Tags: Guatemala, Occupational Health And Safety
The topic of Occupational Health and Safety at the Workplace in Guatemala, has taken more importance since the year two thousand and sixteen, because of the reforms made to labour laws, which include a rigorous sanctioning system in cases of non-compliance.
Among the reforms, we can mention those made to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations in the year two thousand and sixteen, with the Government Agreement 33-2016, which regulates the creation of a Body specialized in the control of these issues, called Occupational Health and Safety Committee; and the reforms to the Labour Law, “Decree 1441”, which came into force in April of two thousand and seventeen, regulating the inspection procedures that the Ministry of Labour can carry out to companies, as well as the sanctions that can be imposed.
As Lawyers and Notaries in LatinAlliance, we consider that these reforms are important for our clients, due to the creation of sanctions for employers and for workers who infringe the Occupational Health and Safety at Work Regulations. Because of that, we consider that it is important that all of them must be aware of said Regulations and legally advised, so they can prevent fines and sanctions which for employers have been set from eight to sixteen minimum salaries of non-agricultural activities, and for workers from four to eight minimum salaries for non-agricultural activities.
To explain a little more about the topic of Occupational Health and Safety in Companies in Guatemala, we must first define what we mean when we talk about Health and Safety at the Workplace, understanding the concept as the regulations that seek to guarantee physical, mental, and social well-being of the employees, in order to achieve more efficiency at work, by controlling the risks that may cause accidents or occupational diseases.
We should also mention that there are six areas of Occupational Health and Safety, which are: Occupational Medicine, Industrial Hygiene, Toxicology, Technical Safety, Ergonomics, and Psychology; being the employer the one who is responsible of verifying, in the workplace, that all these areas have been considered, in order to have a better performance of the workers.
When we talk about Occupational Medicine, we are referring to the medical specialty that is dedicated to the study of diseases and accidents that occur as a result of work activities, as well as the prevention measures that must be adopted to avoid them or reduce their consequences.
Besides, Industrial Hygiene must be considered, being understood as the discipline that study, identify, evaluate, and control, contaminants at work, which can have a physical origin such as noises or vibrations, especially in places where machinery is used as a work tool; chemical origin such as dust, vapours, strong smells; or biological origin such as viruses, fungus and bacteria that may exist in the workplace or when handling products and tools at work.
Technical Safety is also extremely important because it implies to detect and correct the risks of accidents at work, through the planning of preventive strategies regarding occupational risks.
Ergonomics studies work in relation to the environment in which it is carried out and those who do the work. It is used to determine how to design or adapt the workplace to the worker, to avoid different health problems as well as to increase efficiency.
Psychology studies, analyses, and evaluates the work behavior of human beings within an organization or a company, focusing on the work that each person performs.
In order to have a better control of all these aspects within a Company, the law regulates the existence of a specialized Body responsible for those areas at the work environment and which has a preventive function with regard to accidents and diseases in Companies.
The internal Body in charge of the Occupational Health and Safety in companies is the Occupational Health and Safety Committee which has an equal number of workers and representatives of the employer. The number of members of the Committee is established in the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, in accordance with the number of workers that a Company has, as follows:
| Number of Workers in the Company | Number of Workers´ Representatives | Number of Employer´s Representatives |
| Less tan 10 | In this case, the Committee will not be necessary, but a worker will be designated as the responsible one for the Occupational Safety of the workplace. | |
| 10 to 25 | 02 | 02 |
| 26 to 50 | 03 | 03 |
| 51 to 100 | 04 | 04 |
| 101 to 500 | 05 | 05 |
| More than 500 | 06 | 06 |
Due to the need to comply with the formation of this Committee in the workplace, LatinAlliance offers the service to clients and Companies in general, to advise and support them in the process of such a formation, as well as to provide them the appropriate legal training on these matters.
For more information about any legal issues, please contact LatinAlliance Guatemala, Attorneys at Law, to the following e-mail addresses: [email protected], and [email protected]