OHS reporting in Romanian Companies an [629307]

OHS reporting in Romanian Companies – an
Overview
Sorin Mihăilescu1*, Ana-Petrina Păun2, and Codruța Dura2
1University of Petroșani , Mechanical, Industrial and Transports Engineering Department, 20
Universității Street , Petroșani , România
2University of Petroșani, Economic Sciences Department, 20 Universității Street, Petroșani, România
Abstract. Occupational health and safety issues (OHS) can have a
significant social impact upon the economic environment in which a
business operates. Companies which neglect the OHS topic can face risks:
low production and productivity, increased cost of accidents/absences and
many other non -quantifiable negative effects on their image and reputation.
Out of the 4 .5 million Romanian employees, a quarter work within the 680
companies covered by Directive 95/2014, i.e. those companies that will
have to show transparency and to publish periodically a non -financial
report, in addition to the financial one. This type of document will display,
besides the corporate social responsibility issues, a large volume of data on
employment policies, workforce structure and evolution, labor practices,
health management, the safety of the products and services which are
provided to consumers etc. In line with these tendencies, our paper
analyzes a representative sample of large companies which are active in
Romania and have already developed modern business practices by
drawing up and communicating non -financial reports. The paper aims to
reveal the degree of the compliance of non -financial reports with the
requirements of GRI standards and to substantiate a composite OHS index
in order to quantify the managers’ awareness towards the OHS issues.
1 Introduction
On 29 Septem ber 2014, the European Council adopted Directive 2014/95/EU on non –
financial reporting by EU public -interest entities with over 500 employees. Starting January
2017, the provisions of this directive also apply in Romania through Order s no. 1938/2016
and 28 44/2016 . A quarter of the 4 .5 million Romanian employees are work ing within the
680 companies covered by Directive 95/2014, i.e. those companies that will have to show
transparency and to publish periodically a non -financial report, in addition to the financial
one. This type of document will display, besides the corporate social responsibility issues, a
large volume of data regarding employment policies, workforce structure and evolution,
labor practices, health management, the safety of the products and services which are
provided to the consumers etc. [5]. Five years aft er the adoption of the 2014/95/EU

*Corresponding author: [anonimizat] , [anonimizat] ,
[anonimizat]

Directive, little is known about the degree of its effective implementation among active
companies with over 500 employees in Romania. Analyzing a series of relevant research
papers developed in Romania in 2013 -2019 on CSR /sustainability issues and taking into
account the content of reports and studies published by prestigious consulting firms that
have researched in this field or related fields, we found that there are currently no reliable
sources of data regarding the nu mber of companies that report non -financially in Romania.
2 Research methodology
This qualitative research starts from the establishment of a relevant database on the
consistency of OHS reporting for 14 Romanian companies operating in different branches
of activity: oil and gas industry (2); energy industry (3); the metallurgical industry (2);
chemical industry (1); food industry (2); retail trade (2); consultancy services (1);
telecommunications services (1) [7-20]. Taking into account that the total popul ation from
which this sample is drawn, made up of the total Romanian non -financially reporting
companies, can only be approximated, the sampling of convenience is an approach that can
be considered reasonable in the given context. The collection of data necessary for the
analysis of the sections dedicated to the OHS issue from the non -financial reports of the 14
companies was done online [1]. In order to substantiate a global OHS reporting index that
provides an overview of the consistency of reporting in this area, we analyzed the
information presented in the sustainability reports of the 14 selected companies and we
systematized them according to the following areas of interest [6]:
1. Managerial approach to OHS and how to develop the non -financial report.
Consideration has been given to issues such as: the content of OHS policy and its
reputation among members of its own business organization or stakeholders; the
functionality of organizational transformation principles, rules and programs to
integrate OHS issues; assimilating OHS issues among the key values that underpin
organizational culture; developing sustainability reports on the basis of international
reporting standards or on their own grids, etc.;
2. Employee representation in the OHS Committees. It i s an indispensable premise for
the creation of safe working systems by designing measures to prevent accidents at
work and occupational diseases, with the participation of those directly involved;
3. Priority Topics and Programs addressed to the OHS. The spec ific focus of the com –
panies in the sample on the conception and implementation of their own programs,
plans and indicators aimed at preventing and minimizing the risks of accidents and
professional illnesses was analyzed; planning of rigorous and systemat ic audits and
scrutiny under the same major risk avoidance objectives in the OHS;
4. Provide relevant statistical data on training sessions on specific OHS themes. An
increased awareness of personnel at all levels of the organizational hierarchy on the
issue of OHS is essential for increasing the efficiency of the activities carried out in
this field;
5. Report relevant indicators to reflect the effectiveness of OHS activity as: Late Time
Injury Rates (LTIR), Temporary Work Incapacity (TWI), Total Recordable Incident
Rate (TRIR), rate of absenteeism, Full Time Equivalents (FTE), Serious Injuries and
Fatalities (STI) etc.
3 Main results
Taking into account the 5 areas of interest mentioned above, the content analysis of
sustainability reports has been systemati zed in the form of Table 1.

