representatives
Gr e ater e mp h asi s o n p r o b le m s o lvin g in th e d a ily w o r k
L e s s e mp h a sis o n vo i c e a n d i n te r e st o f th e c o - wo rkers
( th e m o r e tr a d ition al r o l e )
We i d e n tifie d five id e a l typ e s o f O H S r e p s ( th e re a r e a l s o
mi xe d c a s es)
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Changing roles for the OHS-representatives
F i ve i d e a l t y p e s o f O H S r e p s
• Professional OHS reps
•
More resources, fewer reps (two are full -time OHS-reps) and more
responsibility
• Systems maintenance OHS reps
•
•
High levels of systematizing and standardisation
Most often full time OHS officers and the OHS reps main function
is to support the OHS officer in the form of systems maintenance
• I n t e g r a t i o n o f O H S a c t i vi t i e s i n c o r e t a s k s
•
•
•
•
OHS activities are an integrated part of the core tasks
The rationale behind improvements and initiatives are linked to
the enterprises’ operations and core task.
Often OHS reps work closely together with management and
shop stewards about solving day-to-day operational problems
as well the longer term
Often in health care
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Changing roles for the OHS-representatives
• Political OHS reps
• A few cases still have elements of the traditional political
OSH rep approach
• E m p h a s i s b o t h e m p l o ye e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n a n d O H S
improvements
• H o we v e r t h e m o d e r n p o l i t i c a l O H S r e p s a r e p o l i t i c i z i n g
a c t o r s wi t h i n t h e o r g a n i s a t i o n
• M a n a g e m e n t d r i ve n O H S a c t i vi t i e s
• Management domination
• Strategic OHS activities are centralised to the enterprise
top level
• D a i l y o p e r a t i o n o f t h e wo r k e n v i r o n m e n t i s wi t h
p r o f e s s i o n a l O H S o ff i c e r s o r f i r s t l i n e m a n a g e r s
• The OHS reps are more or less push to the side -line,
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Mainstreaming of OHS organisation
OHS is increasingly integrated in the daily operations of the firms
• As opposed to the traditional organisational “side -car” metaphor
(Cutler and James, 1997)
…from a separate and isolated issue to integration of OHS into the
main management decisions…
Mainly the work organisation and management perspective
• Include OHS in operational management
Better employee-management cooperation
Risk of management domination
Not necessarily improving the outcome!
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Mainstreaming of OHS organisation
Mainstreaming in the studied workplaces can be characterised by four
key observations:
• Management does not consider work environment as an issue,
which needs to be given priority because of employee demands,
but as part of regular operations
• Systems are established which are expected to handle work
environment issues on a day to day basis and securing that major
problems in terms of accidents, diseases, employee complaints and
improvement notices from inspectors are avoided
• The work environment is treated as other specific issues such as
quality management, environmental management and HR
management.
• Staff and resources are allocated to carry out the tasks in the OHS
organisation, and OHS reps are considered part of this staff
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Professionalization
O H S r e p s h a v e in g e n e ra l b e c o me mo r e p r o fessi o na l
• Ofte n th e y w o r k a s OH S p r o fessio na ls
• H o w e ve r s o me c o m p an i es s ti l l h a ve a n a d h o c o r
s i d e - car a p p r oach
The ad hoc approach:
• c h a r a c t e r i s e d b y t h e a b s e n c e o f s ys t e m a t i c a p p r o a c h t o O H S
• O n l y a c t s i f a c c i d e n t s o c c u r o r t h e l a b o u r i n s p e c t o r a t e s h o ws
up
The side-car approach:
• F o r m a l s t a t u s r e q u i r e d b u t wi t h o u t a n y g e n u i n e o r e ff i c i e n t
integration into the daily operations of the firm
• Typ i c a l l y s m a l l a n d m e d i u m s i z e d f i r m s
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Interaction of approach and OHS reps
FIGURE 1 OHS approaches and OHS reps typologies
General OHS approach
OHS rep role
Side-car
Ad hoc
Professionalization
Systems
++
+
Maintenance
Integration
+
Political
+
Management driven
+
Source: Own compilation
Mainstreaming
++
++
+
++
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Conclusions
The role of the OHS reps are changing
• To wa r d s p r o b l e m s o l v i n g f r o m r e p r e s e n t i n g c o - wo r k e r s
T h e h a s b e e n a t e n d e n c y t o wa r d s
• P r o f e s s i o n a l i z a t i o n o f O H S wo r k
• Mainstreaming – in many companies OHS regulation have
b e c o m e m o r e i n t e g r a t e d i n t h e e v e r yd a y wo r k o f t h e f i r m s
• N o t c o n f l i c t i s s u e a n d O H S wo r k n e e d s t o b e p r o a c t i v e
• T h i s d o e s n o t p e r s e s e c u r e a h i g h e r l e v e l o f t h e wo r k
environment
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