April 14, 2003—Occupational safety and health officials from the United States, Mexico, and Canada have agreed on criteria to recognize excellence in workplace safety and health programs in all three nations. The group also reached consensus on key elements for establishing effective occupational safety and health management systems throughout North America, reports the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
The officials, who serve on one of four subgroups of the Tri-national Occupational Safety and Health Working Group, met March 10-12 in Texas and Mexico to discuss best practices from all three countries on building cooperation with companies, and their experiences in implementing voluntary programs and occupational safety and health management systems.
The subgroup agreed on key elements for an effective occupational safety and health management system, including: management commitment and responsibility, employee involvement and responsibility, worksite analysis and approaches, hazard/risk prevention and control, and training. Meeting results will be posted on the TriNational Web page on OSHA’s Web site.
The subgroup agreed to meet again during the full working group meeting in April 2003 in Toronto, Canada to focus on specific applications of safety and health management systems. Topics that the subgroup is considering for future technical workshops include: Canada’s OSH auditor certification process, programs aimed at construction and small businesses, OSH education for youth, issues specific to Hispanic workers, and the collection and reporting of injury and illness statistics.
Established under the auspices of the North American Free Trade Agreement’s side accord on labor—the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC)—the Trinational Occupational Safety and Health Working Group brings together technical experts from the three nations to advance cooperation and programs in key areas of occupational safety and health. The Working Group is headed by each nation’s top occupational safety and health official.