Table 1. Reporting on OSH.
Company/
Field Managerial Approach /
Reporting Mode Employee representation Subjects Trainings Indicators
OMV
Petrom/
Oil & gas
industry In the HSSE Department there is a
specialized Health Management
Department responsible for the
development of the Health Strategy
and the integration of health
services and the management of all
aspects of health /
GRI For each divisional working
point there is a Committee
on He alth and Safety at
Work (CHSW/CSSM),
where there are
representatives of
employees with specific
responsibilities in the field
of health and safety Improving the assessment of
individual risks and health
risks in relation to
workplace (screening
programs, H ealth Monitor).
Promoting the concepts
”Take safety and home ” and
"Accidents can be
prevented” Promoting and improving
safety culture addressed to
12500 employees and
contractors through suited
training sessions in
Upstream Fatality: 0;
Accidents: 4;
Days lost / year for
employees: 242;
LTIR: 0,15;
TRIR: 0,61
CEZ/
Energy
industry OHS policy provides permanent
directions for action /
GRI There is a Committee on
Safety and Health at Work
(CSHW/CSSM) composed
of employee representatives
and senior management Implement annually a
prevention and protection
plan to identify and
minimize risks to employee
health and safety. Organizing and
conducting trainings and
testing in the field of OHS
and in the field of
emergency situations for
workers Accidents: 0;
Working days of sick
leave: 436/3124
Coca -Cola
HBC/
Beverages
industry The OHS policy is reflected in the
objectives set and communicated to
all organizational levels and to the
stakeholders.
Own reporting format – – Number of training hours
on occupational health and
safety: 16614 Fatality: 0;
Serious injuries: 1;
LTAs > 1 day per 100
FTE: 0,21
Accidents per million km:
6,47
Kaufland/
Retail OHS policy focuses on ensuring a
safe, risk -free work environment
inside and outside the company /
GRI At each working point, a
Health and Safety
Committee (HSC/CSSM) is
organized, which includes
workers' representatives
with specific responsibilities
in the field – Each employee benefits
from personalized
schooling according to the
position and department to
which he/she belongs Accidents: 108;
Days lost / year for
employees: 2720;
Rate of
absenteeism: 3,93%.
Telekom/
Telecommu –
nications A set of specific rules or principles
are in place that manage and dictate
the culture of the company, describe Employees are organized in
trade unions, 100% covered
by collective labor – 100% coverage of all
aspects of OHS Accidents: 0;
Number of calendar days
lost due to accidents: 530;

Company/
Field Managerial Approach /
Reporting Mode Employee representation Subjects Trainings Indicators
services how it works, and interactions with
third parties /
GRI agreements Injury rate: 0,16;
Rate of lost days: 9,7
Lidl/
Retail Assessing workplace risks for each
workstation, investigating all types
of workplace accidents, informing
employees about the causes and
consequences of these accidents,
and about prevention measures /
GRI – Measures are being taken to
improve working conditions
and reduce the risk of
accidents There are regular OHS /
Emergency training and
assessments. Accidents: 25;
Annual rate: 0,58;
Absenteeism: 401 days;
Rate of not working days:
0,064%
Azomureș/
Chemical
industry The management team continuously
monitors health and safety
indicators as well as education,
training and motivation of
employees /
Own indicators Azomure ș recognizes and
respects the civil rights of
employees of free
association and collective
negotiation in accordance
with national laws and
regulations. The key performance
indicator (KPI) ”Red
Labels ” was introduced to
identify OHS
nonconformities that need to
be resolved. There are OHS education
and training activities. Accidents: 2
Electrica
Group/
Energy
industry An organizational transformation
program is being implemented to
optimize OHS activities /
GRI Employees' representatives
are members of the Work
and Safety Committees and
are directly involved in
controlling and ensuring
working co nditions without
the risk of injury and illness Permanent controls and
audits are conducted
regarding the OHS. There is
the ”Awareness and
Accountability Program of
Electrica employees in
OHS ” The total number of hours
reported for OHS and FPF
for employees training for
2017 is 409140 hours and
includes additional
training, advanced training
and first aid training. Accidents: 16;
Fatality : 4;
Work Accidents Rate:
1,23;
Frequency Index of Work
Accidents : 2,31;
Index of severity of
accidents at work: 78,4.
Trans
Electrica/
Energy
industry There is recognition of the need to
target young energy specialists both
through practical programs and by
aligning the recruitment processes
with the available labor /
Own indicators Employees are represented
in the Committee on OHS
through union members. The members of the
Committee on OHS carried
out 6 controls, following
which 13 measures were
ordered, 8 measures being
resolved and the remaining
5 measures are in process of
being resolved. Employees are trained on
a regular basis with regard
to OHS, based on an
internal procedure drawn
up in accordance with the
law on occupational health
and safety. –

