Unit 1 - Introduction to OSH

Module 1: OSH and the BOSH Framework

th
This is a very short module which aims to prepare you for the technical dis~ssions a~
will follow In the next modules. This will also explain how the discussions will flow an
give you basic directions on where we are going.

Objectfws:
Working on this module should help you to:

- have an overview of the BOSH Course and the Importance of safety and health
define OSH and its three major fields - Occupational Safety, Occ4Pational Health
and Industrial Hygiene
- identify work hazards and risks and recommend control measures to reduce or
eliminate work-related accidents and Illness
- acquire basic knowledge & skills on OSH, such as safe work practices, that will
enable you to plan/develop your company's Safety and Health program.

Overview of the BOSH Course

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

• Understand the National Laws and Regulations on OSH

• Be aware of the Phlllpplne Statistics on accidents/Injuries and illnesses and the
reporting requirements of the Department of Labor and Employment
• Understand the causes of accidents, identify existing/potential safety and health
hazards and risks at work, and the mechanisms to prevent these hazards and risks
• Describe the effects of OSH hazards on the worker
• Enumerate the effects of occupational Illnesses/accidents to the workers, workplace,
community, and society
• Determine the appropriate control measures to prevent hazards and risks
• Conduct a simulated safety and health audit through a site/plant visit
•7Jescrlbe the roles/functions of the supervisor in promoting an OSH-friendly
environment in his/her organization
• Describe the components of a health and safety pro1r1m
• List and describe the benefits of an OSH-friendly environment, the different
government organizations and non-governmental organizations, private and
academic institutions that promote, regulate OSH and how they can network with
partners
• Develop a personal re-entry plan

These obj_ectives ca_n be attained by understanding OSH, why we need to learn key
concepts in prevention and how we can respond to existing and potential hazards that
affect the human body, personal lives, families and communities.
What is Occupational Safety and Health (OSH)?

Occupational safety and health is a discipline with a broad scope involving three major
fields - Occupational Safety, Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene.

• Occupational safety deals with understanding the causes of accidents at work

and ways to prevent unsafe act and unsafe conditions in any workplace. Safety
at work discusses concepts on good housekeeping, proper materials handling
and storage, machine safety, electrical safety, fire prevention and control, safety
inspection, and accident Investigation.
• Occupational health is a broad concept which explains how the different hazards
and risks at work may cause an illness and emphasizes that health programs are
essential in controlling work-related and/or occupational diseases.
• Industrial hy1iene discusses the identification, evaluation, and control of
physical, chemical, biological and ergonomic hazards.

Nin its broadest sense, OSH aims at:

• the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental
and social well-being of workers in all occupations;
• the prevention of adverse health effects of the working conditions
• the placing and maintenance of workers In an occupational environment
adapt~ to physical and mental needs;
• the adaptation of work to humans (and NOT the other way around).

In other words, occupational health and safety encompasses the social, mental and
physical well-being of workers, that Is, the Nwhole personH.

Success/ul occupational health and safety practice requires the collaboration and
participation of both employers and workers In health and safety programs, and
Involves the consideration of issues relating to occupational medicine, industrial
hygiene, toxicology, education, engineering safety, ergonomics, psychology, etc.

Occupational health Issues are often given less attention than occupational safety
Issues because the former are generally more difficult to confront. However, when
health is addressed, so is safety - a healthy workplace is by definition also a safe
workplace. The reverse, though, may not be true - a so-called safe workplace is not
n«essarlly also a healthy workplace. The Important point Is that both health and
safety issues must be addressed In every workplace. H (Your lrealth and safety at work:
INTRODUCTION TO OCCUPATIONAl HEAlTH AND SAFETY, International labour Orsanlzatfon,
accetUd 2s Aprfl 200s http;/Jwww.ttcHo.tt/actray/actrav-enctt,h/tel,■rn/0sh/1ntroL1ntroduc.htn!)
The terms hazard and risk are often interchanged. Because you will be encountering
these through out the course it is a must that you understand the difference between
them.

Hazard - a source or situation with a potential to cause harm in terms of injury, ill
health, damage to propert y, damage to the environment or a combination of these.

