State management of labor protection is carried out by the Government of the Russian Federation through various organizations and departments. In some territorial units, labor protection is provided by local authorities.
What is labor protection?
Labor protection means a series of actions that must be performed in order to ensure normal safe working conditions. To this end, standard provisions on a labor protection management system have been developed and exist.
General issues of state labor protection administration include providing workers with certain conditions during their stay at the workplace. The room must comply with sanitary standards. It is also necessary to ensure occupational health at work, fire and electrical safety. The employer at his own expense undertakes to conduct regular medical examinations of workers, provides cleaning and sanitization of the workrooms. He must also provide his workers with paid or unpaid (depending on length of service) sick leave.
Obligations of representatives of state labor protection bodies
What is the responsibility of the one who administers the state administration of labor protection? This is monitoring and monitoring the work of enterprises and the actions of the leaders of these enterprises to ensure safe working conditions in the workplace.
Representatives must not only record the existing violations, but also demand the elimination of conditions and reasons, which could be harmful to the life and health of workers. They check the compliance of the existing working conditions with the standards and rules adopted in the state, targeted programs for improving the conditions and labor protection established in our country for a particular area of production. Moreover, each of them has its own safety assessment criteria. However, they must not contradict the provisions of the Labor Code and the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
What objects are checked
Bodies implementing state management of labor protection are required to check whether the remuneration for the severity (harm) of the work is appropriate, what measures are taken to reduce the risk of injuries at work. Do employees know safety rules, have they undergone preliminary safety training? What is the condition of the workers and can they (have the right) to work in this production or not?
Representatives of the Ministry of Labor and the Protection of the Rights of Workers who carry out the verification must, in accordance with Art. 216 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (in the new edition), go to the site and conduct observation and research, conduct a survey, check the actual condition of technical devices and buildings, check the availability of written instructions at the enterprise. And also to control the knowledge of working safety rules by workers.
Legislative regulation
The main law governing labor protection, the organization of inspection and control is the Labor Code, and in particular, Art. 216. The Labor Code of the Russian Federation stipulates that the authority of representatives of state labor protection bodies includes not only conducting inspections, but also developing programs to improve labor safety conditions, taking into account Russian and international experience in the field of labor organization and training of workers.
Who exercises control and management of labor protection
Monitoring compliance with the rules and requirements of labor protection is carried out by the Federal Inspectorate under the Government of the Russian Federation. Supervision of the sanitary condition and occupational health is carried out by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. Fire safety control at work is carried out by the fire service under the Ministry of Emergency Situations. They conduct mandatory scheduled and unscheduled inspections to identify and prevent labor protection violations.
Technical, gas and electric equipment must comply with the standards adopted in the country and be in good working order. Regular inspection and replacement of unusable parts is carried out at the expense of the enterprise.
In addition to specialists of state labor protection, safety inspections and compliance with labor laws adopted in the country (see article 216 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation with comments) can be carried out by company managers and representatives of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Social Development. This does not save the administration of the organization from mandatory inspections, but makes it possible to prevent the onset of the negative consequences of workers violating safety precautions or an accident at work. And therefore, avoid unforeseen expenses.
Types of labor protection violations
Two types of violations of labor protection rules should be distinguished.
The first one is when a worker breaks the safety rules without the knowledge of the head and even contrary to his requirements.
The second is when the manager violates the safety rules, creating conditions under which the worker is forced to violate safety procedures or giving instructions that can lead to an emergency at the enterprise.
Consequences of violations of labor protection rules
The guilty person in violation of labor protection rules faces a punishment in the following form:
- a warning;
- rebuke;
- fine;
- suspension from activity;
- a ban on a certain position for a period;
- deprivation or restriction of liberty.
A person can be found guilty only by a court decision after a thorough examination and verification at the enterprise, which is carried out by those who carry out labor protection in a certain region. Usually the problem is solved in pre-trial order. For example, the head or employee of the state labor protection service may give a warning or reprimand (in writing).
Criminal punishment in the form of a large fine, imprisonment or restriction of liberty is applied only in extreme cases. For example, if an emergency occurs, the violation threatens to develop into a man-made disaster, there are crippled or dead.
Security concerns
Unfortunately, in the Russian Federation the situation with ensuring labor protection is not very good. Despite tight control by the Ministry of Labor and targeted programs for improving and protecting labor, there are serious problems in the country in the field of ensuring occupational safety. Every year, thousands of Russians die as a result of industrial accidents.
Due to the fact that fixed assets in most enterprises have not been updated for a long time, working on such equipment has become dangerous. Therefore, even those who carry out the state management of security cannot suspend the work of such enterprises, since this problem exists everywhere. Even production, which formally refers to safe, in fact, refers to harmful. The country is growing in the number of disabled people who have received disabilities in supposedly safe work. Despite the measures taken by the state, labor safety conditions will not improve over the next few years, since not only funds, but also time is needed to replace obsolete equipment.
What is included in the concept of "labor protection"
The term “labor protection” means the actions of state bodies to protect the rights and health of workers. This includes the work of not only inspection organizations, but also those who carry out state management of labor protection by improving labor legislation. The state labor protection administration includes actions to verify the compliance of working conditions with Russian labor legislation. In this case, the following conditions are evaluated:
- The time of the working day (shift). The labor legislation of the Russian Federation spells out different working conditions in time for various categories of workers. And although the country has adopted an 8-hour working day, the distribution of working hours during the week may be different, provided that their total number does not exceed 48 hours per week.
- Issuance of workwear and tools.
- The ratio of labor and rest. Do workers have breaks, days off, and paid leave?
- The harmfulness of production and what measures are taken to reduce it or the consequences of harmful production. These measures should be in accordance with the model provisions on the OSH management system. For example, workers in hazardous production are required to give milk. An employee of the state labor protection service must verify the fact that milk has been dispensed to workers.
- Are surcharges charged for night shift work or extracurricular work.
The audit is carried out in several stages, and experts specially trained for this are engaged in it. Those who carry out the state management of labor protection check not only the documents related to ensuring safety at the enterprise (instructions, safety regulations, documents on the issue of protective clothing, milk, etc.), but also the actual state of safety at the enterprise.