"Occupational Health and Safety Act"

11. Listed work

1) The Minister may, subject to the provisions of subsections (2) and (3), by notice in the Gazette declare any work, under the conditions or circumstances specified in the notice, to be listed work.

Before the Minister declares any work to be listed work, he shall cause to be published in the Gazette a draft of his proposed notice and at the same time invite interested persons to submit to him in writing within a specified period, comments and representations in connection with the proposed notice.
A period of not less than three months shall elapse between the publication of the draft notice and the notice under subsection (1).

3) The provisions of subsection (2) shall not apply --

if the Minister in pursuance of comments and representations received in terms of subsection (2)(a) , decides to publish the notice referred to in subsection (1) in an amended form; and
to any declaration in terms of subsection (1) in respect of which the Minister is of the opinion that the public interest requires that it be made without delay.

4) A notice under subsection (1) may at any time be amended or withdrawn by like notice.

12. General duties of employers regarding listed work

1) Subject to such arrangements as may be prescribed, every employer whose employees undertake listed work or are liable to be exposed to the hazards emanating from listed work, shall, after consultation with the health and safety committee established for that workplace --

identify the hazards and evaluate the risks associated with such work constituting a hazard to the health of such employees, and the steps that need to be taken to comply with the provisions of this Act;
as far as is reasonably practicable, prevent the exposure of such employees to the hazards concerned or, where prevention is not reasonably practicable, minimize such exposure; and
having regard to the nature of the risks associated with such work and the level of exposure of such employees to the hazards, carry out an occupational hygiene programme and biological monitoring, and subject such employees to medical surveillance.

2) Every employer contemplated in subsection (1) shall keep the health and safety representatives designated for their workplaces or sections of the workplaces, informed of the actions taken under subsection (1) in their respective workplaces or sections thereof and of the results of such actions: Provided that individual results of biological monitoring and medical surveillance relating to the work of the employee, shall only with the written consent of such employee be made available to any person other than an inspector, the employer or the employee concerned.

13. Duty to inform

Without derogating from any specific duty imposed on an employer by this Act, every employer shall --

as far as is reasonably practicable, cause every employee to be made conversant with the hazards to his health and safety attached to any work which he has to perform, any article or substance which he has to produce, process, use, handle, store or transport and any plant or machinery which he is required or permitted to use, as well as with the precautionary measures which should be taken and observed with respect to those hazards;
inform the health & safety representatives concerned beforehand of inspections, investigations or formal inquiries of which he has been notified by an inspector, and of any application for exemption made by him in terms of section 40; and
inform a health and safety representative as soon as reasonably practicable of the occurrence of an incident in the workplace or section of the workplace for which such representative has been designated.

14. General duties of employees at work

Every employee shall at work --

take reasonable care for the health and safety of himself and of other persons who may be affected by his acts or omissions;
as regards any duty or requirement imposed on his employer or any other person by this Act, co-operate with such employer or person to enable that duty or requirement to be performed or complied with;
carry out any lawful order given to him, and obey the health and safety rules and procedures laid down by his employer or by anyone authorized thereto by his employer, in the interest of health or safety;
if any situation which is unsafe or unhealthy comes to his attention, as soon as practicable report such situation to his employer, or to the health & safety representative for his workplace or section thereof, as the case may be, who should report it to the employer; and
if he is involved in any incident which may affect his health or which has caused an injury to himself, report such incident to his employer or to anyone authorized thereto by the employer, or to his health and safety representative, as soon as practicable but not later than the end of the particular shift during which the incident occurred, unless the circumstances were such that the reporting of the incident was not possible, in which case he shall report the incident as soon as practicable thereafter.

15. Duty not to interfere with, damage or misuse things

No person shall intentionally or recklessly interfere with, damage or misuse anything which is provided in the interest of health or safety.

16. Chief Executive Officer charged with certain duties

1) Every chief executive officer shall as far as is reasonably practicable ensure that the duties of his employer as contemplated in this Act, are properly discharged.

2) Without derogating from his responsibility or liability in terms of subsection (1), a chief executive officer may assign any duty contemplated in the said subsection, to any person under his control, which person shall act subject to the control and directions of the chief executive officer.

3) The provisions of subsection (1) shall not, subject to the provisions of section 37, relieve an employer of any responsibility or liability under this Act.

4) For the purpose of subsection (1) , the head of department of any department of State shall be deemed to be the chief executive officer of that department.

17. Health and Safety Representatives

1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (2) , every employer who has more than 20 employees in his employment at any workplace, shall, within four months after the commencement of this Act or after commencing business, or from such time as the number of employees exceeds 20, as the case may be, designate in writing for a specified period health & safety representatives for such workplace, or for different sections thereof.

2) An employer and the representative of his employees recognized by him or, where there are no such representatives, the employees shall consult in good faith regarding the arrangements and procedures for the nomination or election, period of office and subsequent designation of health and safety representatives in terms of subsection (1): Provided that if such consultation fails, the matter shall be referred for arbitration to a person mutually agreed upon, whose decision shall be final: Provided further that if the parties do not agree within 14 days on an arbitrator, the employer shall give notice to this effect in writing to the President of the Industrial Court, who shall in consultation with the chief inspector designate an arbitrator, whose decision shall be final.

3) Arbitration in terms of subsection (2) shall not be subject to the provisions of the Arbitration Act, 1965 (Act No. 42 of 1965), and a failure of the consultation contemplated in that subsection shall not be deemed to be a dispute in terms of the Labour Relations Act, 1956 (Act No. 28 of 1956): Provided that the Minister may prescribe the manner of arbitration and the remuneration of the arbitrator designated by the President of the Industrial Court.

