Developing a national framework for OSH in agriculture

• Author: International Labour Organization
• Pages: 7-22

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3. Developing a national framework for

OSH in agriculture

3.1. National policy, systems and

programmes for OSH

3.1.1. Convention No. 187 and its accompanying Recommendation No. 197

promote the development of national policies, national systems and national programmes

for OSH covering all economic sectors, including agriculture. The overall aim of such

measures should be to promote a preventive OSH culture and to promote the effective

management of OSH nationally and at the enterprise level.

3.1.2. With specific regard to agriculture, governments should adopt comprehensive

OSH legislation that affords protection for all workers in the sector, irrespective of their

gender and employment status, in accordance with the Safety and Health in Agriculture

Convention, 2001 (No. 184). Labour inspectors should also have sufficient legal status and

powers, as well as resources and training, to be able to enforce the legislation adequately in

the sector.

3.1.3. National systems for OSH in agriculture should thus comprise organizations

and mechanisms aimed at promoting OSH in agriculture, including:

(a) authorities or bodies responsible for OSH and for ensuring compliance with national

laws and regulations, including systems of inspection;

(b) information about hazards and risks in agriculture and how these may be addressed,

and related advisory services;

(c) occupational safety and health training for employers and workers;

(d) occupational health services, available in rural areas as well as urban ones;

(e) mechanisms for the collection and analysis of data on occupational injuries and

diseases;

(f) provisions for collaboration with relevant insurance or social security schemes

covering occupational injuries and diseases; and

(g) support mechanisms for a progressive improvement of OSH in very small agricultural

enterprises, such as subsistence farms, and in the informal economy.

3.1.4. National OSH programmes for agriculture should be developed in accordance

with Convention No. 187. These may be targeted specifically at the agricultural sector or

may cover a wider range of sectors or topics. National programmes covering agriculture

should, in particular:

(a) promote the development of a national preventive OSH culture for the sector;

(b) contribute to the protection of workers by eliminating or minimizing, so far as is

reasonably practicable, work-related hazards and risks, in accordance with national

law and practice, in order to prevent occupational injuries, diseases and deaths and

promote OSH in the workplace;

(c) include objectives, targets and indicators of progress; and

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(d) be supported, where possible, by other complementary national programmes and

plans which will assist in achieving progressively a safe and healthy working

environment.

3.1.5. For national OSH systems and programmes to be effective, it is vital that

competent authorities, employers, workers and their representatives and other partners

work together and cooperate in a constructive manner. Such cooperation in the area of

agriculture will also help to ensure that the objectives of this code of practice will be

achieved in practice.

3.2. Competent authority

3.2.1. In the light of the foregoing paragraphs in consultation with employers’ and

workers’ representatives, the competent authority should:

(a) formulate, implement and periodically review a national policy, national system and

national programme for OSH in agriculture;

(b) promote continuous improvement of OSH in agriculture to prevent occupational

accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences; and

(c) consider making new, or updating existing, statutory provisions for eliminating or

controlling hazards in agriculture.

3.2.2. The competent authority should ensure that relevant legislation protects

agricultural workers as effectively as workers in other sectors.

3.2.3. The competent authority should ensure that all agricultural workers,

irrespective of their employment status, benefit from the same level of OSH protection and

are subject to the same requirements for prevention. The competent authority should

provide guidance to employers’ and workers’ organizations on ensuring equal protection

for vulnerable workers, such as temporary, casual and migrant workers, women workers,

young workers, contractors and workers provided by labour supply agents – especially

women workers and young workers in these groups.

3.2.4. Statutory provisions should include regulations, approved codes of practice,

exposure limits and procedures for consultation and dissemination of information.

3.2.5. The competent authority should:

(i) establish systems and criteria for classifying substances used and produced in

agriculture that may be hazardous to health, in accordance with national and

international standards;

(ii) establish requirements for marking and labelling substances provided for use in

agriculture, taking into account the need to harmonize such systems internationally;

(iii) establish criteria for determining information provided in chemical safety data sheets;

(iv) establish systems and criteria for identifying safety and health hazards and

appropriate risk control measures relating to machinery, equipment, processes and

operations used in agricultural production;

(v) establish safety standards with regard to the design, manufacture and use of tractors

and other machinery used in agriculture, based on sound scientific criteria and

accepted international practice (see also 8.1.3.); and