[GA - FAILED] Health and Safety Act

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The World Assembly,

Recognizing not only that industry is critical to the economic development of many member states, but that high standards of health and safety are critical to the development of many industries,

Concerned that some members and employers might not have adequate laws and policies in effect to protect workers from dangerous working conditions, not only in factories and other centres of heavy industry but also - for example - in restaurants (where measures to prevent cross-contamination of foodstuffs, such as the use of different-coloured chopping boards and regular handwashing, are of great importance),

Believing that employers in member states with strong health and safety standards should not be entitled to outsource jobs to members with lax or nonexistent health and safety standards in order to make a quick buck, and

Supporting the right of workers everywhere to face as small a risk of physical harm and deterioration as possible while they are working,

Hereby enacts as follows.

1. In this resolution, a "worker" in any given member state means a hypothetical worker of average physical dimensions whose species is the predominant sapient species in that member.
2. Each member must:
   1. publish a first, quantitative manual of guidelines listing those levels of mechanical, temperature, chemical, and ergonomic stresses which a worker in that member may endure on a daily basis without incurring adverse side effects over time,
   2. publish a second, quantitative manual of guidelines listing those levels of various industrial chemical substances, with reference to levels in both the factory workplace environment and a worker's blood sample, which a worker in that member may endure on a daily basis without incurring adverse side effects over time,
   3. publish a third, qualitative manual of guidelines explaining the steps that their workers can take to reduce their risk of injury in the workplace (both in general and at the particular type of business where they work), regardless of where they work or what their job entails, and the steps that employers in each sector of the economy must take to reduce these risks,
   4. update the three manuals of guidelines, hereinafter "the Manuals," on an annual basis to incorporate the latest research findings and relevant statistical data, and
   5. distribute the Manuals to all of their businesses, and
   6. sanction those businesses who expose their workers to levels of stress and exposure to chemical substances (pursuant to Articles 2a and 2b respectively) beyond those stipulated in the Manuals, or who fail to report injuries sustained by their workers at the workplace to their member's government (to ensure its compliance with Article 3c).
3. The Health and Safety Board (HSB) is established. It is responsible for receiving the following data from each member on an annual basis:
   1. legal measures enacted by that member and its political subdivisions to protect the health and safety of workers,
   2. how frequently and effectively the measures described in Articles 2a, 2b, 2c, and 3a are being enforced by the government, and
   3. how often per year, on average, workplace injuries occur (which shall be disaggregated according to whether they were caused by mechanical hazards, temperature hazards, chemical hazards, or ergonomic hazards).
4. The HSB shall report all members and political subdivisions of members whose governments fail to enforce those measures they have enacted to protect the health and safety of workers, including by failing to enforce compliance with Articles 2 and 5 of this Act, to the WACC.
5. Each member must disseminate accurate and informative publications to all of their businesses (including state-owned businesses) which describe the legal measures they have enacted to protect the health and safety of workers and explain how businesses can comply with these legal measures.

Co-authored with Tinhampton.

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Note: Only votes from TNP WA nations and NPA personnel will be counted. If you do not meet these requirements, please add (non-WA) or something of that effect to your vote.

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• Vote For if you want the Delegate to vote For the resolution.
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Detailed opinions with your vote are appreciated and encouraged!

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"Health and Safety Act" has failed 5,119 votes (35.4%) to 9,334 (64.6%).

IFV

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Overview
This resolution seeks to standardize workplace health and safety standards through the creation of three manuals of guidelines by each member state; these manuals are also required to be regularly updated and distributed to workplaces. It also creates the Health and Safety Board (HSB), which is tasked with receiving data from member states about legal measures put in place to improve workplace safety, the frequency of workplace injuries, and the effectiveness of government enforcement of workplace safety regulations. Finally, the resolution requires that member states penalize businesses that permit chemical substance and stress exposure beyond the thresholds stipulated in the manuals of guidelines, and also tasks the HSB with reporting non-compliant member states to the World Assembly Compliance Commission.

Recommendation
While certainly quite thorough in its detailed provisions regarding workplace safety and measures to prevent them, the effectiveness of the resolution is severely damaged by its very first Article; which defines a "worker" as a "a hypothetical worker of average physical dimensions whose species is the predominant sapient species in that member". Beyond the obvious uncertainties and limitations in scope incurred by using the term "hypothetical", the further restrictive requirements for a worker covered by this resolution to be of "average physical dimensions" and be of the "predominant sapient species in that member [state]" further mitigate the scope of this resolution. With this flawed definition in place, the resolution is left toothless and lacking in applicability to all workers that should nominally be covered by workplace regulations. For the above reasons, the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs recommends a vote Against the General Assembly Resolution at vote, "Health And Safety Act".

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Our Voting Recommendation Dispatch-Please Upvote!

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This proposal has achieved the necessary approvals to enter the formal queue. Barring it being withdrawn or marked illegal, it will proceed to a vote at Monday's Major Update.

Against (Non-WA).

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Against. I agree with the WA recommendation and would argue that Article 1 is so badly drafted as to render the rest of the resolution moot.

PS personal comment: this really has to be at least the third or fourth time (if my memory serves me right about the authors of resolutions) I've voted against a resolution from Tinhampton on drafting grounds even if I agree to the broad concepts.

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