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Garment: Health and Safety

GARMENT SAFETY AND HEALTH

WORKER’S PROTECTION FROM OCCUPATIONAL ACCIDENT  

  1. What is occupational safety and health (OSH)?
  2. What is occupational safety and health management system (OSHMS)?
  3. Are garment companies required to apply the OSHMS?
  4. What are the benefits of applying the OSHMS at garment companies?
  5. Is there any connection between the OSH management system and the productivity of garment workers?
  6. Is there any connection between the OSH management system and the productivity of garment workers?
  7. What are the obligations of the employer against the implementation of OSH at the workplace?
  8. What are the obligations of the workers against the implementation of OSH at the workplace?
  9. What is OSH Guiding Committee (OSHGC)?
  10. Are garment companies required to have an OSHGC or OSH Expert?

 

OCCUPATIONAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION

  1. What is occupational accident?
  2. What is the cause of occupational accident?
  3. What are the adverse effects of occupational accident?
  4. What kinds of potential occupational accident hazard that may occur in the garment sector?
  5. What are the efforts to be made in order to reduce the occupational accident?

 

OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE

  1. What is Occupational Disease? 
  2. What classifies as Occupational Disease?

 

WORKER’S PROTECTION FROM OCCUPATIONAL ACCIDENT 

WHAT IS OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH (OSH)?

Occupational Safety and Health, hereinafter referred to as OSH, shall mean any activity to provide safety guarantee and increase the health degree of the workers by means of preventing occupational accident and disease, the control of hazard at the workplace, promotion of health, treatment, and rehabilitation

 

WHAT IS OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (OSHMS)?

Explanation of Article 87 paragraph (1) of Law No. 13 of 2003 concerning Manpower (Law No. 13/2003), defines the OSH Management System (OSHMS) as part of the comprehensive company management system covering the organizational structure, planning, implementation, responsibilities, procedures, processes and resources needed for the development, application, achievement, review and maintenance of occupational safety and health policies in the framework of controlling risks related to work activities in order to create a safe, efficient and productive workplace.

 

ARE GARMENT COMPANIES REQUIRED TO APPLY THE OSHMS?

Yes. The obligation to apply the Occupational Safety and Health Management System (OSHMS) at the company is set forth in article 87 of Law No. 13/2003, which assets “each company shall be required to apply the occupational safety and health management system integrated with the company management system”

 

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF APPLYING THE OSHMS AT GARMENT COMPANIES?

Government Regulation Number 50 of 2012 concerning OSHMS Application specifies the objectives of OSHMS application at the company are: 

  1. To increase the effectiveness of planned, measured, structured and integrated occupational safety and health protection
  2. To prevent and reduce occupational accident and disease by involving the elements of the management, the worker/laborer, and/or worker union/laborer union, and
  3. To create a safe, convenient and efficient workplace for boosting productivity. 

 

IS THERE ANY CONNECTION BETWEEN THE OSH MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND THE PRODUCTIVITY OF GARMENT WORKERS?

Yes. Accident affects the company productivity. In the production process, the productivity is supported by three main pillars, namely quantity, quality, and safety. Productivity may only be reached when the three productivity elements above run in a balanced manner. Without good OSH Management System efforts, the quality attainment process will never be achieved.  Occupational safety and health play an important role in guaranteeing the production process security so that the productivity may be achieved.

 

WHAT ARE THE OBLIGATIONS OF THE EMPLOYER AGAINST THE IMPLEMENTATION OF OSH AT THE WORKPLACE?

In implementing the OSHMS, each company shall be required to implement: 

Establishment of the OSH policies

1. Including at least:

1. Performing the initial review of OSH circumstances, including: 

a. Identification of potential hazards, risk assessment and control

b. Comparison of the OSH application with other better companies and sectors

c. Review of cause and effect of hazardous events

d. Compensation and disturbance as well as the results of previous assessment related to safety, and

e. The assessment of efficiency and effectiveness of resources provided. 

2. Observing the increase in OSH management performance continuously.

3. Observing input from the worker/laborer and/or the worker union. 

 

2. OSH planning

The OSH planning shall contain at least: 1) Purpose and objective, 2) Priority scale, 3) Hazard control effort, 4) Designation of resources, 5) Implementation period 6) Achievement indicator, and 7) Liability system.

3. Implementation of OSH plan

The implementation of OSH plan shall be performed by the employer based on the OSH plan prepared and supported by human resources in the field of OSH, infrastructure and facilities

4. Monitoring and evaluation of OSH performance

Monitoring and evaluation of OSH performance through inspection, testing, measurement and internal audit of OSHMS shall be performed by competent human resources.

5. Review and improvement of OSHMS performance

Review and improvement of OSHMS performance aims at ensuring the appropriateness and effectiveness of OSHMS application. Monitoring shall be performed against the policies, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

 

WHAT ARE THE OBLIGATIONS OF THE WORKERS AGAINST THE IMPLEMENTATION OF OSH AT THE WORKPLACE?