Risk - a combination of the likelihood of an occurrence of a hazardous event with

specified period or In specified circumstances and the severity of injury or damage to
the health of people, property, environment or any combination of these caused by
the event.

The hazards affecting the workp_ lace under each major area should be detected,
Identifi ed, control led and, at best, prevented from occurring by the safety and health
officer of the company. Occupational safety and health should be integrated in every
step of the work process, starting from storage and use of raw materials, the
manufa cture of products, release of by-products, use of various equipment and
ensurin g a non-hazardous or rfsk-free work environment.

Our discussions will therefo re flow from the three major areas of OSH and then on to
the part where you will prepare a re-entry plan to apply what you have learned in
your specific workplace. If you are not working yet, we can simulate a company, a
househ old or a commu nity that will benefit from your re-entry plan.
 Unit 1 - Introduction to OSH

Module 2: OSH Situation in the Global and Local Levels

Module 2, aims to provide a background on both the local and international OSH
situation. We hope that by being aware and focusing on the magnitude of work-related
accidents, Injuries and illness, you will understand the prevalent conditions that exist
which contribute to the accidents and illness at work.

Let us share with you a historical event which led to OSH Improvements in the early 19th
century. During the Industrial revolution of 1800 - 1900s, the use of machines,
equipment and chemicals were intensive as manufacturing processes, agriculture and
train/steam engine transport were the driving force of the economy. However,
numerous work-related accidents and deaths occurred arising from hazards in these
industries. Statistics, at that time, showed that safety hazards, chemical exposures and
injuries from manufacturing work were very high. This led to the development of
guidelines and standards to protect workers from work-related hazards and risks in the
above-mentioned Industries.

As work patterns change, trends on accidents and diseases may also reflect how
workers are affected. In the late 20th century and until the present, we see that
predominance of the service sector (wholesale and retail trade, education, hptels and
restaurants, banks, health-care etc.), and we are now confronted with data th~t reveal
work-related muscle and joint Injuries experienced by the service sector workers and
the emergence of the science of ergonomics which will be discussed at length in the
Occupational Health module.

Objectives:
Working on this module should help you:
- articulate a heightened awareness of the OSH situation, both local and
lnternationa I
- identify the problems, Issues and challenges associated with OSH conditions in
the country

Global OSH fleures

The International Labour Organization (ILO) Safework Introductory Report In 2008

showed that close to 50% of work-related deaths occur In Asia. In developina
countries, fatality rates are five to she times higher than in industrialized nations and
In developing countries where, every year, around 170,000 agricultural workers and
320,000 people die from exposures to biological risks such as viral, bacterial, Insect or
animal related risks.
The latest ILO figures reveal that,

,,Every 15 seconds, 160 workers have a work-related accident. Every 15 seconds, a

worker dies from a work-related accident or disease.

Everyday, 6,300 people die as a result of occupational accid

ents or work- relate d
diseases - more than 2.3 mill/on deaths per year. Over 337 million accidents
occur on
the job annually; many of these resulting In extended absences from
work. The huma n
cost of this daily adversity Is vast and the economic burden of poor
occupational safet y
and health practices is estimated at 496 of global Gross Domestic
produ ct each year.

The safety and health conditions at work are very differ ent
between countries,
economic sectors and social groups. Deaths and injuries take a heavy
toll in developing
countries, where a large part of the population is engaged In hazar
dous activities such
as agriculture, fishing and mining. Throughout the world, the
poorest and least
protected - often women, children and migrants - are amon
g the most affected. 11
(Safety and Health at Work, International Labour Organization
, am111ed September 6, 2011
bUPiUwww, 110,qrglalobqlltoofq/1at,tv-and-b•eltb-at-worlcllqna--,nltnd•"·htm J

To see figures in other countries, you may refer to these websites

United States of America

http;//www.bls.gov/ijf#tab les
httpj//www,bls,goy/data/home,htm
Canada
http://www.ccohs.ea/oshanswers/informatio n/lnfor mation/injury statistics.htm
l
Japan
http:ljwww. jniosh.go.jp/icpro/iicosh-old/english/st atistics/inde>< .html

Philippines
http;//www.oshc.dole.gov. ph
http://www.bles.dole.gov.ph
International Labour Organization
http ://!aborsta.ilo.org
httpj//www.ilo.org/ public/ english/byrea u/stat/jndex. htm

Philippine Labor and OSH statistics

According to the latest Labor Force Survey (LFS} of the National Statis
tics Office (NSO),
the Philippine labor force/ economically active population, which refers
to persons 15
years old and above who are employed or underemployed, totals 38.90
5M In October
2010.

