The Role of Workers’ Representative and OHS Performance: An Interpretative Framework

In the context of OH&S, the positive role of workers’ representation, involvement and consultation for better OH&S management arrangements is largely discussed in literature; however, the focus is typically on personal traits. The objective of this paper is to expand the scope of previous studies by exploring the relationship between OH&S organizational maturity and the role of workers’ representatives, and consequently the effect on OH&S performance. To this end, a structured questionnaire was administered to a large-scale sample of Italian representatives. Results suggest four types of participative models of organization/representative at different levels of maturity and show clear correlation with OH&S performance.