EU-OSHA organises benchmarking and exchange of good practice in OSH events with its official campaign partners every second year within the context of the Healthy Workplaces Campaign. The benchmarking project is a key opportunity for EU-OSHA to demonstrate the added value of exchange of good practice and better OSH management for European workplaces.
In Belgium, safety, health and well-being at work fall within the competence of the Minister for Employment and its administration, the Federal Public Service Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue. The Belgian Focal Point is coordinated and managed by this administration.
The Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy is the main administrative body for safety and health at work in the Republic of Croatia. It closely cooperates with the Ministry of Health in the field OSH. Three more institutions are included in the implementation of safety and health at work:
After signing the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) in June 2006, Albania became part of the Stabilisation and Association Process. In this framework, significant progress has been made with regard to health and safety at work. ‘The National Strategy for Health and Safety at Work’ was drafted by the government and approved by parliament.
In the Czech Republic, safety, health and well-being at work fall primarily within the competences of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, which also takes care of the dialogue with social partners and the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic. To a limited extent the subject falls within the competences of Czech Mining Office and the State Office for Nuclear Safety as well.
The Danish Working Environment Authority coordinates cooperation with the European Agency for Safety and Health and Work and operates under the auspices of the Danish Ministry of Employment. It is responsible for ensuring compliance with occupational health and safety legislation which applies in respect of all occupations in Denmark. However, there are certain sectors for which regulation and enforcement thereof have been devolved to other authorities:
In the Republic of Bulgaria, public policy on safety and health at work comes under the Council of Ministers. The Ministry of Labour and Social Policy develops, coordinates and implements public policy on safety and health at work. The Ministry of Health manages and coordinates activities for the protection and promotion of health at work.
The German system for safety and health at the workplace has a dual structure. It encompasses state (at Federal and Land level) safety and health provision and the autonomous accident insurance institutions. The state (at Federal and Land level) enacts legislation, and promulgates regulations and the rules of state boards. After examination of their needs, and with the approval of the Federal and Land govern-ments, the accident insurance institutions release their own accident prevention rules.
The main document underlying the field of occupational health and safety in Estonia is the Occupational Health and Safety Act adopted by the Estonian Parliament – the Riigikogu – based on which several relevant Regulations of the Government of the Republic and the Minister of Social Affairs have been developed and enacted (the Act came into force on 26 July 1999).
The work of the Health and Safety Authority is aimed at bringing about a permanent change of culture. A culture where the proactive management of workplace safety, health and welfare is viewed by all as making a significant contribution to the long-term success of any business or organisation. We believe that if we provide vision and strategic direction we will achieve this change of culture.