Why LOPCYMAT meet?

 

In the second half of the twentieth century in Europe, a number of social events that changed the world of work were developed, and have affected the decisions of international institutions like the United Nations, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Organization International Labour Organization (ILO). One of the most important documents that were generated was the OHSAS 18001 standard, based on management systems and occupational health and safety workplace.The standard was realized by the British Standards Institute (BSI), and began to be adopted voluntarily by many European companies. Some countries implemented (with some modifications) as mandatory, for example Spain, where there is the Law on Prevention of Occupational Risks in 1995 (homologous to LOPCYMAT in Venezuela). Another important document for all nations of the world were the Guidelines on occupational safety and health management systems (ILO-OSH 2001).

For 2005, the LOPCYMAT suffers a major reform, obtaining very similar to the guidelines of the ILO and OHSAS 18001 structure, placing Venezuela among countries that agree to make changes to the safety and health at work. For 2008, the Technical Standards and Safety Program Occupational Health (NT-01-2008) is issued in the structure and content is very similar to the first edition of OHSAS 18001 (1999), with some adaptations for Venezuelan context. For 2023, the standard was updated and named NT-04-2023.

It means that LOPCYMAT and NT-04-2023 are the result of international movements that initially originated from Europe and currently is a duty of all countries of the ILO.

Transnational companies usually have programs grounded in OHSAS 18001 and is easy to convert téminos NT-04-2023. Companies that do not have these programs in Venezuela are obliged to carry them out, to meet human rights that have been made ​​over the centuries in Western culture.

In short, all Venezuelan companies (public, private, cooperative, concierges, civil associations, nonprofit or for-profit) must meet the provisions of LOPCYMAT.

In addition to the legal base, the above requirements LOPCYMAT brings to a work environment more prosperous and comfortable. European countries have shown that achieving job with ergonomics creates greater productivity, which has made this type of regulations are met to increase sales of products and services.

As for the legal bases in Venezuela, some items that specify the requirement for the employer to comply with these universal requirements for workplaces are presented.

 

Minor offenses (Article 118 of the LOPCYMAT)

Without prejudice to the civil administrative, criminal, or disciplinary, is punishable or her employer to fines of up to twenty tributary units (25 UT) PER WORKER EXPOSED when:

  • Not provide timely and appropriate response to the request for information or improvements in levels of protection of the safety and health of workers requested by prevention delegates or Committee on Occupational Safety and Health, in accordance with this Law , Regulations and technical standards.
  • No guarantee all elements of basic sanitation in the workplace and in the areas adjacent thereto, in accordance with this Act, its regulations or technical standards.
  • Not keep a record of the key features of new media projects and jobs or remodeling thereof in accordance with this Act, the Regulations or technical standards.
  • No consult workers and their organizations, and the Committee on Occupational Safety and Health, before the measures providing for changes in work organization that may affect a group or all workers or important decisions are implemented safety and health and the working environment in accordance with this Act, the Regulations or technical standards.
  • Develop without the participation of the workers, the Programme on Safety and Health at Work in the company, policies and commitments and internal regulations related to the subject, and when you plan and organize production according to these programs, policies, commitments and regulations, in accordance with this Act, its regulations or technical standards.
  • Does not give workers adequate theoretical training, practical, sufficient, and periodically, for the execution of the duties inherent to their activity in the prevention of occupational accidents and occupational diseases, and the use of leisure time and use of break at the time of admission to work, when there are changes in the functions they perform, when new technology or changes in work equipment in accordance with this Act, its regulations or technical standards are introduced.
  • No public place and visible in the workplace the updated rates of occupational accidents and occupational diseases records.

