Local Governments as Missing Actors in Occupational Safety Governance

Occupational safety and health (OSH) outcomes have been increasingly influenced not only by legal frameworks and workplace-level practices, but also by the governance capacity of institutions that act at the local or regional levels. This study aims to explore the role of local governments in multi-level OSH governance systems, which is an important knowledge gap in safety science literature where local governments have often been viewed as peripheral or supplementary actors. A qualitative comparative study approach is used in this study, with documentary study findings from Germany, Serbia, and Türkiye aimed at exploring how OSH governance influences local governments in OSH prevention, coordination, and crisis management. The findings of this study have revealed that European countries with multi-level governance systems that integrate local governments using formal mandates, coordination mechanisms, or preventive infrastructure have been more effective in OSH prevention, coordination, and crisis management. However, in the case of Türkiye, there is a highly centralized OSH system with limited integration of local governments, which is likely to have limited OSH prevention-oriented practices. The study on Serbia reveals that there is limited integration of local governments in OSH governance in the country, but with limited institutionalization. The findings of this study have revealed that local governments have been an important but not well-integrated part of OSH governance. A key recommendation of this study concerns the need of developing local institutional capacity in OSH governance.