The World Health Organization (WHO) defines occupational health as a multidisciplinary activity that promotes and protects the health of workers.
This discipline seeks to control and mitigate the risks of accidents and illnesses by reducing unsafe conditions. It is important to emphasize that occupational health is not limited to physical health but also addresses psychological issues.
According to Article 62, Section 8, on the right to work, of the 2010 Constitution of the Dominican Republic: "It is the obligation of every employer to guarantee its workers adequate safety, health, hygiene, and working environment conditions. The State shall adopt measures to promote the creation of bodies composed of employers and workers to achieve these ends."
Likewise, according to Law 87-01, which created the Dominican Social Security System, Article 4, paragraph 4, stipulates the following: "Workers are required to observe each and every one of the recommendations aimed at preventing work-related accidents and/or occupational diseases. Furthermore, they must participate in and/or collaborate with the occupational health and safety committees organized within the company or institution where they work."
Some companies fully comply with this law, others do so only halfway; many are aware of the law but don't comply with it, and others aren't even aware of it.
It is every employer's responsibility to ensure the health of their employees within their work environment. This includes not only workplace accidents and occupational diseases, but also anything that puts the health and life of employees at risk.
The best example we can cite at this time is the risk of contagion from COVID-19, a novel coronavirus that jumped from an animal to a human in the city of Wuhan in late 2019 and has, in such a short time, managed to capture the attention of the media, scientists, and the international community. On January 30, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a State of International Emergency (PHEIC) and now considers the outbreak a pandemic.
Companies must be prepared with contingency plans to operate without jeopardizing the health of their employees in the event of any epidemic or pandemic.
In some Google offices, employees are currently working from home to ensure business continuity. The continuity plan has been successful, and the same security measure is planned for other offices.
Some important companies and institutions in our country are already implementing similar measures, allowing their employees to work from home using technology, thus preventing the spread of the virus.
In these times, where technology is so advanced, companies must have a Plan B that allows them to ensure the health of their employees and at the same time provide business continuity, in times of crisis, like the ones the world is currently experiencing.
Times change, everything changes, so organizations must be prepared not only for a hurricane, earthquake, or strike, but also for epidemics and pandemics that could paralyze their operations.
Every company with 15 or more employees, according to Regulation No. 522-06, must have a Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee to guide both senior management and employees on safety issues. This committee must be composed of key individuals from all levels of the organization. This committee must inform and educate all employees on all safety issues, such as the current situation we are experiencing today with the COVID-19 pandemic.
This Joint Committee on Occupational Health and Safety must ensure that employees have insurance, implement and supervise the use of protective equipment according to the work area, detect sick employees, have an employee assistance program, train supervisors on occupational health and safety issues, handle difficult cases, carry out primary care programs (occupational health), manage infirmaries in the workplace (this applies to large companies), train employees and provide guidance on recognizing risks and how to avoid them.
To minimize workplace risks, we must conduct risk assessments to enable employers to systematically examine all aspects of their work activities to identify elements that could cause harm or pose a hazard, determine whether their source can be eliminated, and, if not, decide on the preventive, protective, or engineering control measures that should be adopted.
From now on, companies and institutions in the Dominican Republic should give much greater importance to this Joint Committee on Occupational Health and Safety, providing resources and time to create innovative contingency measures and plans that will allow them to effectively confront any crisis that threatens the safety of their human resources.
As Simón Bolívar said: “Security consists of the guarantee and protection that society grants to each of its members for the preservation of their person, rights, and property.”
By: Edwin Crespo, Business Consultant
