Why are safety and health committees important?
Safety and health committees are formal safety and health consultative groups that provide a prescribed forum for discussion about safety and health matters at mining operations.
They are important because they facilitate consultation and cooperation between employers, management and workers in developing and implementing safety and health measures and monitoring programs.
The benefit of safety and health committees is that they bring management and worker representatives together in a planned, structured and focused way, providing a means for developing policies and procedures of significance to the whole organisation.
What does a safety and health committee do?
Safety and health committees:
- enable and assist consultation and cooperation between employer and employees on safety and health matters
- help initiate, develop and implement safety and health measures
- keep informed about safety and health standards in similar workplaces
- make recommendations on safety and health rules, programs, measures and procedures at the workplace
- ensure information on hazards is kept where it is readily accessible
- consider and make recommendations about changes that may affect the safety and health of employees
- consider matters referred to them by safety and health representatives
- carry out any other functions relating to workplace safety and health prescribed in the Act or regulations or given to the committee, with its consent, by the employer.
The committee may also deal with policy development, monitoring programs, emergency procedures, training and supervision, trends in accident and illness reports, and resolution of safety and health issues.