The Safety Service

Contents

• Purpose
• Scope
• The chief safety delegate (HVO) 
• Faculty / joint administration safety delegate (FVO)
• Safety delegates
• Time

Purpose

The college wants a well-organised safety service as an important contributor in work related to the work environment. HiOA will facilitate good cooperation between the safety service and the line organization, and encourage interaction between the safety service and trade union delegates by defining roles and tasks.

Scope

The guidelines include safety delegates, faculty / joint administration safety delegates (FVO) and chief safety delegate with deputy. The guidelines describe electoral systems, roles, tasks and time resources.

The chief safety delegate (HVO) 

Choosing the chief safety delegate

The regulations list as a requirement that the chief safety delegate has or has had a position of trust in the business (§ 3-5). The chief safety delegate is elected for a two-year term and is usually appointed by the union(s);

• In businesses where a local union represents more than half of the employees, this appoints the chief safety delegate.
• In businesses where several local unions together represent the majority of the employees, but none of them represent the majority alone, they may collectively appoint the chief safety delegate. If they do not reach an agreement, the chief safety delegate is elected by and among the faculties’ safety delegates and the joint administration’s safety delegate.

The chief safety delegate’s role and duties

The chief safety delegate should have regular meetings with the chief employee representatives to develop interaction between the unions’ employee representatives and the chief safety delegate, and to coordinate tasks.

The chief safety delegate must act impartially in relation to their own union to gain the trust from all of the unions.

The duties of the chief safety delegate are to;

• coordinate the safety delegates' work and ensure continuous improvement of the safety service's work through information, training and preparation of goals and action plans
• coordinate the FVO’s activities by informing, supporting and guiding them in their work
• be a central driving force in health, safety and environmental issues
• represent employees and safety delegates in key forums and in the central work of creating and maintaining systematic health, safety and environmental work
• be a permanent member and representative of the safety delegates in the Work Environment Committee (WEC) and the employees’ representative in WEC’s Building Committee
• have regular meetings with the faculty safety delegates
• have regular meetings with the college’s management
• have regular meetings with the employee representatives in the college’s unions
• determine which FVO is to handle cases that concern safety areas in several faculties or in the faculty / joint administration

Matters that are to be dealt with in local IDF must also be sent to the faculty / joint administration safety delegate who has the right to make suggestions and the right to speak in matters concerning the work environment.

The chief safety delegate is a member of the rector’s staff. The Unit for HSE deals with personnel matters. The chief safety delegate has annual development discussions with the principal.

The chief safety delegate’s deputy

The chief safety delegate’s deputy must be elected (Regulations § 3-6) according to the same rules that apply to the election of the chief safety delegate.

As a general rule, a faculty safety delegate (or the joint administration’s safety delegate) should be appointed as the deputy.

Faculty / joint administration safety delegate (FVO)

The FVO is elected by and among the safety delegates for a two-year term. The FVO’s tasks in systematic health, environment and safety are to;

• coordinate the safety delegates’ activities within the faculty / joint administration (the unit) by informing, supporting and guiding them in their work
• participate in the local work environment committee (LWEC) as the representative of the safety delegates, and cooperate with the unit manager to preserve and develop the work environment
• attend the meetings that HVO convenes
• have regular meetings with the safety delegates
• have regular contact with the representatives of the unions in the unit
• have regular meetings with the management of the faculty / joint administration
• determine which safety delegate is to handle cases that concern several safety areas

Questions of faculty overriding nature must be submitted to the chief safety delegate.

Matters to be dealt with in local IDF must also be sent to the faculty / joint administration safety delegate who has the right to make suggestions and the right to speak in matters concerning the work environment. 

Safety delegates

The safety delegate must safeguard the employees’ interests in issues pertinent to the work environment.

The safety delegate must have an independent position and cannot be ordered to perform HSE tasks.

Matters concerning the work environment must be solved at the lowest possible (and correct) level in cooperation with the immediate manager.

A safety delegate should, as far as possible, not have any other functions or duties that could impede the fulfilment of the role as the employees' safety delegate in work environment issues.

Reciprocal flow of information between managers and safety delegates will be ensured by regular meetings.

The safety delegate has a duty of confidentiality as noted in the Regulations on Organization, Leadership and Participation § 3-17.

Selecting the safety delegates

Regulations on Organization, Leadership and Participation § 3-2 relates to the selection of safety delegates. The "election" may be carried out in the following ways:

• In safety areas where only one trade union represents the majority of the employees, the union can appoint the safety delegate
• In safety areas where several unions together represent the majority of the employees, but none of them represents the majority alone, they may together appoint the safety delegate
• Majority Election - employees in the respective safety area determine who they want as a safety delegate. The election may be led by an electoral committee appointed by LWEC. Employers have no voting rights.
• If the employees do not select a safety delegate, the employer may appoint a person who can take on the task until the employees have elected one according to the rules above.

Safety delegates are elected for a two-year term (Regulations § 3-4). The employer is in charge of announcing who the safety delegate is.

Duties of the safety delegate

The safety delegate’s main task is to safeguard employees in matters concerning the work environment. "The safety delegate shall ensure that the business is suitably arranged and maintained, and that work is performed in such a manner that the safety, health and welfare of the employees are guaranteed in accordance with the provisions of this law" (Working Environment Act § 6-2 (1)).

In addition, the safety delegate must;

• Make sure that the safety in laboratories and workshops is ensured
• notify employees and employers about possible risks of accident
• be consulted in the systematic HSE work and in the planning and implementation of measures that affect the work environment
• have regular meetings with the manager
• submit matters concerning several safety areas to the faculty or to the joint administration’s safety delegate

The tasks are specified in the Work Environment Act § 6-2.

The safety delegate must make sure to keep the employees in his/ her safety area informed about his/ her work and participate in basic training in health, environment and safety work. Additional training must be given if necessary.

Training of safety delegates

The safety delegates must receive the training necessary for them to perform their duties in a proper manner (Regulations § 3-18). "Basic HSE Training" is mandatory for all new safety delegates.

Faculty / joint administration safety delegate (FVO)

The FVO is elected by and among the safety delegates for a two-year term. The FVO’s tasks in systematic health, environment and safety are to;

• coordinate the safety delegates’ activities within the faculty / joint administration (the unit) by informing, supporting and guiding them in their work
• participate in the local work environment committee (LWEC) as the representative of the safety delegates, and cooperate with the unit manager to preserve and develop the work environment
• attend the meetings that HVO convenes
• have regular meetings with the safety delegates
• have regular contact with the representatives of the unions in the unit
• have regular meetings with the management of the faculty / joint administration
• determine which safety delegate is to handle cases that concern several safety areas

Questions of faculty overriding nature must be submitted to the chief safety delegate.

Matters to be dealt with in local IDF must also be sent to the faculty / joint administration safety delegate who has the right to make suggestions and the right to speak in matters concerning the work environment. 

Time

The Work Act requires that the "Safety delegates shall be given the time necessary to perform their duties in a responsible manner. In general, duties shall be performed during standard office hours.»

A document about guiding time resources for the safety service and the members of WEC / LWEC must be prepared.

To ensure that the Work Act’s requirement of “necessary time” is met employees with work schedules who work overtime must be recompensed by agreement.