Section 3 of Occupational Safety and Health Act CAP 236A: Application of Act
(1) This Act shall apply to all workplaces where any person is at work, whether temporarily or permanently.
(2) The purpose of this Act is to—
(a) secure the safety, health and welfare of persons at work; and
(b) protect persons other than persons at work against risks to safety and health arising out of, or in connection with, the activities of persons at work.
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- Section 4 - Approval of codes of practice by Director
(1) For the purpose of providing practical guidance with respect to any provision of this Act and of safety and health regulations, the Director shall, in consultation with the Council, approve and...
- Section 5 - Use of approved codes of practice in criminal proceedings
(1) Failure on the part of any person to observe any provision of an approved code of practice shall not render that person liable to any civil or criminal proceedings; but where in any criminal...
- Section 6 - Duties of occupiers
(1) Every occupier shall ensure the safety, health and welfare at work of all persons working in his workplace.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of an occupier’s duty under subsection (1), the...
- Section 7 - Duty to prepare a safety and health policy statement
(1) Except in such cases as may be prescribed, it is the duty of every occupier to—
(a) prepare and, as often as may be appropriate, revise a written statement of his general policy with respect to...
- Section 8 - Discrimination against employee, etc.
(1) An occupier shall not dismiss an employee, injure the employee or discriminate against or disadvantage an employee in respect of the employee’s employment, or alter the employee’s position to the...
- Section 9 - Safety and health committees
(1) Every occupier shall establish a safety and health committee at the workplace in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Cabinet Secretary if—
(a) there are twenty or more persons employed...
- Section 10 - Duty not to charge employees for things done or provided
(1) An employer shall not make any deduction from an employee’s remuneration or levy, or permit to be levied on any of his employees any charge in respect of anything done or provided in pursuance of...
- Section 11 - Safety and health audits
(1) The occupier of a workplace shall cause a thorough safety and health audit of his workplace to be carried out at least once in every period of twelve months by a safety and health advisor, who...
- Section 12 - Duties of self-employed persons
(1) Every self-employed person shall—
(a) take all necessary precautions to ensure his own safety and health and that of any other person in his workplace or within the environs of his...
- Section 13 - Duties of employee
(1) Every employee shall, while at the workplace—
(a) ensure his own safety and health and that of other persons who may be affected by his acts or omissions at the workplace;
(b) co-operate with...
- Section 14 - Duty to report any dangerous situation
(1) Every employee shall report to the immediate supervisor any situation which the employee has reasonable grounds to believe presents an imminent or serious danger to the safety or health of that...
- Section 15 - Duty not to interfere with or misuse things provided pursuant to certain provisions
A person who wilfully interferes with or misuses any means, appliance, convenience or other thing provided or done in the interests of safety, health and welfare in pursuance of this Act commits an...
- Section 16 - Prohibition against creation of hazards
(1) No person shall engage in any improper activity or behaviour at the workplace, which might create or constitute a hazard to that person or any other person.
(2) For the purposes of this section,...
- Section 17 - General duties of occupier and self-employed to persons other than their employees
(1) Every occupier shall conduct his undertaking in such a manner as to ensure, that a person who is not his employee who may be affected thereby is not exposed to risks to safety or...
- Section 18 - Duties of an occupier of a place of work to persons other than his employees
(1) An occupier of non-domestic premises which have been made available to persons, not being his employees, as a place of work, or as a place where the employees may use a plant or substance provided...
- Section 19 - General duty of persons in control of certain premises in relation to harmful emissions into atmosphere
(1) An occupier of any premises likely to emit poisonous, harmful, injurious or offensive substances, into the atmosphere shall use the best practicable means to—
(a) prevent such emissions into the...
- Section 20 - Duties of designers, manufacturers, importers, etc., with regard to articles and substances for use at work
(1) A person who designs, manufactures, imports or supplies any article for use at work shall—
(a) ensure, that the article is so designed and constructed as to be safe and without risks to health...
- Section 21 - Notice of accidents and dangerous occurrences
(1) An employer or self-employed person shall notify the area occupational safety and health officer of any accident, dangerous occurrence, or occupational poisoning which has occurred at the...
- Section 22 - Notification of occupational diseases
(1) A medical practitioner attending a patient who he believes to be suffering from any disease specified in the Second Schedule, contracted in any workplace, shall within seven days of attending the...
- Section 23 - The Director
(1) There shall be a Director of Occupational Safety and Health Services who shall be responsible for the administration of this Act.
(2) The Director shall be—
(a) an ex officio member of the...
- Section 24 - Research and related activities
(1) The Director shall conduct directly or in collaboration with other persons or bodies, research, experiments and demonstrations relating to occupational safety and health, including studies of...
- Section 25 - Collection of occupation safety and health statistics
In order to further the purposes of this Act, the Director shall develop and maintain an effective programme of collection, compilation and analysis of occupational safety and health statistics which...
- Section 26 - Appointment of occupational safety and health officers
(1) There shall be such senior deputy directors, deputy directors, assistant directors and occupational safety and health officers and such other officers as may be necessary, for the purposes of this...
- Section 27 - Establishment of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health
(1) There shall be a National Council for Occupational Safety and Health which shall advise the Cabinet
Secretary on—
(a) the formulation and development of national occupational safety and health,...
