The law relating to health and safety at work : a comparative study

Abstract

The distinguishing feature which characterises the law relating to health and safety at work. in its various facets, is that it is continuously in motion. It is susceptible to frequent changes, being conditioned by the rapid developments that are taking place in science and technology. It is a law which cannot remain static and watertight, if it is to be effective. The legislator cannot afford to keep the law anchored to principles and methods which may have been superseded through experience. It is this peculiar feature which makes this vast subject fascinating, but at the same time difficult and complicated, and almost impossible to be covered completely in a thesis of normal length. As far as Maltese law is concerned, I will be concentrating my attention primarily on the protection of the health, safety and welfare of workers employed in factories. This approach has been dictated by the fact that the Factories Ordinance (Chapter 169 of the Laws of Malta) and the regulations made thereunder is the only legislation existing in Malta which lays down, in specific terms, the general and particular health and safety safeguards to which workers are entitled against actual and potential risks and hazards present in the place of work and in the working environment. Chapter 2 of this thesis explains how the term “factory” has a much wider meaning than that which we normally, in colloquial language, associate with that term. This Chapter will also illustrate how the sphere of application of the Ordinance and its regulations is much wider than one would, prima facie, imagine. In certain aspects, I will also be referring to other laws, which have an important bearing on Maltese occupational health and safety law, and which do not cover only those workers employed in "factories", This analysis will include a discussion of those specific laws which protect the employment of children, young persons and women (Chapter 5) and an examination of those provisions contained in our social security law relating to compensation awarded to persons who suffer industrial accidents and diseases (Chapter 8). From the comparative point of view, my attention will be focused mainly on the provisions contained in English legislation. This approach is necessary because this part of our law is completely modelled on English law. I will be principally basing myself on the Factories Acts, but in Chapter 7, I will also be discussing the more important changes brought about by the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. With a view of rendering the comparative analysis more complete, I will also be examining some aspects of the law existing in a limited number of countries other than the United Kingdom - and will be referring to some of the initiatives undertaken on the supranational level by the International Labour Organisation in the field of occupational health and safety (Chapters 4, 5 and 9). In the final chapter of the thesis, I will attempt to submit suggestions aimed at the introduction of certain innovations in our law, reforms which, I believe, can help to render our law more protective and better suited to cope with the increasing problems of life at the place of work. It is finally submitted that the problem of the civil liability of the employer towards his employees will not be discussed, because it is beyond the intended scope of this thesis.