The rules for maintaining occupational safety and health stipulated in the Labor Law in the Kuwaiti private sector aim to ensure the safety of workers in the State of Kuwait and preserve their safety and health from the risks they may be exposed to as a result of performing work, and to respect their rights and enhance their ability to perform their work, by obligating the employer to provide the means Occupational safety and health and a safe work environment free from the causes of accidents and occupational diseases, and from building and construction hazards, machinery and transportation risks, as well as natural hazards such as heat, humidity, fire and electricity hazards.
The Kuwaiti Private Sector Labor Law No. 6 of 2010 laid down several rules that the employer and the worker must adhere to in order to preserve occupational safety and health, which are:
Maintaining a work file for each worker
The Kuwaiti Labor Law requires the employer to keep a work file for each worker, containing a copy of the work permit, a copy of the work contract and a copy of the worker’s civil card, as well as documents indicating annual and sick leaves, overtime working hours, work injuries and occupational diseases, in addition to the penalties imposed on The worker, the date of service termination and the reasons for its termination, and a copy of the worker’s delivery receipts for the papers, tools, and experience certificates he had deposited with the employer that were handed to him after the end of his work.
Maintain occupational safety and health records
The employer must keep occupational safety records in accordance with the forms and controls for which a decision was issued by the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor.
Comment a list that includes working hours, rest periods, and vacations
The employer shall post in a conspicuous place at the workplace a list approved by the competent labor department, including in particular the daily working hours and the rest period during working hours, as well as the weekly rest and official holidays.
Take all necessary occupational safety and health precautions
The employer is obligated to take all necessary safety precautions to protect workers, machines and materials circulating in his facility and those who frequent them from work hazards. The employer is also obligated to provide the necessary occupational safety and health means for which a decision is issued by the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor after taking the opinion of the concerned authorities.
The employer may not charge the worker any expenses or deduct any sums from his wages in return for providing him with means of protection.
Statement of the risks of work before practicing it
The Kuwaiti Labor Law requires the employer to explain to the worker, before he engages in work, the risks that he may be exposed to, as well as the means of prevention that he must take.
The Minister of Social Affairs and Labor issues decisions regarding instructions, warning signs that are placed in visible places in the workplace, and safety tools that the employer must abide by in the various activities.
Providing the necessary equipment and means to maintain occupational safety and health
The Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, after seeking the opinion of the concerned authorities, issues a decision specifying the types of activities that require the provision of equipment and means necessary for occupational safety and health for workers in the establishments, with the appointment of technicians or specialists to monitor the availability of occupational safety and health requirements for the facility. The decision specifies the qualifications and duties of these technicians and specialists and programs their training.
Protecting the worker from occupational diseases
The employer must take the necessary precautions to protect the worker from health damage and occupational diseases that arise from the practice of work, and provide first aid and medical services.
The Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, after seeking the opinion of the Ministry of Health, may issue decisions regulating precautions, a schedule of occupational diseases, industries and the works causing them, a schedule of harmful substances and the permissible concentration levels.
Use the necessary precautions
The worker must use the necessary means of protection, undertake to use what he has in his possession carefully, and implement the instructions set for his safety and health and to protect him from injuries and occupational diseases.
Insurance for workers with insurance companies
The Kuwaiti Labor Law obligates the employer to insure his workers with insurance companies against work injuries and occupational diseases.
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