 

Serious offenses (Article 199 of the LOPCYMAT)

Without prejudice to the civil administrative, criminal, or disciplinary action, the employer shall be punishable with fines of twenty-six to seventy-five tax units (26-75 UT) PER WORKER EXPOSED when:

  • Do not create or maintain an updated information system of prevention, occupational safety and health in correspondence with the Information System of Social Security, in accordance with this Act, its regulations or technical standards.
  • Do not submit timely to INPSASEL, report appropriate measures to prevent industrial accidents that have occurred in the workplace in accordance with this Act, the Regulations or the technical standards measures.
  • No evaluate and determine the conditions of the new facilities before initiating its operation in accordance with this Act, the Regulations or technical standards.
  • No grant paid leave to prevention delegates for the exercise of their functions under this Act, its regulations or technical standards.
  • Do not design or implement a policy of Safety and Health at Work, in accordance with this Act, its regulations or technical standards.
  • Not develop, implement and evaluate programs of health and safety at work, in accordance with this Act, its regulations or technical standards.
  • Not present for approval to the INPSASEL, the Draft Programme on Safety and Health at Work.
  • Do not evaluate the levels of dangerous working conditions, in accordance with this Act, its regulations or technical standards.
  • Do not keep an updated levels of dangerous working conditions of registration under this Act, its regulations or technical standards.
  • Not included in the project design enterprise, establishment or operation, the aspects of safety and health at work that allow control hazardous working conditions and prevent the occurrence of accidents and occupational diseases in accordance with this Law, its regulations or technical standards.
  • No register and submit for the approval of projects INPSASEL highly hazardous in accordance with this Act, the Regulations or technical standards.
  • Do not perform the control actions in the work environment where the ambient concentration of the substance in question or the level of intensity of physical phenomenon exceeds fifty percent (50%) of the Technical Reference Exposure Level correspondent, under this Act, the Regulations or technical standards.
  • No permits or impedes any means the election of prevention delegates.
  • Do not give workers the tools and personal protective equipment appropriate to the working conditions present in your workplace and the work performed in accordance with the Regulations of this Act and collective agreements.
  • Do not let that workers accompanying inspection officials when they make their inspection work in companies or establishments under this Act, the Regulations or technical standards.
  • No workers regularly perform preventative health screenings, refuses access to information contained therein, in accordance with this Act, its regulations or technical standards.
  • Do not develop education and technical training to workers on safety and health at work, in accordance with the provisions of this Law and its Regulations.
  • Do not develop or maintain a system of epidemiological surveillance of occupational accidents and diseases in the workplace in accordance with the provisions of this Act, its regulations or technical standards.
  • Do not identify, assess and monitor the conditions and working environment that can affect both physical and mental health of workers in the workplace, in accordance with the provisions of this Act, its regulations or technical standards.
  • Do not develop programs to promote safety and health at work, prevention of accidents and occupational diseases in accordance with this Act, its regulations or technical standards.
  • Not subject to consultation of the Committee of Safety and regular and periodic Health policies, programs and actions related to safety and health at work, in accordance with this Act, the Regulations or technical standards.
  • No written report to the workers of the principles of prevention of dangerous or unhealthy, both enter the work as with a change in the work process or a change in job conditions, as well as instruct and train about promoting health and safety, the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases, nor in regard to use of personal safety devices and protection in accordance with this Act, its regulations or technical standards.
  • No written report to the workers and the Committee on Occupational Safety and Health, the dangerous conditions they are exposed to the first, by the action of physical, chemical, biological, or psychosocial disergonómicas or weather conditions that may cause damage to the health, according to the criteria established by the INPSASEL accordance with this Act, its regulations or technical standards.
  • No record in the Unified System of Substances Hazardous substances which by their nature, chemical toxicity or physical condition, in accordance with this Act, its regulations or technical standards.
  • Fails to comply with the reporting obligations to the Committee on Occupational Safety and Health and the Department of Safety and Health at Work incorporating the workplace intermediary companies, contractors and subcontractors.
  • Is exceeded in the workplace values ​​established as Technical Reference Exposure Levels in accordance with this Act, the Regulations or the technical standards that can generate chronic diseases that compromise the ability to work or serious damage to the health and safety worker, without they have taken the appropriate control measures.

