Local councils now have a set of guidelines to follow to ensure workplace health and safety. 

It is hoped that the guidelines will encourage councils to be more vigilant when awarding work contracts to employers. 

The guidelines focus on how to manage workplace stress, ensure the safety of workers with a disability, protect the public from hazardous workplaces and construction inconveniences and councils' role in contracts involving health and safety measures. 

They also explain how - and why - councils can evaluate risk, introduce health and safety policies, train their workers in health and safety measures and ensure adequate infrastructure (e.g. Emergency exits, warning signs or protective clothing) is in place. 

Local councils Minister Helena Dalli launched the guidelines this afternoon. She hoped councils could act as catalysts to change the "anything goes" mentality that remained among some employers. 

Dr Dalli was accompanied by Local Councils Association president Marc Sant, who welcomed the guidelines but pointed out that many local councils lacked staff adequately trained in evaluating health and safety risks. 

He suggested having teams of specially-trained staff across the different regions of Malta and Gozo to carry out such evaluations. 

Operational Health and Safety Authority CEO Mark Gauci noted that it was in councils' interest to ensure that residents' health and safety were safeguarded.  

A copy of the guidelines is available for download on the OHSA website.