Workers' safety policy for industrial sectors in the offing:

The government has initiated a move to formulate a national occupational health and safety policy for industrial sectors aiming to ensure workers' safety in the face of frequent disasters in the country's billion-dollar garment sector, officials said.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) has already prepared a draft on the proposed policy, which is expected to get the government's nod within a month, they added.

The Tazreen and Rana Plaza disasters that claimed more than 1200 workers and injured several others highly forced to press the demand for a national occupational and health safety policy for all the industrial sectors, they mentioned.

"The main purpose of the safety policy is to ensure workplace and occupational health safety in all formal and informal sectors to gradually reduce the death, injury and other causalities," MoLE Secretary Mikail Shipar told the FE.

Earlier, there was no such policy which is now a must for the industries, he said adding it is also necessary to formulate national standards on safety.

The government will formulate a national action plan within six months after the policy gets approval mainly to implement the policy, he further said.

Replying to a question Mr Shipar said a national plan of action has been taken only for the garment industry, while the latest would cover all the sectors.

According to the draft policy, all laws related to occupational health and safety will be scrutinised and updated if necessary in each five years.

The draft also highlighted the stakeholders-government, owners association, trade union, employers and management authority and workers' responsibility.

The government will identify the risky sectors on priority basis, develop and implement national policy and legal framework and take work plan to implement them and preserve all the information including the number of work related diseases, accidents, injured, death and compensation.

The draft also recommended immediate necessary steps for some sectors like ship breaking, construction, garment, chemical, rice mill, re-rolling mill and transportation sectors where accidents occur frequently.

Proper treatment and compensation after any accident, rehabilitation of the injured workers at workplace, arrangement to identify work-related diseases, occupational health problems and periodic medical examinations of workers are recommended to be done by the owners association, officials added.

It also emphasised on creation of safety experts to ensure safe workplace and occupational health surveillance to identify occupational diseases, they added.

Source: the financial express. 15 August 2013

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/index.php?ref=MjBfMDhfMTVfMTNfMV85MF8xNzk4Njg=

We made it! – Global Breakthrough as Retail Brands sign up to Bangladesh Factory Safety Deal

The world’s leading retail labels commit to the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh before the midnight deadline. The Accord now covers more than 1000 Bangladeshi garment factories. Implementation starts now!

IndustriALL Global Union and UNI Global Union in a powerful alliance with leading NGOs, Clean Clothes Campaign and Workers Rights Consortium have changed the rules of the game for workers in Bangladesh. We welcome the decision of the companies who have signed up to the Accord for acting responsibly in the light of the Rana Plaza tragedy. Forty-eight hours ago H&M started the ball rolling and we now have the major global household brands on board.

The following companies have signed up: H&M, Inditex, C&A, PVH, Tchibo, Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Primark, El Corte Inglés, jbc, Mango, Carrefour, KiK, Helly Hansen, G-Star, Aldi, New Look, Mothercare, Loblaws, Sainsbury’s, Benetton, N Brown Group, Stockmann, WE Europe, Esprit, Rewe, Next, Lidl, Hess Natur, Switcher, Abercrombie & Fitch, Bonmarche, John Lewis, Charles Vögele, V&D, Otto Group, s.Oliver.

IndustriALL Global Union General Secretary, Jyrki Raina said,

The companies who signed up are to be applauded. H&M showed the way by being the first to sign this week. We will not close the door on brands who want to join the Accord after the deadline but we will be forging ahead with the implementation plan from today. Those who want to join later will not be in a position to influence decisions already made. The train moves on and these companies will drive the process – there can be no uncommitted passengers because the stakes are too high. We are talking about improving the working conditions and lives of some of the most exploited workers in the world, earning $38 a month in dangerous conditions.

UNI Global Union General Secretary, Philip Jennings said,

We made it! This Accord is a turning point. We are putting in place rules that mark the end of the race to the bottom in the global supply chain.

Commenting on the no-shows Jennings said,

Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, is out of step. By not signing up, the Walmart brand sinks to a new low. We will make progress without them.

In agreeing to the binding programme of fire and building safety reforms based on independent inspections, worker-led health and safety committees and union access to factories, signatories commit to underwrite improvements in dangerous factories and properly confront fire safety and structural problems. Importantly the Accord grants workers the right to refuse dangerous work, in line with ILO Convention 155.

Contacts:

Tom Grinter, IndustriALL, Mobile: +41 79 79 693 44 99, TGrinter@industriALL-Union.org

Richard Elliott, UNI Global Union, Mobile: +41 79 794 9709, richard.elliott@uniglobalunion.org

Source: 16 May 2013

http://www.industriall-union.org/we-made-it-global-breakthrough-as-retail-brands-sign-up-to-bangladesh-factory-safety-deal

ILO welcomes accord on Building and Fire Safety in Bangladesh:

The ILO stands ready to provide appropriate support to the agreement signed by international fashion retailers along with other companies and trade unions to prevent workplace disasters.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) welcomes the Accord on Building and Fire Safety, the support of international trade unions and apparel brands and retailers for this initiative, as well as further support it may receive.

The need for urgent improvement in workplace safety requires the industry to work together to implement a scalable and transparent plan of action that supports the vital role of government and employer and worker organizations in Bangladesh.

The ILO stands ready to provide appropriate support to this initiative in response to the requests of the signatory parties, to help ensure effective implementation and coordination with national organizations.

Source: ILO.  14 May 2013

http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/activities/statements-speeches/WCMS_213295/lang--en/index.htm?shared_from=media-mail  

Workplace safety: Conclusions of the ILO's high level mission to Bangladesh

Joint statement issued by the tripartite partners at the conclusion of the ILO's high-level mission sent to Dhaka, Bangladesh, following the Rana Plaza Building collapse.

