Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act No. 85 of 1993) 1. Definitions

 

 

"accident"

means an accident arising out of and in the course of an employee's employment and resulting in a personal injury, illness or the death of the employee;

 

"approved inspection authority"

means an inspection authority approved by the chief inspector: Provided that an inspection authority approved by the chief inspector with respect to any particular service shall be an approved inspection authority with respect to that service only.

 

"biological monitoring"

means a planned programme of periodic collection and analysis of body fluid, tissues, excreta or exhaled air in order to detect and quantify the exposure to or absorption of any substance or organism by persons.

 

"building"

includes—

 

"chief executive officer"

in relation to a body corporate or an enterprise conducted by the State, means the person who is responsible for the overall management and control of the business of such body corporate or enterprise.

 

"chief inspector"

means the officer designated under section 27 as chief inspector, and includes any officer acting as chief inspector.

 

"Council"

means the Advisory Council for Occupational Health and Safety established by section 2.

 

"danger"

means anything which may cause injury or damage to persons or property.

 

"Department"

means the Department of Manpower.

 

"employee"

means, subject to the provisions of subsection (2), any person who is employed by or works for an employer and who receives or is entitled to receive any remuneration or who works under the direction or supervision of an employer or any other person.

 

"employer"

means, subject to the provisions of subsection (2), any person who employs or provides work for any person and remunerates that person or expressly or tacitly undertakes to remunerate him, but excludes a labour broker as defined in section 1(1) of the Labour Relations Act, 1956 (Act No. 28 of 1956).

 

"employers' organisation"

means an employers' organisation as defined in section 1 of the Labour Relations Act, 1956 (Act No.28 of 1956).

[Definition inserted by section 1(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Amendment Act, 1993 (Act No. 181 of 1993)]

 

"employment" or "employed"

means employment or employed as an employee.

 

"explosives"

means any substance or article as listed in Class I: Explosives in the South African Bureau of Standards Code of Practice for the Identification and Classification of Dangerous Substances and Goods, SABS 0228.

 

"hazard"

means a source of or exposure to danger.

 

"health and safety committee"

means a committee established under section 19.

 

"health and safety equipment"

means any article or part thereof which is manufactured, provided or installed in the interest of the health or safety of any person.

 

"health and safety representative"

means a person designated in terms of section 17(1).

 

"health and safety standard"

means any standard, irrespective of whether or not it has the force of law, which, if applied for the purposes of this Act, will in the opinion of the Minister promote the attainment of an object of this Act.

 

"healthy"

means free from illness or injury attributable to occupational causes.

 

"incident"

means an incident as contemplated in section 24(1).

 

"industrial court"

means the industrial court referred to in section 17 of the Labour Relations Act, 1956 (Act No. 28 of 1956).

 

"inspection authority"

means ny person who with the aid of specialized knowledge or equipment or after such investigations, tests, sampling or analyses as he may consider necessary, and whether for reward or otherwise, renders a service by making special findings, purporting to be objective findings, as to—

 

"inspector"

means a person designated under section 28.

 

"listed work"

means any work declared to be listed work under section 11.

 

"local authority"

means—

 

"machinery"

means any article or combination of articles assembled, arranged or connected and which is used or intended to be used for converting any form of energy to performing work, or which is used or intended to be used, whether incidental thereto or not, for developing, receiving, storing, containing, confining, transforming, transmitting, transferring or controlling any form of energy.

 

"major hazard installation"

means an installation—

 

"major incident"

means an occurrence of catastrophic proportions, resulting from the use of plant and machinery, or from activities at a workplace;

 

"mandatary"

includes an agent, a contractor or a subcontractor for work, but without derogating from his status in his own right as an employer or a user.

 

"medical surveillance"

means a planned programme of periodic examination (which may include clinical examinations, biological monitoring or medical tests) of employees by an occupational health practitioner or, in prescribed cases, by an occupational medicine practitioner.

 

"minister"

means the Minister of Manpower.

 

"occupational health"

includes occupational hygiene, occupational medicine and biological monitoring.

 

"occupational health practitioner"

means n occupational medicine practitioner or a person who holds a qualification in occupational health recognised as such by the South African Medical and Dental Council as referred to in the Medical, Dental and Supplementary Health Service Professions Act, 1974 (Act No. 56 of 1974), or the South African Nursing Council as referred to in the Nursing Act, 1978 (Act No. 50 of 1978).

 

"occupational hygiene"

means the anticipation, recognition, evaluation and control of conditions arising in or from the workplace, which may cause illness or adverse health effects to persons.

 

"occupational medicine"

means the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of illness and adverse health effects associated with a particular type of work.

 

"occupational medicine practitioner"

means a medical practitioner as defined in the Medical, Dental and Supplementary Health Service Professions Act, 1974 (Act No. 56 of 1974), who holds a qualification in occupational medicine or an equivalent qualification which qualification or equivalent is recognized as such by the South African Medical and Dental Council referred to in the said Act.

 

"office"

means an office as defined in section 1(1) of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1983 (Act No. 3 of 1983).

 

"officer"

means an officer or employee as defined in section 1(1) of the Public Service Act, 1984 (Act No. 111 of 1984).

 

"organism"

means any biological entity which is capable of causing illness to persons.

 

"plant"

includes fixtures, fittings, implements, equipment, tools and appliances, and anything which is used for any purpose in connection with such plant;

 

"premises"

includes any building, vehicle, vessel, train or aircraft;

 

"prescribed"

means prescribed by regulation.

 

"properly used"

means used with reasonable care, and with due regard to any information, instruction or advice supplied by the designer, manufacturer, importer, seller or supplier, as the case may be.

 

"reasonably practicable"

means practicable having regard to —

 

"regulation"

means a regulation made under section 43.

 

"remuneration"

Any payment in money or in kind or both in money and in kind, made or owing to any person in pursuance of such person's employment.

 

"risk"

means the probability that injury or damage will occur;

 

"safe"

means free from any hazard;

 

"sell"

includes—

(a)        offer or display for sale or import into the Republic for sale; or

(b)        exchange, donate, lease or offer or display for leasing;

 

"shop"

means a shop as defined in section 1(1) of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1983 (Act No. 3 of 1983).

 

"standard"

means any provision occurring —

 

"substance"

means any solid, liquid, vapour, gas or aerosol, or combination thereof.

 

"this Act"

includes any regulation

 

"trade union"

means a trade union as defined in section 1 of the Labour Relations Act, 1956 (Act No. 28 of 1956).

[Definition inserted by section 1(b) of the Occupational Health and Safety Amendment Act, 1993 (Act No. 181 of 1993)]

 

"user"

in relation to plant or machinery, means the person who uses plant or machinery for his own benefit or who has the right of control over the use of plant or machinery, but does not include a lessor of, or any person employed in connection with, that plant or machinery.

 

"work"

means work as an employee or as a self-employed person, and for such purpose an employee is deemed to be at work during the time that he is in the course of his employment, and a self-employed person is deemed to be at work during such time as he devotes to work as a self-employed person.

 

"workplace"

means any premises or place where a person performs work in the course of his employment.

 

 

(3)        This Act shall not apply in respect of —