The Dean of UP FM, Assoc. Prof. Tatjana Horvat, hosted Prof. Snežana Živković and Prof. Slobodan Milutinović, coordinated by Prof. Mirko Markič in the framework of the research project Investigating the Occupational Health and Safety Practices in Slovenia and Serbia: Strengthening the OHS in Organizations and Enhancing the Well-being of Employees.
The project aims to combine transnational scientific expertise under the common theme of assessing and managing occupational safety and health practices. The importance of the project lies in integrating existing research initiatives in Slovenia and Serbia in the field of occupational safety and the analysis of occupational injuries and workers' well-being. The research developed in the two countries has different backgrounds and orientations, driven by the socio-economic conditions of the two countries. The main objective of the proposed project is to assess and manage occupational health and safety practices in Slovenia and Serbia. To respond to the project objective, the following specific scientific objectives are identified: SO1: to analyze current occupational health and safety practices in Slovenia and Serbia through a review of existing literature and case studies, SO2: to conduct a field survey in Slovenia and Serbia regarding the occupational health and safety culture in companies and the well-being of employees, SO3: to compare the results obtained and to propose a framework to improve the management of occupational health and safety performance in companies and to improve the well-being of employees.
Occupational health and safety (OHS) represents a key aspect of decent work, as recognized in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDG 8 – decent work and economic growth), and especially set in the 8.8 target: “Protect labor rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers, including migrant workers, in particular women migrants, and those in precarious employment” (https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/economic-growth/ ).
As Slovenia is an EU member country and Serbia is devoted to the EU accession process, the EU legal documents also play important role in the OHS. The Council Directive (89/391/EEC) (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=celex%3A31989L0391 ) introduces measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work. Also, in order to ensure a safe and healthy work environment for workers in the EU, a Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work 2014-2020 has been proposed by the European Commission in 2014, and updated in 2021 for the period 2021-2027, to address the OHS in a changing world of work.
Bearing all this in mind, the main aim of the project is the assessment and management of OHS practices in Slovenia and Serbia. The comparison of the existing OHS practices will enable strengthening the OHS in organizations and enhancing the well-being of workers.