Occupational Health Requirements in Trinidad and Tobago: Integrating the Occupational Safety and Health Act and Employer Legal Mandates for Improved Worker Health
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This review examines the legal framework for occupational health in Trinidad and Tobago. It focuses on the Occupational Safety and Health Act and other employer requirements. The review discusses how these laws protect worker health and improve workplace safety. We analyzed official documents, government guidelines, and current research. The review highlights key provisions of the legal framework. It identifies areas where the law benefits workers and points out challenges in enforcement. Some gaps in implementation can affect worker safety and overall health outcomes. The review also discusses the impact of these legal requirements on the healthcare system. It considers how legal mandates contribute to reduced workplace injuries and better health practices. We suggest measures for improving compliance and monitoring. Our findings indicate that clear legal standards help create safer work environments. The review is relevant for health professionals, employers, and policymakers. It offers insights into how legal measures can enhance public health. Future research is needed to assess the long-term benefits of these occupational health laws in Trinidad and Tobago.
Downloads
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
References
International Labour Organization. Safety and health at work. (2025). Accessed: February 2, 2025: https://www.ilo.org/topics-and-sectors/safety-and-health-work.
World Health Organization. Occupational health. (2025). Accessed: February 2, 2025: https://www.who.int/health-topics/occupational-health.
Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs. Occupational Safety and Health Act, Chapter 88:08. (2016). Accessed: February 2, 2025: https://www.energy.gov.tt/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Occupational-Safety-and-Health-Act-88.08.pdf
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). (2025). Accessed: February 2, 2025: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Laws and Regulations. U.S. Department of Labor . (2025). Accessed: February 2, 2025: https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs.
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. (2025). Accessed: February 2, 2025: https://european-union.europa.eu/institutions-law-budget/institutions-and-bodies/search-all-eu-institutions-and-bodies/european-agency-safety-and-health-work-eu-osha_en?utm_medium=email&utm_source=transaction
Legal Insights. Trinidad and Tobago Occupational Safety and Health Act. (2021). Accessed: February 2, 2025: https://fitzwilliamstone.com/legal-insight/trinidad-and-tobago-occupational-safety-and-health-act/.
The Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA). A Short Guide for Employers to the Occupational Safety and Health Act Chapter 88:08. (2014). Accessed: February 2, 2025: https://www.ttconnect.gov.tt/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/A-Short-Guide-for-Employers.pdf
International Section of the ISSA on Prevention of Occupational Risks in Health Services . (2025). Accessed: February 2, 2025: https://www.issa.int/prevention-health.
Institute for Work and Health. Vulnerable workers and risk of work injury . (2016). Accessed: February 2, 2025: https://www.iwh.on.ca/plain-language-summaries/vulnerable-workers-and-risk-of-work-injury.
Eurostat. Accidents at work statistics. (2024). Accessed: February 2, 2025: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Accidents_at_work_statistics.
Safe Work Australia. Week 1 - The WHS fundamentals. (2024). Accessed: February 2, 2025: https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/national-safe-work-month/week-1.
World Health Organization. Methodological frameworks for adapting global practice guidelines to national context in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. (2023). Accessed: February 2, 2025: https://www.emro.who.int/emhj-volume-29-2023/volume-29-issue-7/methodological-frameworks-foradapting-global-practice.
Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards. Mandate, Mission & Vision. (2024). Accessed: February 2, 2025: https://gottbs.com/mandate-mission-vision/.
National Safety Council. The Business Case for Investment in Safety - A Guide for Executives. (2013). Accessed: February 2, 2025: https://www.nsc.org/getmedia/d81515ce-57ba-4347-821e-4af731076260/journey-to-safety-excellence-safety-business-case-executives.pdf?srsltid=AfmBOop082Sf2PyxS7JQM5FzQuTyeYO9zrIHVzuplfCbleF-U1MkF27M
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety. Health and Safety Legislation in Canada. (2024). Accessed: February 2, 2025: https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/legisl/legislation/responsi.html.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Promoting Health and Well-being at Work. (2022). Accessed: February 2, 2025: https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/promoting-health-and-well-being-at-work_e179b2a5-en.html
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. Supporting Compliance for Workplace Safety Requirements - European Labour Inspection Systems of Sanctions and standardised measures. (2023). Accessed: February 2, 2025: https://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/supporting-compliance-workplace-safety-requirements-european-labour-inspection-systems-sanctions-and-standardised-measures
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. Impact assessment of occupational safety and health policy. (2022). Accessed: February 2, 2025: https://osha.europa.eu/en
U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Workplace Wellness. (2021). Accessed: February 2, 2025: https://www.uschamber.com/health-care/workplace-wellness.
International Organisation of Employers. ILO Standards on Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) (2010). Accessed: February 2, 2025: https://www.ioe-emp.org/index.php?eID=dumpFile&t=f&f=134857&token=65e3b4ed55f2a7ca885616b8074db07b47966be0.
