The integrity of health and safety in the Mexican workplace is the domain of the country’s Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social (STP).

The federal government is very proactive in promoting health and safety in the Mexican workplace. In earlier Tecma blog posts we’ve discussed the basics of the Normas Oficiales Mexicanas, and have also provided information on NOM compliance. In this entry, the focus will be upon employer obligations as they relate to promoting and maintaining health and safety in the Mexican workplace.

Mexico’s Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social or (STP) is the governmental entity that concerns itself with making sure that the Mexican workplace is a healthy, as well as a safe one. Regulation of the Mexican workplace in connection with this matter has its focus in several major areas of concern. Some of them are:

  • the detection of unsafe work conditions – STSP inspectors are attentive to incidences in which employers do not follow, or have in place, procedures and safety measures which ensure the health and physical well-being of those that labor for them.
  • the consideration of ergonomic risks – It is important to government health and safety authorities that companies to make the effort to appropriate measures to provide the equipment, machinery and
  • tools that mitigate injuries that can result from repetitive physical movements, stress or postures that may be required to be maintained for a significant part of the work day.
  • the accommodation of workers with disabilities – The Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social that employers make the Mexican workplace as friendly as possible to those with physical and other
    types of disabilities.

In order that companies with workers in Mexico address the areas on which the STPS most closely places its attention, leaders of such organizations must be aware of what STPS employer obligations exist as regards the Mexican workplace. Included among them are that:

  • medical examinations of those that are exposed to certain Mexican workplace risks and hazards are routinely conducted. For in-depth information on this requirement see the Medical Examination Matrix related to compliance with the Normas Oficiales Mexicans, or NOMs;
  • company leadership assist in and support the formation of Mexican workplace health and safety commissions, and that these groups are supported in efforts to provide quality training to employees
    on related matters, as well as on proper procedures to follow in emergency situations;
  • personnel be allocated to maintain, organize and have at the ready, in cases of STPS inspection, all documents, certificates and previous inspection results in order to demonstrate compliance with
  • health and safety rules and regulations that apply to the Mexican workplace;
  • individuals that have been appropriately trained in the handling of hazardous materials and/or other contaminants have been issued the appropriate authorization to do so;
  • company management facilitates the conduct of Mexican workplace inspection by the STPS.

Although the aforementioned are just a few of the issues that pertain to the matters of the focus of Mexico’s Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social (STPS) in the areas of health and safety, much more comprehensive information can be found that has been included in an article that was prepared by Counselors International Abogados, and made accessible to interested parties at Mondaq.com