- Section 28 - Membership of the Council
(1) The Council shall consist of a Chairperson and the members specified in subsection (2) who shall be appointed by the Cabinet Secretary by notice in the Gazette.
(2) The members of the Council...
- Section 29 - Annual report
As soon as practical, but within three months after the end of each financial year, the Council shall prepare and give to the Cabinet Secretary a report on the Council’s operations for the year.
- Section 30 - Technical advisory committee
(1) The Director may from time to time constitute a technical advisory committee.
(2) A technical advisory committee shall consist of the Director as Chairperson and not less than five other members...
- Section 31 - Functions of the technical advisory committee
(1) A technical advisory committee shall— (a) approve persons for purposes of this Act;
(b) approve institutions or firms to carry out laboratory tests and analysis of substances and articles for use...
- Section 32 - Powers of an occupational safety and health officer
(1) An occupational safety and health officer shall, for the purpose of the execution of this Act, have power to do all or any of the following things—
(a) to enter, inspect and examine, by day or by...
- Section 33 - Power of occupational safety and health officer to conduct proceedings
(1) An occupational safety and health officer may, although he is not an advocate, prosecute, conduct or defend before a magistrate’s court any charge, information, complaint or other proceeding...
- Section 34 - Power to take samples
(1) An occupational safety and health officer may at any time, after informing the occupier or, if the occupier is not readily available, a foreman or other responsible person in the workplace, take...
- Section 35 - Power to deal with cause of imminent danger
(1) Where, in the case of any article or substance found by him in any premises which he has power to enter, an occupational safety and health officer has reasonable cause to believe that, in the...
- Section 36 - Improvement notices
If an occupational safety and health officer is of the opinion that a person— (a) is contravening any of the provisions of this Act or rules made thereunder; or
(b) has contravened one or more of...
- Section 37 - Prohibition notices
(1) This section applies to any activities which are being or are about to be carried on by or under the control of any person, being activities to or in relation to which this Act or the rules made...
- Section 38 - Appeal against improvement or prohibition notice
(1) In this section “notice” means an improvement notice or a prohibition notice.
(2) A person to whom an improvement or a prohibition notice is issued under section 36 or 37 shall comply with the...
- Section 39 - Provisions on prohibition notices and improvement notices
(1) In this section “a notice” means an improvement notice or prohibition notice.
(2) A notice may but need not, include directions as to the measures to be taken to remedy any contravention or...
- Section 40 - Occupational safety and health officer not to disclose information or source of complaints
(1) An occupational safety and health officer shall not disclose any information obtained by him in the course of his duties and the exercise of any of the powers conferred by section 32 (including in...
- Section 41 - Indemnity of occupational safety and health officer
No matter or thing done by an occupational safety and health officer shall if the matter or thing is done bona fide for the executing of the functions, powers or duties under this Act, render the...
- Section 42 - Safety and health advisor
(1) Every safety and health advisor shall be issued with an annual certificate of authorization by the Director upon payment of the prescribed fee.
(2) A safety and health advisor shall not disclose...
- Section 43 - Register of workplaces
The Director shall keep a register of workplaces in which he shall cause to be entered such particulars in relation to every workplace required to be registered under this Act as he may consider...
- Section 44 - Registration of workplaces
(1) Before any person occupies or uses any premises as a workplace, he shall apply for the registration of the premises by sending to the Director a written notice containing the particulars set out...
- Section 45 - Exceptions to registration
(1) The Cabinet Secretary may, after consultation with the Council, by notice in the Gazette, except some classes of workplaces from the requirements of section 44.
(2) The Cabinet Secretary may only...
- Section 46 - Appeals
(1) The Cabinet Secretary shall appoint appeal committees for the purpose of considering any appeal made under sections 36, 37 and 44.
(2) An appeal committee shall consist of a Chairperson to be...
- Section 47 - Cleanliness
(1) Every workplace shall be kept in a clean state, and free from effluvia arising from any drain, sanitary convenience or nuisance, and, without prejudice to the generality of subsection...
- Section 48 - Overcrowding
(1) An occupier shall ensure that his workplace shall not, while work is carried on, be so overcrowded as to cause risk of injury to the health of the persons employed therein.
(2) Without prejudice...
- Section 49 - Ventilation
(1) An occupier shall ensure that effective and suitable provision is made for securing and maintaining, by the circulation of fresh air in each workroom, the adequate ventilation of the...
- Section 50 - Lighting
(1) An occupier shall ensure that effective provision is made for securing and maintaining sufficient and suitable lighting, whether natural or artificial, in every part of his workplace in which...
- Section 51 - Drainage of floors
Where any process is carried on which renders the floor liable to be wet to such an extent that the wet is capable of being removed by drainage, effective means shall be provided and maintained for...
- Section 52 - Sanitary conveniences
(1) Sufficient and suitable sanitary conveniences for the persons employed in the workplace shall be provided, maintained and kept clean, and effective provision shall be made for lighting the...
- Section 53 - Enforcement of section 52 by local authorities
The provisions of section 52 and of any rules made thereunder shall, in such areas as the Cabinet Secretary may by notice in the Gazette direct, be enforced by the local authority.