Occupational health and safety in a sustainable development approach: The case of Moroccan companies

Purpose of the study. The study focuses primarily but not exclusively on Moroccan big, medium and small companies in order to collect information about their engagements in sustainable development by considering the occupational Health and Safety management system as a basis for this development approach. Method. Our work was developed on the basis of a questionnaire designed by the Association for the practice of sustainable development and adapted to the Moroccan context. This questionnaire includes 23 items grouped under four headings: company's strategy, company's corporate relations with external partners, information and training. For a better assimilation of this concept, a definition of sustainable development according to the Brunch land report was attached as an appendix to the questionnaire. Results. The response rate of the survey reached 75.4%, with a sample of 203 companies. The results were analyzed in two ways: distinguishing between small and medium companies, with less than 250 employees, and big companies with more than 250 employees; separating companies according to their activities. Analysis of the results showed that the occupational health and safety function is often (69.3%) attached to the Human Resources Department. This requires technical and organizational interaction between the occupational health and safety and the human resources managers. Conclusion. There is a strong involvement of Moroccan companies in occupational health and safety. However, the occupational health and safety function is often entrusted to a human resources manager, which requires additional training to develop his technical and organizational skills in this area. This survey describes the points where the differences are the greatest between small, medium and large companies. (C) 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.