pril 28 is World Day for Safety and Health at Work, which encourages the prevention of workplace accidents and diseases around the world. In the trade union movement, it is also Workers Memorial Day, a time to remember workers killed, injured or made ill on the job.
Every day, 6,300 people in the world die because of occupational accidents or work-related diseases—more than 2.3 million deaths per year. The cost in human life is vast and devastating, but there is also the economic burden of poor occupational safety and health (OSH) practices, which contribute to an estimated 4% of Global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually.
In the United States, there were 5,190 fatal work injuries recorded in 2021, an almost 9% increase from 2020 and the highest fatal occupational injury rate since 2016. To put those numbers in perspective, every 101 minutes, a person died from a work-related injury in 2021.
Is There Any Good News?
The data tells a sobering story, but in June 2022, the UN ILO Member States pursued historic action, collectively deciding to include safe and healthy working environment as a fundamental principle and right at work. I had the honor of being a part of the UN team who facilitated this resolution that is not only historic, but unique, as the ILO is the only tripartite organization within the UN system (meaning the decision was taken collectively by governments, employers and workers). In an age where it is hard to get parties to agree on anything, the world came together to prioritize the protection of workers and their overall well-being, with the hope of ending horrific accidents and workplace diseases once and for all.
What Does it Mean?
The decision taken at the ILO means that all member states must adhere to specific OSH Conventions No.155 and 187, which set out the general principles for the establishment of a systems approach to the management of occupational safety and health. Member states must adhere to these standards regardless of whether they have ratified these two conventions. This means countries will now have an obligation as members of the ILO to respect, promote, and realize these as fundamental rights. Governments that have not ratified Conventions 155 and 187 will now be required to report regularly on the efforts and advances made to realize the principles of the conventions, based on their membership to the ILO.
A recently published ILO report on the status of implementing a safe and healthy working environment indicates that nearly all member states have a national authority or body that is responsible for OSH and that 50% of member states have a national policy on OSH. The report also indicated that 70% of member states have laws and/or policies that protect the right of workers to remove themselves from a dangerous situation without retaliation. While these are good starting points, the report also showed that only a third of countries have up-to-date national OSH programs. Without the ability to execute OSH programs on the ground, this monumental action for change will not realize its potential to improve the lives of millions of workers around the world. In order to do this, governments, workers, and employers organizations should be working vigorously to put this action into practice.
What Should Governments be Doing?
As governments begin having discussions on implementation, it will be important to involve workers and employers in the discussion on the fundamental conventions (155 and or 187) at the national level. Governments should look initially at Convention 187, which is the promotional framework instrument with two key aims: 1) the development of a preventative safety and health culture in national agenda; and 2) the application of a systems approach to managing OSH at the national level. The convention incorporates these basic principles into the three foundational concepts of instruments: i) a national policy; ii) a national system; and iii) a national program on OSH in which all other OSH-discussions (including on Convention 155) can take place.
Convention 187 has the advantage of focusing on progressively achieving a safe and healthy working environment, allowing a step-by-step approach. Review of the relevant conventions with all parties will be essential.
What Should Employers be Doing?
Employers will be impacted by the ILO actions and need to be ahead of the game when preparing for implementation. The International Organization of Employers (IOE) puts out critical guidance for employers around the globe on the impact of this action. Countries are now entering into national debates on the implication of the new ILO fundamental principle, on national laws, interpretation of existing national laws, and possible law reforms—as well as on possible ratifications of Conventions 155 and 187. It will be critical that the employer voices are part of the solution.
What Should Workers be Doing?
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) is using Workers Memorial Day to encourage its members to focus on ILO Conventions 155 and 187, which can provide backing for union organizing through the creation of workplace safety committees and enhancing worker safety representatives in the workplace. ITUC also indicates that working environments can be improved through the right to refuse dangerous work, enhanced personal protective equipment and the creation of national tripartite health and safety bodies with worker representation.
Realizing the Right to a Safe and Healthy Working Environment
It is symbolically appropriate that the commemorations of World Day for Safety and Health at Work and Workers Memorial Day are taking place during the same week as the 10-year anniversary of Rana Plaza, a collapse of a Bangladesh factory that is one of the worst industrial accidents in the garment industry ever—killing 1,138 workers and injuring thousands more.
It is my hope that by implementing OSH as a fundamental principle and right at work, we will end tragedies like Rana Plaza once and for all. The execution will not be easy, but I am heartened by the collective commitment of governments, workers, and employers to implement this historic action of respecting, promoting, and realizing the right to a safe and healthy working environment throughout the world. Millions of workers lives deserve and depend on it.
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Historic UN Action Bears Fruit for Safety and Health at Work
Photo via iStock, courtesy of Martha E. Newton.
