MINE HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT Lecture (Continued)

MINE HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT (MHSA) - A summary overview. Effective: 15 January 1997:

Principles:

1. Tripartite regulation and research process.

2. Increasing the possible scope and subject matter of regulation.

3. Restructuring of the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) and its inspectorate.

   • increasing the independence and transparency of the inspectorate;

   • increasing the powers of inspectors.

4. Worker participation at all levels of policy-making and enforcement

   4.1 Obligation on employer to negotiate with representative (majority) union on appointment of
          H&S reps and formation of H&S committees;

   4.2 Real powers for H&S to know and act

   4.3 H&S committees at shaft and mine level

   4.4 National tripartite bodies for the regulating health and safety:

   • Mines Health and Safety Council.
   • Mine Occupational Health Advisory Committee (MOHAC).
   • Safety in Mines Research and Advisory Committee (SIMRAC).

   • Mining Qualifications Authority (MQA)

5. Harmonisation of South African mining legislation with international standards - particularly the ILO Convention on Health and Safety in Mining.

These principles resulted in the following important innovations in the Act:

1. Rationalising legislation in the mining industry.

   * Separates legislation pertaining to the following:

   • exploitation of mineral resources: Minerals Act;
   • health and safety: MHSA;
   • compensation: ODMWA (and COIDA).

   * All mines and works are covered (previously only controlled mines)

2. Health and safety policy.

   Manager to produce health and safety policy and codes of practice on important health and safety issues (for example, minimum standards of fitness to perform work at a mine) with regard to organisation of work and protection of workers and people directly affected by mining activities.

3. Health and safety training.

   Obligation upon employers to provide hazard awareness training for workers before they start employment, at regular intervals, when they change jobs on a mine, and before any major changes to the labour process.

4. Full-time health and safety representatives.

   The duty to bargain over the number of full-time health and safety representatives within the terms of guidelines given in a schedule to the Act, and the obligation on employers to pay these representatives.

5. Right to refuse dangerous work.

   Established the legal right of mineworkers and H&S reps to refuse dangerous work, pending the joint resolution of the issue at mine level by employer and worker representatives, and if necessary an inspector - the refusing worker to be redeployed elsewhere, and any substitute mineworker must be informed of the previous worker’s refusal and the reasons for it.

6. Risk assessment and hygiene monitoring.

   • obligation on employers to institute risk assessment and hygiene monitoring;
   • expertise of occupational hygienist required;
   • adhere to occupational exposure limits (OELs) http://saioh.org/OELs/oels.htm;

   • hierarchy of controls: eliminate ® control ® mininimise ® personal protective equipment and medical surveillance.

7. Medical surveillance.

   • regular surveillance of the working environment and the health of employees in hazardous jobs, (for example, noise - See Regulation 11.4);
   • linked to service record for workers performing hazardous work;
   • costs borne by employer;
   • appointing an occupational medical practitioner to do examinations;
   • medical record stored for 40 years from the last date of medical surveillance;

   • annual medical reports to be produced by occupational medical practitioner.

8. Worker notification, health promotion and employee assistance.

   • appropriate procedures to notify workers of their health status (exit medical certificate) according to Government Regulation 1486 ;

   • occupational medical practitioner must play an active role in promoting the health and safety of employees at the mine and assist employees in matters relating to occupational medicine.

9. Procedures for dispute resolution regarding results of medical examinations.

   Recourse to an independent medical inspector in disputes over ability of worker to perform particular work and the content of exit certificates.

10. Collect, report and publish information relating to health and safety experience of the mine.

    • manager to collect information on industrial hygiene/safety and medical surveillance of employees exposed to hazards that work;
    • owner to compile Annual Health and Safety Report and circulate to all relevant stakeholders according to Government Regulation 1486.(See Regulation 11.3.