From the Passage of the Law to Real Changes at Workplaces

Dear readers,

Ukraine has reached a historic milestone in occupational safety and health reform. The President has just signed the Law of Ukraine “On the Safety and Health of Workers at Work”, which the Verkhovna Rada passed on 12 October. The focus now turns to how the law will be implemented, while debate over its provisions continues.

This moment follows years of work to change how we approach occupational safety and health. The focus is shifting from checking compliance with regulatory requirements to systematically managing occupational risks, preventing work-related injuries and illnesses, and protecting workers’ lives and health.

I remember 2013, when Occupational Safety magazine and the Institute of Occupational Medicine held their first conference on occupational risk management, bringing together representatives of government, employers and trade unions. We were only beginning to explore how European approaches could work in Ukraine. Since then, the magazine has continued to organise conferences, bring practitioners together for discussion and run training programmes.

Another milestone came in 2018, when the Cabinet of Ministers approved the Concept for Reforming the Occupational Safety and Health Management System. The International Labour Organization’s projects in Ukraine helped shape the reform, with an important contribution from the team led by António Santos.

The reform has now reached the final stage of the legislative process. The Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine has raised substantive objections and urged the President to veto the law. Its main concern is that the law could narrow workers’ existing rights and guarantees. Those concerns deserve careful consideration. As Ukraine adopts European approaches to occupational safety and health, it must safeguard the social protections workers already have.

The central shift is from responding to violations and incidents to identifying and managing risks before workers are harmed.

What must the government do?

Preliminary estimates suggest that around 50 regulations on occupational safety and health will need to be reviewed, updated or drafted. Once sector-specific rules are included, the task will be considerably larger. The government will need to set clear requirements for assessing risks and incorporating the findings into workplace safety and health management systems. It will also need to update worker training programmes, audit procedures and inspection practices, develop practical guidance and training materials, and prepare labour inspectors, trainers, experts and consultants to apply the new rules.

What lies ahead for employers?

Virtually every enterprise will need to review how it manages occupational safety and health. Employers will have to identify hazards, assess occupational risks, decide which measures will prevent harm, clarify who is responsible for putting those measures in place, update internal procedures and train staff. Above all, they will need to check that the measures work in day-to-day operations.

Occupational Safety magazine will continue to support this work through the Jeanette Arshimova European School of Risk Management, training programmes run with partners, the magazine’s social initiatives, advisory services, professional publications and the online Occupational Safety Portal.

The final decision on the law is expected in the near future. In the years ahead, the reform should be judged by what changes for people at work. Our shared responsibility is to make sure it leads to fewer workplace injuries, fewer cases of occupational disease and fewer deaths at work. The reform’s purpose is to protect the life and health of every worker in Ukraine.

Dmytro Matviychuk, Editor-in-Chief