In Bulgaria every employer is obliged to apply the conditions of the Health and Safety at work Act and to ensure healthy and safe conditions for work of his employees. The provision of healthy and safe working conditions is to be carried out according to the nature of the activities and the requirements of the technical, technological and social development with the aim of protection of life, health and working ability of employees.
The healthy and safe working conditions shall be guaranteed on sites, at production premises, in processes, activities, work places and working equipment during the processes of designing, constructing, reconstructing, modernizing and opening for use as well as during exploitation, maintenance, repair and liquidation.
In order to abide by the above mentioned conditions, every employer is obliged to conclude a contract with Industrial Medicine who shall lead the company through the process of Health and Safety at Work as well as to ensure all documentation is in place.
Any enterprise, trade company or establishment which has more than 50 employees shall establish a working conditions committee.
Working conditions groups shall be established at companies and in other undertakings and organisations with more than 5 and less than 50 employees, as well as in the structural units of the companies, undertakings and organisations with more than 50 employees.The working conditions groups shall consist of the employer or the manager of the respective structural units and of one employees’ representative.
Employees’ representatives at the working conditions committees and groups shall receive training according to curricula, procedure and conditions defined with an executive ordinance of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy and the Minister of Health.
Employees’ representatives at the working conditions committees and groups shall be entitled to:
1. have access to the existing information concerning working conditions, the analyses of work accidents and occupational morbidity, the findings and the prescriptions of the control authorities;
2. require of the employer to undertake appropriate measures and submit proposals to him to mitigate hazards and remove sources of danger to their safety and health;
3. appeal to the control authorities if they consider that the measures taken by the employer are inadequate for the purposes of ensuring safety and health at work;
4. participate in the inspection visits rendered by the control authorities.
The employer shall provide the employees’ representatives with all necessary conditions and means to enable them to exercise their rights and functions and shall ensure that they receive adequate training and qualification during working hours without loss of pay.
