Agreement on cooperation in occupational safety and health matters

The Act on Occupational Safety and Health Enforcement and Cooperation on Occupational Safety and Health at Workplaces (44/2006) lays down provisions on cooperation in occupational safety and health matters. 

Cooperation in occupational safety and health can be agreed otherwise by means of a written agreement between the national associations of employers and employees. The same possibility of agreement also exists in the public sector, for example, for government, municipal, and church negotiation authorities.

National agreements

Agreements between the national associations employers and employees can be used to agree on such things as the term of office of the occupational safety and health representative and the occupational safety and health committee.

However, not even a national collective agreement can restrict the occupational safety and health representative’s right provided in the Act on Occupational Safety and Health Enforcement and Cooperation on Occupational Safety and Health at Workplace

• to information
• to the interruption of dangerous work
• to protection against job termination.

and cannot remove the right to

• to training (also applies to the deputy occupational safety and health representative)
• to time use
• to compensation for loss of earnings.

Local agreements

The organisation of occupational safety and health cooperation at a workplace can be agreed on locally in a manner that is suitable for the conditions at the workplace to the extent permitted by the Act on Occupational Safety and Health Enforcement and Cooperation on Occupational Safety and Health at Workplaces. Even then, employees must be guaranteed at least the statutory opportunity to participate in occupational safety and health cooperation.

Matters that can be agreed on locally include the term of office of the occupational safety and health committee, and the term of the OSH representative can be shortened to less than two calendar years. For a reasonable cause, the term of the occupational safety and health representative can be agreed to be four calendar years in the occupational safety and health committee or other local cooperation procedure.

A workplace-specific agreement cannot restrict the right to elect an occupational safety and health representative and deputy occupational safety and health representatives, nor the right of an occupational safety and health representative

• to information
• to training (also applies to the deputy occupational safety and health representative)
• to time use
• to compensation for loss of earnings
• to the interruption of dangerous work
• to protection against job termination.

Local agreements also cannot be used to limit 

• the right of an occupational safety and health committee member to time use and compensation
• the right of the occupational safety and health representative and the occupational safety and health committee to premises.  

The parties to the local agreement are the employer and the occupational safety and health representative or another representative authorised by the personnel. If no personnel representative has been selected at the workplace, the agreement can be concluded by the personnel or a personnel group. 

The employer must notify the employees of the agreement in writing. The agreement on the organisation of occupational safety and health cooperation is valid until further notice and may be terminated to end two months after the termination.

The agreement binds those employees who are deemed to be represented by the representative of the employees who has concluded the agreement.