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Labour protection involves the safety and health of employed individuals. It has to be one of the priorities for any employer, as employees are a resource to be cared about and made satisfied. In Latvia, regardless of the requirements of law, the State Labour Inspectorate revealed 10 815 violations of the labour protection legislation in 2014. Besides, in the period 2010-2014, the number of accidents at work annually increased, reaching 1763 in 2014, of which 213 accidents led to serious health disorders, while 41 individuals died. To reduce the risk and cost of accidents, labour protection responsibilities could be assigned to outsourcing providers. The legislation of the Republic of Latvia provides that since 2006 outsourcing services may be provided by competent institutions (the institutions that perform the internal control of the work environment at an organisation on a contractual basis). A similar model has been introduced in a number of European countries many years ago. The use of outsourcing services allows enterprise managers to focus on their basic business and save funds, as there is transition from capital investment to fixed cost. The key advantage of use of labour protection outsourcing services is the possibility to receive professional services at lower costs than if hiring a labour protection specialist of high level. The number of competent institutions increased in Latvia - from 34 in 2008 to 67 in 2016. One can expect that their number is going to continue increasing, as an increasing focus is placed on labour protection and the demand for labour protection services rises owing to an increase in the number of enterprises. Of the competent institutions, 65% are located in Riga where competition makes the institutions provide such services at lower prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Harmless working environment and safe working conditions are an essential provision in labour relations. Both international documents and national legal acts define that working place and working environment, for the safety of which the employer is responsible, as well as the labour protection system established in the state. In those cases, where an employee has perished in an incident caused by a collapsed building, the employer's responsibility for the stability of the building must be established. The article examines instances when the employer and when the parties involved in the construction process are responsible for the stability of the building, as well as when it should be qualified as a disaster in the meaning of Civil Protection Law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The empirical study focuses on research of teacher's psychosocial risk factors and updating problems of labour protection in Latvia. Responsibility, large workload, solving pupils' emotional problems, conflicts with parents, control of management - these are just a few of psychosocial risk factors that affect the work of teachers. The study found that high psychological stress results not only in teaching capacity and quality, but also leads to chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, frustration. This leads to health problems and absenteeism. Teacher's deteriorating ability of work has a direct impact on the teaching process and students' learning outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The question concerning the necessity to study the problems of labour protection in Russia as part of social science is discussed in the article. The author provides the results of the undertaken sociological research on the issue. The study was conducted among university students undertaking practical training at the enterprises of electric power industry. It should be noted that this industry has always taken seriously the issues of labour protection and safety. The survey revealed positive and negative aspects related to the labor protection at such enterprises and additionally the moments associated with the preparation of university specialists for this sector in terms of the research problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]