4) Only those employees employed in a full-time capacity at a specific workplace and who are acquainted with conditions and activities at that workplace or section thereof, as the case may be, shall be eligible for designation as health and safety representatives for that workplace or section.

5) The number of health and safety representatives for a workplace or section thereof shall in the case of shops and offices be at least one health and safety representative for every 100 employees or part thereof, and in the case of all other workplaces at least one health and safety representative for every 50 employees or part thereof: Provided that those employees performing work at a workplace other than that where they ordinarily report for duty, shall be deemed to be working at the workplace where they so report for duty.

6) If an inspector is of the opinion that the number of health and safety representatives for any workplace or section thereof, including a workplace or section with 20 or fewer employees, is inadequate, he may by notice in writing direct the employer to designate such number of employees as the inspector may determine as health and safety representatives for that workplace or section thereof in accordance with the arrangements and procedures referred to in subsection (2).

7) All activities in connection with the designation, functions and training of health and safety representatives shall be performed during ordinary working hours, and any time reasonably spent by any employee in this regard shall for all purposes be deemed to be time spent by him in the carrying out of his duties as an employee.

18. Functions of Health and Safety Representatives

1) A health and safety representative may perform the following functions in respect of the workplace or section of the workplace for which he has been designated, namely -

review the effectiveness of health and safety measures;
identify potential hazards and potential major incidents at the workplace;
in collaboration with his employer, examine the causes of incidents at the workplace;
investigate complaints by any employee relating to that employee's health or safety at work;
make representations to the employer or a health and safety committee on matters arising from paragraphs (a), (b), (c) or (d), or where such representations are unsuccessful, to an inspector;
make representations to the employer on general matters affecting the health or safety of the employees at the workplace;
inspect the workplace, including any article, substance, plant, machinery or health and safety equipment at that workplace with a view to the health and safety of employees, at such intervals as may be agreed upon with the employer: Provided that the health and safety representative shall give reasonable notice of his intention to carry out such an inspection to the employer, who may be present during the inspection;
participate in consultations with inspectors at the workplace and accompany inspectors on inspections of the workplace;
receive information from inspectors as contemplated in section 36; and
in his capacity as a health and safety representative attend meetings of the health and safety committee of which he is a member, in connection with any of the above functions.

2) A health and safety representative shall, in respect of the workplace or section of the workplace for which he has been designated be entitled to--

visit the site of an incident at all reasonable times and attend any inspection in loco;
attend any investigation or formal inquiry held in terms of this Act;
in so far as is reasonably necessary for performing his functions, inspect any document which the employer is required to keep in terms of this Act;
accompany an inspector on any inspection;
with the approval of the employer (which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld) , be accompanied by a technical adviser, on any inspection; and
participate in any internal health or safety audit.

3) An employer shall provide such facilities, assistance and training as a health and safety representative may reasonably require and as have been agreed upon for the carrying out of his functions.

4) A health and safety representative shall not incur any civil liability by reason of the fact only that he failed to do anything which he may do or is required to do in terms of this Act.

19. Health and Safety Committees

1) An employer shall in respect of each workplace where two or more health and safety representatives have been designated, establish one or more health and safety committees and, at every meeting of such a committee as contemplated in subsection (4), consult with the committee with a view to initiating, developing, promoting, maintaining and reviewing measures to ensure the health and safety of his employees at work.

2) A health and safety committee shall consist of such number of members as the employer may from time to time determine: Provided that -

if one health and safety committee has been established in respect of a workplace, all the health and safety representatives for that workplace shall be members of the committee;
if two or more health and safety committees have been established in respect of a workplace, each health and safety representative for that workplace shall be a member of at least one of those committees; and
the number of persons nominated by an employer on any health and safety committee established in terms of this section shall not exceed the number of health and safety representatives on that committee.

3) The persons nominated by an employer on a health and safety committee shall be designated in writing by the employer for such period as may be determined by him, while the health and safety representatives shall be members of the committee for the period of their designation in terms of section 17(1).

4) A health and safety committee shall hold meetings as often as may be necessary, but at least once every three months, at a time and place determined by the committee: Provided that an inspector may by notice in writing direct the members of a health and safety committee to hold a meeting at a time and place determined by him: Provided further that, if more than 10 per cent of the employees at a specific workplace has handed a written request to an inspector, the inspector may by written notice direct that such a meeting be held.

5) The procedure at meetings of a health and safety committee shall be determined by the committee.

A health and safety committee may co-opt one or more persons by reason of his or their particular knowledge of health or safety matters as an advisory member or as advisory members of the committee.

7) If an inspector is of the opinion that the number of health and safety committees established for any particular workplace is inadequate, he may in writing direct the employer to establish for such workplace such number of health and safety committees as the inspector may determine.

20. Functions of Health and Safety Committees

1) A health and safety committee --

may make recommendations to the employer or, where the recommendations fail to resolve the matter, to an inspector regarding any matter affecting the health or safety of persons at the workplace or any section thereof for which such committee has been established;
shall discuss any incident at the workplace or section thereof in which or in consequence of which any person was injured, became ill or died, and may in writing report on the incident to an inspector; and
shall perform such other functions as may be prescribed.

2) A health and safety committee shall keep record of each recommendation made to an employer in terms of subsection (1)(a) and of any report made to an inspector in terms of subsection (1)(b).

3) A health and safety committee or a member thereof shall not incur any civil liability by reason of the fact only that it or he failed to do anything which it or he may or is required to do in terms of this Act.

4) An employer shall take the prescribed steps to ensure that a health and safety committee complies with the provisions of section 19(4) and performs the duties assigned to it by subsections (1) and (2).