Labor protection is a system of measures aimed at ensuring healthy and safe working conditions at workplaces, protecting the rights of workers and minimizing the dangers arising in production. This includes technical safety regulations, sanitary standards, industrial hygiene, social security and protection of workers ' rights.
The main goal of labor protection is to ensure that workers work in healthy and safe conditions, to prevent industrial gases and occupational diseases. To achieve this goal, legislative norms have been developed and are constantly being improved.
Today, serious measures are being taken in the area of labor protection in many developed countries. Technical security systems are being established at various workplaces, legislative bases in accordance with international standards on labor protection are being improved. International standards such as OHSAS 18001 and ISO 45001 are applied in relation to labor safety in enterprises.
Ensuring labor protection at workplaces has a positive effect not only on the well-being of workers, but also on the sustainability and effectiveness of production. Therefore, both employers and employees must strictly comply with labor safety rules and monitor their implementation.
Labor protection is one of the main directions of state policy in Azerbaijan. Article 35 of the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan states that everyone has the right to work in safe and healthy conditions.
According to the Labor Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, employers must ensure that employees work in healthy and safe conditions. Trade unions operating in our country play an important role in ensuring the protection and safety of workers ' labor. Their activities are aimed at improving working conditions, preventing industrial accidents and protecting the rights of workers. For this process to be even more effective, close cooperation between trade unions, government agencies and employers is necessary. The application of International Labor Standards, educating employees and increasing the responsibility of employers create conditions for achieving successful results in this area. Trade unions carry out public control over compliance with the legislation on labor protection and have the right to unhindered check the state of labor protection at workplaces, to demand elimination of revealed violations from officials, as well as to raise a question before the employer about bringing the guilty persons to justice (article 236 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan).
At the same time, within the competence of trade unions, they are involved in the preparation and coordination of normative acts on labor protection in the prescribed manner, in the investigation of industrial accidents, in their inspections for the implementation of the state of labor protection, measures provided for in collective agreements to improve it, etc. participates in resolving issues. (Article 237 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan).
At the same time, trade unions ensure the protection of workers ' rights in the field of Occupational Safety by operating in accordance with the provisions of the law “on Trade Unions” of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Adopted international conventions on occupational safety, including documents of the International Labour Organization, also contribute to legal regulation in this area.
Azerbaijani trade unions, the Azerbaijan Trade Unions Confederation, which acts as a coordinator of the activities of these organizations, are trying to implement advanced practices in the field of protecting workers' labor rights, labor and health protection, in cooperation with the International Labor Organization (ILO) and other international organizations, as such cooperation is one of the factors that will lead to a further increase in the level of labor protection in the future.
Azerbaijani legislation is constantly being improved on the basis of conventions adopted by the International Labor Organization and to which the Republic of Azerbaijan is a party. In accordance with Article 19 of Convention No. 155 “On Occupational Safety and Health”, to which the Republic of Azerbaijan has been a party since July 1, 2023, measures are taken at the enterprise level to ensure the following:
- employee representatives cooperate with the employer in the area of occupational safety and hygiene;
- employee representatives in enterprises cooperate with the employer in the area of occupational safety and hygiene;
- representatives of employees at enterprises receive relevant information about the measures taken by the employer to ensure occupational safety and hygiene, and may consult with their representative organizations about this, provided that no commercial secrets are revealed;
- employees and their representatives are involved in relevant training on occupational safety and hygiene in enterprises;
- employees or their representatives and, depending on the circumstances, their representative organizations in enterprises are provided with the opportunity to conduct research on all aspects of occupational safety and hygiene related to their work in accordance with national legislation and practice, and are consulted by the employer; for this purpose, external technical consultants may be involved in the enterprise by mutual agreement;
- immediately inform his immediate supervisor about any situation in which the employee reasonably reasonably assumes that his life or health will be in direct and serious danger; the employer cannot require the employee to return to working conditions in which a direct and serious threat to life and health persists, if necessary, until the employer takes action to prevent the threat.
According to Article 23.06.1971 of the Convention No. 135 on representatives of workers, 3 as representatives of workers according to national legislation or practice:
a) representatives of trade unions, more precisely trade unions or representatives
appointed or elected by members of such trade unions;
Relevant links:
Legislation:
Constitution Of The Republic Of Azerbaijan ↗
Labor Code ↗
About trade unions ↗
About health insurance ↗
About fire safety ↗
About technical safety ↗
On the protection of Public Health ↗
About sanitary and epidemiological well-being ↗
About radiation safety of the population ↗
On approval of rules for investigation and accounting of industrial accidents ↗
About compulsory insurance against loss of professional ability to work as a result of industrial accidents and occupational diseases ↗
Decisions of the Cabinet of Ministers:
About regulation of monthly payment debts of privatized and managed state enterprises to employee whose health has been impaired as a result of industrial accident or occupational disease, or to family members and other dependents of the employee who died for this reason ↗
On the approval of the “List of serious, less serious and minor types of injuries” ↗
On the determination of the minimum amount of increases (coefficients) ensuring the payment of high wages of employees working in hard and harmful jobs and in workplaces that are not conducive to work due to climatic conditions and specialists working in the liberated territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan ↗
On approval of the “List of harmful and heavy industries, professions and positions that give the right to additional leave depending on working conditions and the nature of the labor function” ↗
On approval of the rules, conditions and amount of payments to an employee whose health has been impaired as a result of an industrial accident or occupational disease, or to family members and other dependents of the employee who died for this reason ↗
On approval of the Rules for investigation and recording of accidents occurring in production ↗
On approval of the list of professions, industries and enterprises requiring mandatory medical examinations of employees and the procedure for conducting such examinations ↗
Conventions of the International Labor Organization:
Occupational Safety and Health Convention ↗
Labor Inspection Convention ↗
⇒ For your request regarding labor protection↗