Hof the estimated 36.0 million employed persons In 2010, more than
half (51.8%}
were engaged in services and abou t one-third (33.2%} were In
agriculture. Most of
those who worked fn the services sector were into wholesale and
retail trade, repai r of
moto r vehicles, motorcycles and personal and household goods
(19.5% of the total
employed).
Of the total employed persons, the laborers and unskilled workers comprised the
largest group (32.3%}. This was followed by farmers, forestry workers and fishermen
(16.0%}; officials of government and special interest organizations, corporat e
executives, managers, managing proprietors and supervisors (13.8%); and service
workers, shop and market sales workers (10.696). The rest of the major occupation
groups each comprised less than 10 percent ranging from 0.4 percent to 7. 7 percent.
The majority (54.496) of the employed were wage and salary workers, most of whom
were In private establishments (40.4% of the total employed}. Thirty percent were self-
employe d without any paid employee, four percent were employer In own family-
operated business or farm while nearly 12 percent worked without pay in own family-
operatedfarm or business.

More than half (63.5%) of the total employed were full time workers or have worked
for at least 40 hours per week. On the average, employed persons worked 41. 7 hours a
week in 2010.

The number of underemployed workers In 2010 was 6.8 million, representing an

annual underem ploymen t rate of 18. 7 percent. Underemployed workers are persons
who express the desire to have additional hours of work in the present job, or to have
an addition al Job, or to have a new job with longer working hours. The lowest
underem ploymen t rate was observed In Central Luzon (9.1%} while the highest was
noted in Blcol Region (36.8%).

About 2.9 million FIiipinos were unemployed In 2010 representing an unemployment

rate of 7.3 percent for the year. The unemployed persons who have attained high
school accounted for 45.2 percent of all unemployed. The proportio n of unemployed
males was greater than that of their female counterparts (63.396 compared to 36. '7°~)."
(2010 ANNUAL LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT STATUS, released February 8, 2011,
http;I/WWWiCftllHl,R9YrRbLdgtalom• c,lm,12011/orU 11 qc.htmU

According to the July 2011 current Labor Statistics of the DOLE Bureau of Labor and
Employm ent Statistics (BLES), there are SM OFWs with 1.47M deployed In 2010. Of
the OFWs deployed in 2010, 1,123,676 are land based and 347,150 are sea-based.
After knowing these statistics, the question that comes to mind is "how many Filipino
workers are protecte d from accidents and Illnesses while they work?"
 Taken In 2007-2 008 and released in 2010, the
latest Bureau of Labor and Employment
70,000
Statistics (BLES) lnte1rated Survey (BITS) on I

cases of occupational injuries and diseases 52,515 58,720

60,000
that affected private sector establishments
covered 6,460 sample non-agricultural 50,000
44,800
establishments with 20 or more workers. It
has expanded its coverage 65 industries 46,570
40,000
Including building and repairing of ships and
boats {manufacturing Industry); bus line 30,000
operation (transport, storage and
20,000 I .
communications); accounting, bookkeeping
and auditing activities; tax consultancy,
10,000
architectural, engineering and related
technical consultancy; call center activities,
0
medical transcription and related outsourcing
2003 2007
activities {real estate, renting and business '
activities); and animated films and cartoons ,. occupational accidents
production (other community, social and
personal service activities) industries.

The BITS results reveal that a total of 44,800 occupational accidents occurre
d In 4,600
non-agricultural establishments employing 20 or more workers In 2007, a
figure lower
by 14. 7% than the 52,515 accidents that affected 4, 824 establishments in 2003.
Occupational injuries resulting from workplace accidents declined by
20.7% from
58,720 In 2003 to 46,570 in 2007.