April 27, 2023
Thanks to a historic resolution passed by the ILO last year there has been progress in redressing accidents in the workplace. UN ILO former Deputy Director-General Martha E. Newton explains the significance of the resolution and what that means for organizational best practice today.
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pril 28 is World Day for Safety and Health at Work, which encourages the prevention of workplace accidents and diseases around the world. In the trade union movement, it is also Workers Memorial Day, a time to remember workers killed, injured or made ill on the job.
Every day, 6,300 people in the world die because of occupational accidents or work-related diseases—more than 2.3 million deaths per year. The cost in human life is vast and devastating, but there is also the economic burden of poor occupational safety and health (OSH) practices, which contribute to an estimated 4% of Global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually.
In the United States, there were 5,190 fatal work injuries recorded in 2021, an almost 9% increase from 2020 and the highest fatal occupational injury rate since 2016. To put those numbers in perspective, every 101 minutes, a person died from a work-related injury in 2021.
Is There Any Good News?
The data tells a sobering story, but in June 2022, the UN ILO Member States pursued historic action, collectively deciding to include safe and healthy working environment as a fundamental principle and right at work. I had the honor of being a part of the UN team who facilitated this resolution that is not only historic, but unique, as the ILO is the only tripartite organization within the UN system (meaning the decision was taken collectively by governments, employers and workers). In an age where it is hard to get parties to agree on anything, the world came together to prioritize the protection of workers and their overall well-being, with the hope of ending horrific accidents and workplace diseases once and for all.
What Does it Mean?
The decision taken at the ILO means that all member states must adhere to specific OSH Conventions No.155 and 187, which set out the general principles for the establishment of a systems approach to the management of occupational safety and health. Member states must adhere to these standards regardless of whether they have ratified these two conventions. This means countries will now have an obligation as members of the ILO to respect, promote, and realize these as fundamental rights. Governments that have not ratified Conventions 155 and 187 will now be required to report regularly on the efforts and advances made to realize the principles of the conventions, based on their membership to the ILO.
A recently published ILO report on the status of implementing a safe and healthy working environment indicates that nearly all member states have a national authority or body that is responsible for OSH and that 50% of member states have a national policy on OSH. The report also indicated that 70% of member states have laws and/or policies that protect the right of workers to remove themselves from a dangerous situation without retaliation. While these are good starting points, the report also showed that only a third of countries have up-to-date national OSH programs. Without the ability to execute OSH programs on the ground, this monumental action for change will not realize its potential to improve the lives of millions of workers around the world. In order to do this, governments, workers, and employers organizations should be working vigorously to put this action into practice.
What Should Governments be Doing?
As governments begin having discussions on implementation, it will be important to involve workers and employers in the discussion on the fundamental conventions (155 and or 187) at the national level. Governments should look initially at Convention 187, which is the promotional framework instrument with two key aims: 1) the development of a preventative safety and health culture in national agenda; and 2) the application of a systems approach to managing OSH at the national level. The convention incorporates these basic principles into the three foundational concepts of instruments: i) a national policy; ii) a national system; and iii) a national program on OSH in which all other OSH-discussions (including on Convention 155) can take place.
Convention 187 has the advantage of focusing on progressively achieving a safe and healthy working environment, allowing a step-by-step approach. Review of the relevant conventions with all parties will be essential.
What Should Employers be Doing?
Employers will be impacted by the ILO actions and need to be ahead of the game when preparing for implementation. The International Organization of Employers (IOE) puts out critical guidance for employers around the globe on the impact of this action. Countries are now entering into national debates on the implication of the new ILO fundamental principle, on national laws, interpretation of existing national laws, and possible law reforms—as well as on possible ratifications of Conventions 155 and 187. It will be critical that the employer voices are part of the solution.
What Should Workers be Doing?
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) is using Workers Memorial Day to encourage its members to focus on ILO Conventions 155 and 187, which can provide backing for union organizing through the creation of workplace safety committees and enhancing worker safety representatives in the workplace. ITUC also indicates that working environments can be improved through the right to refuse dangerous work, enhanced personal protective equipment and the creation of national tripartite health and safety bodies with worker representation.
Realizing the Right to a Safe and Healthy Working Environment
It is symbolically appropriate that the commemorations of World Day for Safety and Health at Work and Workers Memorial Day are taking place during the same week as the 10-year anniversary of Rana Plaza, a collapse of a Bangladesh factory that is one of the worst industrial accidents in the garment industry ever—killing 1,138 workers and injuring thousands more.
It is my hope that by implementing OSH as a fundamental principle and right at work, we will end tragedies like Rana Plaza once and for all. The execution will not be easy, but I am heartened by the collective commitment of governments, workers, and employers to implement this historic action of respecting, promoting, and realizing the right to a safe and healthy working environment throughout the world. Millions of workers lives deserve and depend on it.
