On April 1, 2015, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin signed SB 262 into state law making this landmark legislation a national first. This marked the first time ever that a law would direct labor and education to collaborate and provide workplace safety education in the schools. “Oklahoma set a national standard and became an innovative leader in the youth employment world,” stated Lester Claravall, Child Labor Program Administrator with the Oklahoma Department of Labor.
The Oklahoma Department of Labor and the Oklahoma State Department of Education will now be working together to educate students in grades 7 thru 12 about workplace safety. Both departments will be providing curriculum, produced by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) entitled NIOSH Youth@Work: Talking Safety. NIOSH is a federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related injuries and illness.
“Many teens will be entering their first jobs this summer in restaurants, grocery stores, and offices,” continued Claravall. “But what most don’t know is that these young workers are twice as likely as their adult counterparts to get hurt on the job.” According to federal studies, an average of 200,000 teens under 18 are injured at work with 70 cases ending up being fatal. The studies indicate that a lot of the teen worker injuries will happen within the first few months of their employment due to a lack of safety training provided.
“These high number of injuries are now going to change, thanks to SB 262. We especially appreciate the wisdom and leadership of Senators Susan Paddack and Anastasia Pittman, Representative Todd Thomsen, and Latta High School teacher Stacy Oakley,” he concluded.
Claravall said that protecting the youngest workforce begins in the classroom. Teaching teens how to recognize and identify hazards will lead to injury prevention and safer working environments. Developing safer workers at an early age leads to economic development in the long run.

We are glad to welcome a new member to the ENETOSH network: the Croatian Institute for Health Protection and Safety at Work (CIHPSW). The institute was established in 2009 in the capital town of Croatia, Zagreb. CIHPSW is an independent institution at the national level working in the field of occupational safety and health (OSH). It is dedicated to health surveillance and promotion of Croatian workers and improvement of their quality of life and work ability.
The institute is divided into three sections dealing with occupational health, safety at work and education and information dissemination. The main goal of CIHPSW is to develop and disseminate knowledge on sustainable and healthy work. More information in our member's area (click the main menu on the top left of this page or the map on the top right) and on the CIHPSW website.

In this video on the BSC YouTube channel, Bob Harris, Health, Safety and Environmental officer at JBC Heavy products, clearly explains that the training that BSC provided for his company enabled them to cut accidents by 75%. He and his colleagues were trained by the BSC, that offers a couple of training packages at the training center. All employees of JBC get health and safety training now as well.
The British Safety Council offers a wide selection of training services which can be attended at its public venues, or can be arranged as private in-company courses. BSC Training is designed to be interactive and practical.
More videos on the BSC YouTube channel, more information on BSC on the website www.britsafe.org

The European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE) is preparing a new project: "External expertise for Social Partners Promoting Decent Workplaces in the Education Sector". The project is concerning the promotion of decent workplaces in education with a focus on psychosocial hazards, such as work-related stress.
ETUCE requires a contractor with an external and objective scientific perspective and expertise on the issue at stake, to carry out the research study at local level amongst education staff (teachers, school leaders) including four case studies in the target countries (Romania, Germany, Finland and Belgium).
Deadline for this call is February 6th, 2015.
Find the call for tender here , all information on ETUCE on the website csee-etuce.org.