The XIX World Congress on Safety
and Health at Work to be held in Istanbul
on 11-15 September provides a major forum to discuss the latest safety and
health challenges in the world of work. ILO Online spoke with Seiji Machida,
Director of the ILO’s Programme on Safety and Health at Work and the
Environment (SafeWork), about the Congress and the challenges ahead.
A new ILO report “Global Trends and Challenges
on Occupational Safety and Health” says the number of fatal accidents at work
is falling. What is the reason for this?
Seiji Machida: It is notable that
the overall number of fatal accidents as well as the fatal accident incidence
rate has fallen over the last ten years. The reason for this is because, over
the past decades, significant advances have been made in occupational safety
and health (OSH),
as many more countries have realized its importance and the need to give higher
priority to preventing accidents and ill-health at work. While this is good
news, we have to acknowledge that an estimated 2.34 million people died from
work-related accidents or diseases in 2008. Such a high number is simply not
acceptable today, as it equates to an average of more than 6,300 work-related
deaths every day, around the world.
What do you expect as an outcome of
the World Congress?
Seiji Machida: The XIX World
Congress on Safety and Health at Work, organized jointly by the ILO, the
International Social Security Association (ISSA) and the Ministry of Labour and
Social Security of the Republic
of Turkey, will discuss
ways to build a culture of prevention for a healthy and safe future in the
world of work. Organized every three years since 1955, these congresses provide
a forum for awareness raising and the exchange of knowledge, good practices and
experiences for all occupational safety and health specialists, employers and
managers, trade unions, public administration, insurance and social security
professionals, manufacturers and importers, as well as anyone with an interest
in safety and health at work. We do hope that all participants learn something
new and share good practices. And, perhaps most importantly, that the
participants will continue to strengthen their practice upon return to their
countries and companies after the Congress.
Can you give us a concrete example
of a more effective occupational accidents and diseases prevention strategy?
Seiji Machida: The question remains
how a preventative safety and health culture can be achieved in practice at the
national level to protect all workers – across all employment sectors. For
safety and health programmes to be successful at the enterprise level, it is
essential to have top management commitment and the active participation of
workers. Similarly, at the national level, we also need high level commitment
to OSH and the
active participation of all stakeholders, particularly social partners
(employers and workers and their organizations) in the development of effective
national strategies and programmes. With such commitment and the guidance of
ILO international labour standards, all workplaces and all countries should be
able to find effective ways to improve their prevention programmes on a
continual basis.
What are some of the new
occupational safety and health risks that are emerging today?
Seiji Machida: New and emerging
risks in the world of work have been the focus of much attention in recent
years. For example, modern manufacturing processes using nanotechnology are
found increasingly all over the world. It is expected that by 2020
approximately 20 per cent of all goods will be partly based on the use of
nanotechnology. Unfortunately, the long-term impact of these new materials on
human health and the environment remains largely unknown. Emerging forms of
employment, such as outsourcing, temporary and part-time work, have inevitably
had an impact on working conditions and often contributed to increased
work-related stress, depression, alcohol and drug abuse, and in some cases
suicide, which can be more acute during a global economic crisis.
Furthermore, green jobs, which are
particularly being promoted in recent years, need to be examined carefully from
a safety and health perspective to ensure that new types of work are properly
assessed and preventive measures are taken. For example, work related to wind
power generators needs safety measures for work at heights in construction and
maintenance.
What is the ILO doing to react to
these new challenges?
Seiji Machida: As workplace
conditions are constantly changing, safety and health measures need to be
adapted in parallel. Despite progress with respect to the management of OSH in many countries, there is still an urgent need to
reinforce national OSH
systems and programmes reflecting the principles laid down in the relevant
international labour standards of the ILO. This is why the Governing Body of
this Organization adopted a plan of action in March 2011 aimed at achieving
widespread ratification and the effective implementation of the ILO’s key OSH instruments. More
efforts are also being made by the ILO and its constituents to better integrate
OSH within
Decent Work Country Programmes (DWCPs), which can be seen as the main vehicle
for delivery of ILO support to countries.
What are the main strategic goals
for the future?
Seiji Machida: One important task
is to continue promoting a global preventative safety and health culture. We
want safety and health to be placed high on national agendas and to increase
awareness and understanding of the purpose and usefulness of a systems approach
to OSH
management. A preventative safety and health culture involves all stakeholders
responsible for the purpose of protecting workers health and preventing
occupational accidents and diseases. Secondly, the plan of action that I
mentioned before, aims at improving the situation at national and workplace
levels on the basis of the principles of good practices found in ILO standards.
Special attention should be given to particularly hazardous sectors such as
construction, mining and agriculture, to the special needs of workers in the
informal economy, and to the needs of small and medium sized enterprises
(SMEs). Thirdly, we will continue the process of capacity building, enabling
national authorities, employers’ and workers’ organizations to develop or
further improve their national occupational safety and health systems.
The ILO recently published a new
list of occupational diseases. What is new about this list?
Seiji Machida: The new list is the
revised version of the list annexed to the List of Occupational Diseases
Recommendation (No.194, 2002). It was revised by a tripartite committee of
experts taking into account recent scientific and technological development. It
is an international reference for the prevention, recording, notification and
compensation of occupational diseases. This revised list for the first time
includes mental and behavioural disorders and post-traumatic stress; a very
important step in the recognition of the direct link between the exposure to
psychosocial risks at the workplace and mental disorders.
Are businesses cutting back on
financing for occupational safety and health in times of crisis?
Seiji Machida: Indeed, some
companies may think that cutting back on safety and health will make them save
money in the short-term, but if they cut back now, they will pay the price in
the future. It has been clearly demonstrated that the overall costs of
accidents and ill-health are often much greater than immediately perceived.
Conversely, investing in safety and health reduces both direct and indirect
costs, absenteeism and improves worker morale, reduces insurance premia and
improves performance and productivity. Therefore, the current situation should
not be an excuse to reduce efforts in this field. Prevention is good for
business. In the long run, investment in the physical and mental health of
workers pays off. As we work longer than previous generations we have to make
sure that our well-being will permit us to do so. If we fail to invest in a
healthy workforce now we will lack a healthy workforce in the future.
Attempting to save money in this area will also cause an additional financial
burden for, for example, national social security systems.
What are the next steps for the ILO
to cope with the upcoming OSH
challenges?
Seiji Machida: Through its
technical cooperation activities, the ILO will provide training in
reinforcement of national OSH
systems including the improvement of recording and notification of occupational
accidents and diseases. There is a lack of reliable statistical data regarding
the effectiveness of national OSH
systems and the number and nature of work-related accidents and diseases. Our
objective is to support the improvement of data collection systems and make it
usable inter alia for measuring progress in preventive strategies both at
national and enterprise levels. Our awareness-raising activities will include
the preparation of information materials in different languages, for the annual
“World Day on Safety and Health at Work” campaign and, of course, the
organization of World Congresses with our key partners.
The XIX World Congress on Safety
and Health at Work takes place 11-15 September 2011 in Istanbul, Turkey.
Held every three years, it is the largest global prevention event for
occupational safety and health policy-makers and experts. The XIX World
Congress is co-organized by the International Labour Organization and the
International Social Security Association, in collaboration with the Ministry
of Labour and Social Security of the Republic
of Turkey, on the theme
"Building a Global Culture of Prevention for a Healthy and Safe
Future". www.safety2011turkey.org
Source: ILO. 12 September 2011