Cases that required absence/s from work stood at 23,265 in 2003 and 20,386
in 2007
or a reduction of 12.4%. Almost all cases with workdays lost In 2007 were
temporary
disabilities (20,109). This is 12.4% lower than the caseload of 22,964 In 2003.

Fatalities decreased by 31.8%

Occupadonll l11urtes with workdays lost bv (from 170 in 2003 to 116 in
25J'006)')adt to worl<, Phffippines 2003 and 2007 ·
! 'I 2007. However those
20,000 permanently incapacitated
15,000 increased by 23. 7 % (from
131 in 2003 to 162 in 2007).
10,000

I-~i~i4
5,000 Contributing factors to
occupational accidents and
tempof
Incapacity
:Y '
2007
20,109
injuries include machines,
equipment, hand tools,
permanent I materials, buildings,
131 162 structures
incapac ity and chemical
fa ta l 170 116 substances.
On the other hand, training on the proper handling and correct operation of
machines, use of personal protective equipment (PPE) precautions and carefulness in
work prevent accidents and promote safety in establishments.

The largest caseload of Injuries with workdays lost in 2007 was recorded in
manufacturing establishments at 61.0% (12,427). This industry also posted the biggest
share at 61.9% four years earlier. The rest of the industries had lower shares ranging
from 0.2% (financial Intermediation) to 9.2% (hotels and restaurants) in 2007 and
from 0.3% (mining and quarrying) to 11.6% (wholesale and retail trade) in 2003. (Table
1).

Relative to their specific industry totals, private education injury cases with workdays
lost had multiplied by as much as three times its 2003 level (from 132 In 2003 to 436
in 2007). Other noticeable percentage increases were recorded in mining and
quarrying at 58.3% (from 60 in 2003 to 95 in 2007) and in hotels and restaurants at
57.1% (from 1,195 in 2003 to 1,877 in 2007). On the other hand, remarkable
decreases were noted in other community, social and personal service entities at
66.1% (from 546 In 2003 to 185 fn 2007) and in financial intermediation activities at
52.0% (from 100 in 2003 to 48 fn 2007).

TABLE 1 - C•• of Occupation al lnjurlaa YIMh and Without Workd8!1f9 lost

by Mljor lnduatry Group, Ph ■pplnea: 2003 and 2007
2003 2N7
MlfOr'lndUaryGro up With WNhout Wtel wtllouC
TOTAL WolkdQ.• Woncdayw TOTAL Wart.I . . ~
Laa Laat l.otlt LMlt

Total U,721 23,2S5 35,454 -,s11 2, ••• 21,t14

Mining •nd Querrytng 156 60 98 191 95 es

M.-,utlc:t"8'ng 40,4118 14, 403 26,09-4 30,790 12,427 119,384

l!lectrtoft't', o .. •m \IIMta' SuPPl't' 1 ,Y.Nil 805 1524 1,ore 731 347

1 ,71!98 1,114 19!4 2,01e e37 1,238
Conatrt..dlon
Wl'IOI..... #Id "•hlll Trade;
Mctor Vehiclee, Motorcvcleo end
"•~r of

e~37 2,690 3,948 3,785 1,1558 2,171

Persor,et end Household Ooods
2,157 1,1~ 1,662 3,458 1 ,877 1 ,581
Hctele end R . . . urant•
Trensport, Storege and
Com munlcatlona 2,33! 1 .~se 778 2,220 1 ,701 519
108 100 9 131 48 84
pl'lnetnoMII 1r-termect1eaon
".., l!lltat•. lle,..hg and et.i•ness
1,022 see 458 40, ,:zs rr
~~ile•
&99 132 !567 1,2,. 435 798
Prt....i. ectucatlon Se1'¥109S
Heelth and $001,il 'Work~ PIA:>10
Medtoel, Dental and ~er Health 197 67 130
72

-~
189 96
.Aicta-..tle•
Ott.. Commt.nty, Social end Personet ,.,e,7 1 01 fl , fl& 11~:'II
1 ..... ~
Service ktl 'flltles
 Definition of T~rms:

Ot:cupotlonol o"ld•nt - an unexpected and unplanned occurrence, Including acts of violence

arising out of or in connection with work which results in one or more workers incurring a
personal injury, disease or death. It can occur outside the usual workplace/premises of the
establishment while the worker is on business on behalf of his/her employer, i.e., in another
establishment or while on travel, transport or in road traffic.