 

Very serious offenses (Article 120 of the LOPCYMAT)

Without prejudice to the civil administrative, criminal, or disciplinary action, the employer shall be punishable with fines or employer seventy-six to one hundred tax units (76-100 UT) PER WORKER EXPOSED when:

  • Do not organize, register or accredit a Department of Safety and Health at Work own or joint, in accordance with the provisions of this Law and its Regulations.
  • Do not secure the effective enjoyment of the holiday period paid by workers, in accordance with the law.
  • Do not secure the effective enjoyment of the rest of the daily work in accordance with the law.
  • Infringes the rules on the maximum length of the working day and night work, or the provisions on weekdays.
  • No report of the occurrence of accidents, immediately to INPSASEL, the Committee on Occupational Safety and Health and the union, in accordance with the provisions of this Act, its regulations or technical standards.
  • Not formally declare within 24 hours of the occurrence of accidents at work or occupational diseases diagnosed at INPSASEL, the Committee on Occupational Safety and Health and the union, in accordance with the provisions of this Law, its Regulations or technical standards.
  • Provide a INPSASEL or MINTRA, data, information or means of false evidence or wrong that they have requested.
  • No organized or maintains systems, first aid care, transport injured, and emergency medical response and contingency plans in accordance with this Act, its regulations or technical standards.No informe a los trabajadores y las trabajadoras sobre su condición de salud, de conformidad con esta Ley, su Reglamento o las normas técnicas.
  • No results in, register or maintain in existence the Committee on Occupational Safety and Health, in accordance with this Act, the Regulations or technical standards.
  • Do not give away the worker or the injured or ill worker, in accordance with this Law and its regulations help.
  • Do not enter or re-enter the worker who has regained his ability to work in the office or place of work performed prior to the occurrence of the contingency, or other similar nature.
  • Do not reenter or relocate worker in a job compatible with their residual capacities when it is qualified permanent partial disability or permanent total disability for regular work.
  • Violates the privacy or confidentiality of information on the health conditions of workers.
  • Impedes or obstructs the exercise of the right of workers to refuse to work, to get away from a dangerous situation or interrupt a task or work activity when, based on their training and experience, has reasonable grounds to believe there is an imminent danger to their health or their life, and they cancel the corresponding computable and the duration of the interruption to the antiquity of the worker, in accordance with this Act, the Regulations or the technical standards wage.
  • Do not relocate workers in jobs or tasks suits for health, rehabilitation or reemployment in accordance with this Act, the Regulations or technical standards.
  • Dismissed or transferred workers with the performance of the rights enshrined in this Act.
  • Violates the job security of prevention delegates in accordance with this Law and its Regulations.
  • Obstructs or prevents the performance of inspection or supervision of an official INPSASEL.

 

During the closure of businesses by INPSASEL, the employer shall pay all wages and if workers had actually fulfilled their workday.

 

CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY

In case of occurrence of an accident or occupational disease as a result of violation of legal regulations on health at work, the employer is obliged to pay compensation to the worker or beneficiaries according to the seriousness of the offense and lesion:

  • Death or injury of the employee: imprisonment from eight to ten years.
  • For permanent total disability: imprisonment from five to nine years.
  • Permanent partial disability: imprisonment from two to four years.
  • Temporary Disability: imprisonment from two to four years.


These aspects contained herein enclose the importance of labor issues for all companies or individual companies, associations, cooperatives and any other arrangements involving subordination, because the rules are mandatory and the deadlines for compliance with the duties extinct. However the imposition of compliance persists, even with the penalties provided for LOPCYMAT.

 

Immediate actions that every employer must make

  • Registration, membership and contributions to the National Registry of the Departments of Health and Safety at Work.
  • Formation of the Committee on Occupational Safety and Health.
  • Create the department of health and safety at work center.
  • Report accidents and occupational diseases in the time stipulated by the standard.
  • Develop a program of health and safety workers approved and committee participation.
  • Practice occupational wellness exams paid entirely by the employer.
  • Develop notification of occupational hazards to join the company as appropriate and when they move from job.
  • Conduct monthly meetings with the committee and take a minute book, with early calls.
  • Keep a detailed log of accident reporting, surveillance system, surveillance system time and frequency rate of accidents.

 

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