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‘Local businesses more cooperative’
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Posted on Aug 17 2004
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration yesterday noted the positive change in the attitude of local businesses toward OSHA inspections.
OSHA Region IX administrator Frank Strasheim said employers from the CNMI are “much more cooperative” when representatives of the federal agency come and visit them for an inspection.
Strasheim noted that in 1998, OSHA had to ask U.S. District Court Judge Alex Munson to issue 36 warrants, after OSHA representatives were refused entry to some business premises. Over the past two years, however, OSHA did not need to request any warrants from the federal court.
“I think employers understand now that getting citations does not mean it’s the end of the world. We know that it’s difficult to keep up with all the requirements, but there’s no loss of prestige in having a case of violation,” he said.
Strasheim also reiterated that local employers have done a great deal of safety and health improvements, as evident in the decreasing number of citations that OSHA has been issuing over the past years.
He said that, while OSHA finds an average of about three violations for each uncomplying business in the United States, the rate of violations found in the CNMI is about 1.2 per employer.
“We’re finding quite a bit less violations here than on the mainland. We’re now also doing fewer inspections,” he added.
Strasheim attributed the improvements to public education efforts such as the annual Governor’s Safety and Health Conference, which is sponsored by the Governor’s Office and led by the Northern Marianas Alliance for Safety and Health.
This year’s conference kicked off yesterday at the Dai-Ichi Hotel and will be held until Friday.
Because of the improvements, the federal official said OSHA sees no need to increase its presence in the Commonwealth for now. Besides, OSHA is getting good representation from the CNMI Department of Labor, he said.
He also bared plans to make the services of the CNMI-OSHA On-site Consultation Office available to the government. OSHA does not have jurisdiction over workplaces in the public sector.
