The Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) under section 18, requires that an employer must establish one or more Health and Safety committees. The law further states that there must be at least one Health and Safety representative for every 50 employees at the workplace. Health and Safety committee meetings must be conducted as often as necessary, but should meet as least once every three months.
What is the Role and Function of the Committee?
The Health and Safety committee has the following roles and functions in the workplace:
- To make recommendations to the employer regarding matters affecting the Health and Safety of employees at the workplace.
- To discuss any incident at the workplace where an employee sustained an injury, became ill or died.
- To keep records of recommendations made to the employer and reports made to an inspector.
Note: It is the responsibility of the employer to ensure that the Health and Safety committee have meetings at least every three months and that the committee performs its duties as prescribed by law.
For more information, see the SIZA Guide to H&S Management in Agriculture.