Company/
Field Managerial Approach /
Reporting Mode Employee representation Subjects Trainings Indicators
Adrem/
Consulting
Services Through the Occupational Health
and Safety Management Program
(OHSMP), priority goals and
objectives have been set and the
actions to be taken in order to
achieve them have been defined /
GRI Employees' representatives
are members of the OHS's
Internal Committee General instructions /
specific instructions at the
workplace for new
employees .
OHS instructions and
procedures have been
developed and improved. Safety training courses
and further training on up –
to-date OHS provisions
have been carried out Accidents: 0;
Lost days : 5086.
Heineken/
Beverages
industry Employee health and safety is a
daily priority, occupying an
important place in the values and
behaviors of HEINEKEN Romania
/Own indicators – – Concentration of
prevention measures on
factory activities,
expanding safety
programs on sales
operations Accidents: 3;
Frequency of accidents :
0,5
Romgaz/
Oil & gas
industry Working environment and
employee responsibility for OHS
are the most important materiality
themes identified /
GRI Workers' representatives are
members of the OHS
Committee – The number of training
hours depends on the
company's position and
the subject of the training Accidents: 6.
Injury rate: 0,097;
Days of TWI: 345;
TWI days rate: 5,58;
Absenteeism: 3,36%
Arcelor
Mittal
Galați/
Metallur –
gical
industry The Occupational Health and Safety
Management System is the
cornerstone for structuring the bases
of an integrated safety culture /
Own indicators – New and modern training
center dedicated to the ”We
Care” program. A New
OHS Leadership Program
on "Travel to Zero
Accidents" 2719 trained staff and
108760 hours in th e ”We
Care” program;
Two days of Safety
Leadership training
dedicated to top
management and trainers Accidents: 884;
Fatality: 0;
LTI: 12;
TWI to one million hours
worked: 0,74;
STI: 6.
Alro/
Metallur –
gical
industry Maintain health and safety
indicators across all units by
implementing action plans and
specific programs to protect and
improve the quality of life of
employees /
GRI There are joint health and
safety management
committees in which
workers are represented Controls on the use of
personal prote ctive
equipment and employee
compliance measures have
been stepped up Starting in 2018, Alro
proposes that all internal
leaders participate in
company awareness
classes Injury rate: 3,19;
Rate of occupational
diseases: 3,22;
Rate of lost days: 218,43;
Abse nce rate: 5748,61

The maximum points awarded for each of the five areas mentioned above, taking into
account the importance of each in forming the OHS culture and improving the practices of
reporting were the following: I1 – Managerial approach in OHS materials (30); I2 –
Representation in OHS committees (15); I3 – OHS -related topics (20); I4 – OHS training
(15); I5 – Health Reporting Employees (20). The correlated analysis of the 5 aspects of
OHS for each of t he 14 companies included in the sample of research allowed us to
substantiate the global OHS reporting indices as shown in Figure 1.

Fig. 1. Global OHS reporting indices for 14 companies in Romania.
The substantiation of the values of these indices was based on a qualitative approach
based on the authors' interpretation and explanation of the information provided by the
companies on their websites and in the sustainability reports.
4 Conclusions
Despite the fact that OHS reporting still represents an under -researched issue in Romanian
literature, we can highlight some obvious trends that emerged from our study. First of all,
subsidiaries of multinationals (such as OMV Petrom, Arcelor Mittal, Alro and many others)
play a dominant role in terms of disseminating good reporting practices from their parent
companies [2]. Secondly, since lately the OHS issues are receiving more attention, the
specifics of the sector in which a company is operating signif icantly impose a significant
impact on the value of the OHS global reporting index. Thus, industrial companies that
neglect the OHS topic can face many risks: occupational stress and hazards, increased
prevalence of accidents/absences, low production and p roductivity and other non –
quantifiable negative effects on their image and reputation as well [3]. Consequently, our
study has shown that the managers acting in these fields make significant efforts to raise
awareness of health and safety issues. Thus, bes ides the managerial approach of OHS
activities, a series of internal programs have been implemented within these companies, in
order to trigger the formation process and the strengthening of the safety culture. Thirdly,
the Romanian legislation has progres sively brought itself in line with the European
requirements, both in terms of compliance with OHS standards and in relation to non –
financial reporting obligations. This has exerted additional pressure on large companies to 60 70 100
70
55 65
40 75 80 90
75
50 80 85 100
0 20 40 60 80 100 120

increase their responsibility fo r ensuring a safe working environment while improving the
quality of their employees' lives.
Authors are aware that the above mentioned conclusions could be affected by certain
limitations. Thus, our analysis employs the qualitative content analysis method , which
implies a certain degree of subjectivity induced by the researchers themselves. Another
limitation is due to the sampling process and small number of companies included in the
study. However, taking into consideration the fact the total population of Romanian
companies which have consolidated their practices of disclosing OHS issues is believed to
be modest for the moment, authors consider that the results of their exploratory study are
enough challenging to motivate them to deepen their research ef forts on a subject which
grows constantly in interest.
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