National OSH Policy in Mexico

The National OSH Policy in Mexico.

In Mexico, the definition and implementation of OHS policy falls directly and exclusively on the federal authority. This is represented by the Secretaría del Trabajo y Prevision Social (STPS: Labor and Social Prevision Secretary) through the Dirección de Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo (Safety and Health in the Worklplace Department)

The President of the Mexican Republic, as a main representative of the federal government (whose mandate lasts 6 years) is the person responsible for the definition and implementation of the development policies depicted in a document named “Mexico Vision 2030” , where the direction of the Mexican government is defined for the upcoming decades.

To ensure this President Felipe Calderón, according to the plan in “Mexico Vision 2030”, developed the Plan Nacional de Desarrollo 2007-2012 (National Development Plan 2007-2012), which establishes specific policies for his government period and that have a basic premise in? the country`s progress in a comprehensive manner considering the sustainable human development. This has 5 main axes:

1.- Rule of law and security

2.- Competitive economy and job generation

3.- Equal opportunity

4.- Environmental sustainability

5.- Effective democracy and responsible foreign politics

All the different Government Secretaries in their specific fields must adopt each of these axes. In order to assure these, a legal frame is considered in the Ley de Planeación (Planning Law), which specifies that each secretary will elaborate its own sectorial program according to what is dictated by the Plan Nacional de Desarrollo 2007-2012 (National Development Plan 2007-2012). In such sectorial program the objectives, priorities and policies that will regulate the performance and activities of each sector in the public administration will be depicted.

The STPS, responding to this command, has defined the Programa Sectorial de la Secretaría del Trabajo y Prevision Social 2007-2012 (Sectorial Program of Labor and Social Prevision 2007-2012) which includes concrete actions to achieve the public policies referring to labor and social prevision.

This program has the more specific objective of promoting productivity and competitive labor, the respect of the workers’ fundamental and collective rights and the labor equity and inclusion, and in a very specific manner, to establish the physical and legal elements that assure a dignified, well paid, job in security and hygiene optimal conditions.

Such program also establishes as a frame the tripartite work, encouraged by the government where employees, employers and unions partake in the creation of new public policies towards the growth of a sustainable human development.

The sustainable human development is precisely what provides the foundations of the Política Pública de Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo (Public OSH Policy) a document of 123 pages that includes the OSH Policy, the National OSH Profile, the National OSH Situations and the National OSH strategies that provide the framework for the improvements of the OSH situation in Mexico for the next years. The strategies have been defined and documented as projects that constitute the OSH policy:

− Establishment of a National OSH system;

− Modernization of the OSH regulations;

− Enhancing the voluntary scheme of OSH compliance;

− Development of the National Information Centre of OSH accidents and Diseases;

− Strengthening mechanisms for OSH consultation and OSH Prevention;

− Financing of OSH prevention activities;

− Promotion of OSH training and OHS specialized technical training;

− Reviewing and Reinforcement of OSH legal compliance

According

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