The workers shall be responsible for protecting their own safety and health at the workplace so that they need to take part in ensuring the function of OSH policies. In order to do this, they need to realize and understand various health and safety hazards, standards and practices relevant to their work. Responsibilities of the workers include:

  1. Respecting all health and safety regulations;
  2. Identifying potential risks/hazards at their workstation;
  3. Participating in the joint OSH Committee;
  4. Creating awareness amongst colleagues, including new ones, of the OSH culture promoted and expected at their workplace.

 

WHAT IS OSH GUIDING COMMITTEE (OSHGC)?

OSHGC is a supplementary body at the workplace being a forum of cooperation between the employer and the workers to develop mutual understanding and effective participation in the application of occupational safety and health. 

The OSHGC consists of the employer and worker elements, the composition of which comprises the secretary and members. The secretary to OSHGC is an OSH Expert, i.e. a technical personnel possessing special expertise that assists the CEO or the board in operating and increasing the efforts for occupational safety, company hygiene and occupational health, assisting supervision in the field of OSH.

 

ARE GARMENT COMPANIES REQUIRED TO HAVE OSHGC OR OSH EXPERT?

Yes. Considering the importance of OSHGC in providing recommendations and considerations in the field of OSH to the employer/manager at the workplace (either requested or not). However, the OSH Expert shall be appointed for the workplace with particular criteria and at companies providing services in the field of occupational safety and health. If not included in the criteria, then the company shall not be required to have an OSH Expert. It means that not all companies are required to have an OSH Expert.

 

OCCUPATIONAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION

WHAT IS OCCUPATIONAL ACCIDENT?

Occupational accident is an accident befalling a worker due to employment. This event is unforeseeable and undesirable, which may cause death, injury, damage to property or loss of time. 

 

WHAT IS THE CAUSE OF OCCUPATIONAL ACCIDENT?

In general, the occupational accident is caused by 5 factors, namely:

  1. Human factors: actions taken or not taken to control the method of work performed, the minimum knowledge of the worker in mastering the field of work, the character and nature of the worker.
  2. Material factors: risks of explosion, fire and unexpected exposure trauma for highly-toxic substances, such as acid
  3. Equipment factor: Equipment, if not properly maintained, are vulnerable to failure that may cause accident.
  4. Environmental factor: environment refers to the workplace condition. Temperature, humidity, noise, air and quality of lighting are examples of the environmental factor.
  5. Process factor: This includes risks arising out of the production process and byproducts such as heat, noise, dust, vapor and smoke.

 

WHAT ARE THE ADVERSE EFFECTS OF OCCUPATIONAL ACCIDENT?

Losses due to accident may be categorized as direct losses and indirect losses. Direct loss examples: injury to the workers and damage to the production facilities. Indirect losses are invisible losses so that they are also called hidden losses, e.g. losses from cessation of production process, declining production, claim or damage, social impact, image and consumer trust.  

 

WHAT KINDS OF POTENTIAL OCCUPATIONAL ACCIDENT HAZARD THAT MAY OCCUR IN THE GARMENT SECTOR?

The potential occupational accident hazards in the garment industry are as follows:

  1. Fire hazard
  2. Cut/scratched finger
  3. Finger punctured by a needle
  4. Squeezed by a button machine
  5. Electrocuted by a short circuit
  6. Fall or collapse hazard
  7. Inhaled dust particles from the fabric raw materials

 

WHAT ARE THE EFFORTS TO BE MADE IN ORDER TO REDUCE THE OCCUPATIONAL ACCIDENT?

1. The occupational accident prevention efforts through the control of hazards at the workplace, including:

a. Monitoring and control of unsafe conditions at the workplace.

b. Monitoring and control of unsafe actions at the workplace.

2. The occupational accident prevention efforts through guidance and supervision, including:

a. OSH training and education for workers.

b. Counseling and consultation concerning the OSH application with the workers.

c. Development of resources or technologies related to the increase in OSH application at the workplace.

3. Occupational accident prevention efforts through the management system, including:

a. OSH procedures and rules at the workplace.

b. Provision of OSH facilities and infrastructure and supports thereof at the workplace.

c. Rewards and sanctions against OSH application at the workplace to the workers.


OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE

WHAT IS OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE?

Presidential Regulation No. 7 of 2019 concerning Occupational Disease, explaining Occupational Disease (OD) as a disease caused by the work and/or the work environment. OD is generally not realized and occurs in the long term.

 

WHAT CLASSIFIES AS OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE?

OD includes:

  1. Physical disorder, e.g. wrong sitting position while working or work facilities not supporting sitting for long cause back disorder and increases the risk of bone fracture for workers. Physical disorder may be caused by noise, lack of lighting, lots of dust from the raw materials, etc.
  2. Infection/contagious disease caused by the work environment, i.e. bacteria, virus, fungi, and parasite. Infection may be spread unexpectedly, as in the spread of COVID-19 virus occurring at the office or the workplace.
  3. Disease due to chemicals. Workers working directly in contact with chemicals may suffer from chemical-induced disease, which may cause skin disease, allergy, etc.
  4. Psychological disorder. The new OSH regulation, i.e. Regulation of the Minister of Manpower No. 5 of 2018 concerning Work Environment OSH states that another visible effect is the psychological effect that may possibly disturb the psyche/mind of the workers.

 

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