Workplace health and safety committees in Romania. The gap between law and reality

Abstract

In order to increase the workplace health and safety, the EU Directive 89/391/CEE and the Romanian law 319 of 2006 introduced the principle of the balanced participation of the employer and employees in health and safety committees. The findings of the in-depth interviews with members of two committees and employees from two Romanian companies show that the workplace health and safety committees with balanced participation of the employers and employees are organizations that do not respect the letter and the spirit of the EU and the Romanian laws. Moreover, workplace health and safety committees do not fit well with the employees and employers’ attitudes, values and knowledge. Thus, based on research findings, some recommendations can be developed so that these committees function according to regulations.