Oct:upatlonal Injury - an injury which results from a work-related event or a single

Instantaneous exposure in the work environment (occupational accident). Where more than
on, ~rson is injured in a single accident, each case of occupational injury should be counted
separately. If one person is injured in more than one occupational accident during the
refere~ period, each case of injury to that person should be counted separately. Recurrent
absences due to an injury resulting from a single occupational accident should be treated as
the continuation of the same case of occupational injury not as a new case.

T•mporary Incapacity - case where an injured person was absent from work for at least one
day, excluding the day of the accident, and 1) was able to perform again the normal duties of
the job or positfon occupied at the time of the occupational accident or 2) will be able to
perform th, same job but his/her total absence from work is ,x~cted not to exceed a year
starting t~ day a{mr th11 accid11n~ or 3) did not rrtturn to the same Jab but the reason for
changing the Job is not relatttd to his/her inability to perform the job at the time of the
occupational accident.

Perman•nt lncapadty - case where an injured person was abs•nt from work for at least on,
day, •xcluding the day of the accid11nt, and 1) was nev•r able to perform again th, normal
duties of th, Job or position occupied at the time of th, occupational accident, or 2) wf/1 be
able to ,,.r/orm the same Job but his~r total absence from work fs expected to exceed a year
starting the day oft•r the accident.

Fatal ca• - case where a ,,.,son Is fatally injured as a result of occupational accident whether
death occurs Immediately after the accident or within the same ret-rence year as the accident.

Injuries incurring days away from work recorded a Frequency Rate (FR) of 2.79 In
2007. This was 1.28 percentage points lower than the FR of 4.07 in 2003. Expectedly,
this was coherent to the 12.4% reduction in the number of cases of occupational
injuries to 20,386 in 2007 from 23,265 in 2003.
Categories by incapacity for work on cases with workdays lost recorded frequency
rates as follows:
Categories by incapacity for work
on cases with workdays lost recorded
frequency rates as follows :
C~go,y XJ03 2007 /~,efM/ft
Tet.J
F•ol
u,
0 .03
z.n
0 .02
-,.ze
-0 .01
ltbrt-F*
,.,,,.,.,.~ 4 .{>I 2. n - 1.2,
lnapadf:y 0 .02 O.~
rempor•r,
fnc~l'«f "'-~ 2. ,s -1.27
D~nition of Terms:

F~q,u•ncyhoRate (FR) - refers to cases of occupational injuries with workdays lost per 1 ooo ooo
emp oyee- urs of exposure. ' ,

Incidence Rate 111IRJ - r eiers

,, t o cases ,i
01
.
occupational mjun·es with workdays lost per 1 ODO
~~ ,

S•verlty Rate (SR} - refers to workdays lost of cases of occupational injuries resulting to
temporary incapacity per 1,000,000 employee-hours of exposure.

Average Workdays Lost- re/ttr to workdays lost for every case of occupational injury resulting
to temporary incapacity.

Cases of occupational diseases in non-agricultural establishments employing 20 or

more workers decreased by 14.8% from 55,413 in 2003 to 47,235 in 2007. Incidences
of occupational diseases decreased In almost all types of diseases in 2007 except in
bronchial asthma (+29.9%), occupational dermatitis (+18.6%) and essential
hypertension (+7.8). Work-related musculoskeletal diseases were most prevalent in
non-agricultural establishments employing 20 or more workers both In 2003 and
2007. This type of disease accounted for 37.2% (2003) and 28.1 % (2007) of the totals.
Other types which made up more than 10% of the total diseases in 2007 were
bronchial asthma (18.5%), infections (13.8%), essential hypertension (13.0%) and
occupational dermatitis (12.6%).