Duncan J: Occupational safety and health in the Caribbean: challenges and opportunities for achieving development goals. West Indian Med J. 2021, 69:377. Accessed: February 10, 2025: https://www.mona.uwi.edu/fms/wimj/system/files/article_pdfs/wimj-iss6-2021_377_378.pdf
Bondebjerg A, Filges T, Pejtersen JH, et al.: Occupational health and safety regulatory interventions to improve the work environment: an evidence and gap map of effectiveness studies. Campbell Syst Rev. 2023, 19:e1371. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1371
Mundlak G: Occupational health and safety and the functions of law: a system's analysis. Work. 1998, 1998:243-62. DOI: http://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-1998-11303
Andersen JH, Malmros P, Ebbehoej NE, Flachs EM, Bengtsen E, Bonde JP: Systematic literature review on the effects of occupational safety and health (OSH) interventions at the workplace. Scand J Work Environ Health. 2019, 45:103-113. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.3775
Occupational Safety and Health in Latin America and the Caribbean: Overview, Issues and Policy Recommendations. (2002). Accessed: February 2, 2025: https://publications.iadb.org/en/occupational-safety-and-health-latin-america-and-caribbean-overview-issues-and-policy
Gómez MAL, Sparer-Fine E, Sorensen G, Wagner G: Literature review of policy implications from findings of the Center for Work, Health, and Well-being. J Occup Environ Med. 2019, 61:868-876. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000001686
Guzman J, Tompa E, Koehoorn M, de Boer H, Macdonald S, Alamgir H: Economic evaluation of occupational health and safety programmes in health care. Occup Med. 2015, 65:590-7. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqv114
Mbakaya CF, Onyoyo HA, Lwaki SA, Omondi OJ: A survey on management perspectives of the state of workplace health and safety practices in Kenya. Accid Anal Prev. 1999, 31:305-12. Accessed: February 10, 2025: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10384222/
Morillas RM, Rubio-Romero JC, Fuertes A: A comparative analysis of occupational health and safety risk prevention practices in Sweden and Spain. J Safety Res. 2013, 47:57-65. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2013.08.005
Kelmendi AX, Rugova N, Donev D: Challenges of occupational health and safety management in healthcare institutions in Kosovo. Mater Sociomed. 2024, 36:149-154. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5455/msm.2024.36.149-154
Afework A, Tamene A, Tafa A: Compliance with standard occupational health and safety measures and associated factors among small-scale metal industry workers in Central Ethiopia. Risk Manag Healthc Policy. 2024, 29:399-409. DOI: http://doi.org/10.2147/RMHP.S455967
Möckel L, Mohammadi H, Farhang Dehghan S: Editorial: the use of emerging technologies in occupational health and safety, volume II. Front Public Health. 2023, 11:1200044. DOI: http://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1200044
Walters V, Haines T: Workers' perceptions, knowledge and responses regarding occupational health and safety: a report on a Canadian study. Soc Sci Med. 1988, 27:1189-96. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-9536(88)90348-6
Teufer B, Ebenberger A, Affengruber L, et al.: Evidence-based occupational health and safety interventions: a comprehensive overview of reviews. BMJ Open. 2019, 9:e032528. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-032528
Elling RH: Workers' health and safety (WHS) in cross-national perspective . Am J Public Health. 1988, 78:769-71. DOI: http://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.78.7.769
Grimani A, Bergström G, Casallas MIR, Aboagye E, Jensen I, Lohela-Karlsson M: Economic evaluation of occupational safety and health interventions from the employer perspective: a systematic review. J Occup Environ Med. 2018, 60:147-166. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000001224
Che Huei L, Ya-Wen L, Chiu Ming Y, Li Chen H, Jong Yi W, Ming Hung L: Occupational health and safety hazards faced by healthcare professionals in Taiwan: a systematic review of risk factors and control strategies. SAGE Open Med. 2020, 8:2050312120918999. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/2050312120918999
Naji GMA, Isha ASN, Mohyaldinn ME, Leka S, Saleem MS, Rahman SMNBSA, Alzoraiki M: Impact of safety culture on safety performance; mediating role of psychosocial hazard: an integrated modelling approach. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021, 18:8568. DOI: http://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168568
Vinberg S: Occupational safety and health challenges in small-scale enterprises Ind Health. 2020, 58:303-305. 10.2486/indhealth.58_400
Ropponen A, Rugulies R, Burdorf A: Towards the year 2049: the next 25 years of occupational health and safety research. Scand J Work Environ Health. 2024, 50:581-587. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.4200
Khanna, S., Kumari, G., Bhanawat, H., & Pandey, K. M. (2019). Occupational Health and Safety of Workers in Pharmaceutical Industries. In International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering (IJRTE) (Vol. 8, Issue 4, pp. 311–316). DOI: https://doi.org/10.35940/ijrte.d6819.118419
Kumari, G., Khanna, S., Bhanawat, H., & Pandey, K. M. (2019). Occupational Health and Safety of Workers in Pharmaceutical Industries, Himachal Pradesh, India. In International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring Engineering (Vol. 8, Issue 12, pp. 4166–4171). DOI: https://doi.org/10.35940/ijitee.l3659.1081219