Source of dr,to: Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistla, BLES Integrated Sun,ey (2003/1004 and
2001/2008}.

The present local data does not present a total picture of OSH situation In the
Philippines. As you can see, the BITS survey is limited only to the 6,460 companies
covered out of the estimated 780,500 existing establishments in the country. Many
companies do not report accidents and injuries.
Data gathering has been problematic because of the following conditions:

• Under reporting of work-related accidents and Illnesses. Rule 1050. of the

Philippine occupational Safety and Health Standards (OSHS) requ1r~s all
employers to report all work accidents or occupational Illnesses resulting to
disabling conditions to the DOLE Regional Office in their area. However, very
few companies submit reports.
 • Limited coverage of the OSH information and education and OSHS
implementation. Vulnerable groups such as the informal sector (which
amounts to 28M or 80% of the Filipino workforce) are often left out in the OSH
education, information and program implementation because they are do not
have the capacity to pay for trainings and most of the time are not even aware
that they can protect themselves from accidents and illnesses. Many of them
think that the diseases and accidents they experience is part of the nature of
their work and cannot be prevented. On a positive note, OSHC has been doing
a lot of OSH awareness campaigns for informal workers.

• Inadequate number of trained OSH personnel. There has been an upsurge of

OSH awareness worldwide and companies both here and abroad require
companies to hire trained OSH personnel. This has caused an exponential
increase in the number of workers who have undergone and are wanting to
avail of OSH trainings but because accidents continue to happen, more
dedicated and trained personnel are needed.

• Absence of strict penalties. There is no system of fines for violations of the

different provisions of the OSHS.

• Weak enforcement of OSH laws -problem Is traceable also to the absence of

strict penalties on violations of OSH standards.

• Fragmented OSH administration. There is no central authority to coordinate all

OSH efforts.

• Public apathy on OSH concerns. Most people do not generally pay attention to
OSH concerns.

• Low priority on OSH concerns by both management and labor. The former is
more concerned about profit while the latter Is with wages and other
monetary benefits.

Emerain1 issues in OSH

• Aside from the problems already identified, participants should also be aware
that there are emerging OSH Issues - such as women workers' Issues, OSH and
child labor, OSH in the Informal sector, agriculture, in schools and lifestyle
diseases such as AIDS and diabetes, and many others.

• Women are often faced with multiple burdens. They have take on the burden
of the home they perform the role of a wife and a mother. These may also
affect her performance at the workplace and add to the stresses that come
with the job. The hazards that a women worker is exposed to while at work to
can affect her reproductive health and for a pregnant worker, her unborn
child.
 • There ~re 250 million child laborers around the world of which 3.7 million are
fo~nd in. the Philippines. Of these, 2.2M are in hazardous jobs. Employing
cht~dren tn these types of work greatly affects the quality of their life and in
serious cases, may even cause serious disabilities or death. The OSHC
researches on the footwear industry, fishing, mining, and agriculture, helped in
the formulation of policies, In advocacy campaigns to take children out of
hazardous work.

• The use of pesticides In farms is also another issue. Farmers or farm workers
who handle pesticides may be unaware of the hazards that they are exposed
to, Constant exposure of a worker, has enormous adverse effects his or her
health. Workers handling pesticides may even bring home residues of the
chemicals and, affecting their families and the community.

• There is also little mechanism on OSH for the informal sector considering that
they represent more than half of the total workforce and is the sector badly in
need of OSH information since they have the tendency to Ignore such concerns
just to get their daily incomes.

• In schools, students are also exposed to hazards such as chemicals and

electrfcfty, while bullying and hazing (both psycho-social issues) are becoming
more common. Many school buildings are also risks themselves.

Although the number of work-related accidents and illnesses has decreased In the
recent years here in the Philippines, cases of occupational Injuries and diseases
continue to occur. We at the OSHC subscribe to the principle that "one life lost Is one
too many." Everyone must therefore be involved in the effort to contain OSH concerns
to enhance one's working life. After all, most of us work mainly for economic
purposes. "ang hanap-buhay ay para ikabuhay, hindi para ikamatay."