The tripartite partners (Government, employers and workers) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) express their great sadness at the immense loss of life and serious injuries caused by the collapse of the Rana Plaza Building in Savar on April 24 2013, as well as the recent factory fires at Tazreen Fashions Limited and Smart Export Garments. All partners extend their condolences to the bereaved families of the victims and convey our sympathy to those injured due to these terrible events.

From 1-4 May, a high level delegation of the ILO, led by Deputy Director General for Field Operations and Partnerships, Mr. Gilbert Houngbo, visited Bangladesh to convey the solidarity of the ILO with those affected by these tragic events, the partners from government, labour, and industry, and to the nation as a whole. The Mission engaged with the tripartite partners and other stakeholders to identify what needs to be done to prevent any such future tragedies.

The tripartite partners stand united in their resolve to do everything possible to prevent further tragedy. In this respect, the tripartite partners and the ILO have agreed on the necessity to develop an action plan focusing on the following short and medium term steps:

Submission to Parliament, during its next session, which is expected to be called in June 2013, of a labour law reform package, that considers inputs of the tripartite partners and that would improve protection, in law and practice, for the fundamental rights to freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, as well as occupational safety and health.

Assess by the end of 2013 the structural building safety and fire safety of all active export-oriented ready-made garment factories in Bangladesh, and initiate remedial actions, including relocation of unsafe factories. The tripartite partners call on the ILO to assist in the mobilisation of the technical and financial resources required to undertake the assessment.

The tripartite partners call on the ILO to launch a skills and training programme for workers who sustained injuries in the recent tragic events at Tazreen Fashions Ltd., Smart Export Garments and Rana Plaza that resulted in disability. In addition, BGMEA and BKMEA are to redeploy the RMG workers that were rendered unemployed as well as rehabilitated workers as was emphasized by the Honourable Prime Minister of Bangladesh.

Recruit, within 6 months, 200 additional inspectors by the Government and ensure that, the Department of the Chief Inspector of Factories and Establishments will have been upgraded to a Directorate with an annual regular budget allocation adequate to enable 

i) the recruitment of a minimum of 800 inspectors and 

ii) the development of the infrastructure required for their proper functioning.

Implement, in full, the National Tripartite Plan of Action on Fire Safety in the RMG Industry in Bangladesh, and extend its scope to include structural integrity of buildings to improve health, occupational and structural safety and other vulnerable sectors, to be identified in consultation with the relevant stakeholders.

The tripartite partners call upon the Better Work joint management (ILO/IFC) to meet immediately after the adoption of the labour law, assuming the law reform package adopted would constitute improved protection, in law and practice, for the fundamental rights to freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, as well as occupational safety and health and progress on trade union registration would continue.

The action plan will include a follow-up mechanism to measure in 6 months time, progress made in the implementation of the measures announced today.

Safety must be given the highest consideration by the Government, employers and workers in Bangladesh. Those responsible for the tragic events that have occurred in Bangladesh over the past 6 months shall be held accountable. Unless lawful actions are taken at the earliest more lives may be lost in preventable industrial accidents. The tripartite partners therefore resolved to increase their efforts to provide every single worker in Bangladesh with a safe work place, and to ensure workers’ rights and representation, regardless of whether that work place may be a garment factory, a retail shop or a bank. The ILO expresses its appreciation for the resolve of the tripartite partners.

The tripartite partners and the ILO acknowledge that the challenges are daunting but believe that, if international buyers and brands take increased responsibility for improving working conditions and safety and health and with the active support of development partners and donors, safety can and must be improved in all workplaces throughout Bangladesh.

Source: ILO. 4 May 2013

http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/activities/statements-speeches/WCMS_212463/lang--en/index.htm?shared_from=media-mail

Statement from the Maquiladora Health and Safety Support Network On the Bangladesh Factory Fires and What’s Needed to Prevent Them

December 8, 2012

This will appear as a “Letter from the Coordinator” in the December 2012 issue of the MHSSN newsletter, Border/Line Health & Safety. Garrett Brown, MPH, CIH, is the MHSSN Coordinator and the Network’s website is www.igc.org/mhssn .

Letter from the Coordinator

Words fail at times like this – another garment factory fire in Bangladesh; 112 dead and 150 injured; another round of despair and anguish for the workers and their families; another round of denials by international garment brands that they bear any responsibility; another round of promises by the brands and their contractors that they will “do better” while refusing to acknowledge that it is their “profits first and foremost” production system that has led to fire after fire after fire.

At least 600 garment workers have been killed – with hundreds more injured, some disabled for life – in factory fires in Bangladesh since 2006. In September 2012, 289 garment workers were killed in a garment factory fire in Pakistan, with scores more injured.

Yet everyone knows exactly the cause of these fires: large quantities of poorly kept flammable materials; damaged or overloaded electrical systems; absent or completely inadequate fire suppression equipment; and non-existent or unimplemented emergency action and evacuation plans. But the people who control these supply chains – the brands – refuse to take any meaningful action to keep from regularly killing the people who make their products and their profits.

The root cause of these fires is a supply chain that places priority on the brands’ “iron triangle” of the lowest price/the highest quality/the fastest delivery from contractors; at the same time that contractors are provided with ever-shrinking, razor-thin profit margins by the brands; while government regulation is made meaningless by corruption and lack of resources; and garment workers are so desperate for work that they cannot refuse any job, no matter how dangerous. Corporate greed and corruption literally kill.

The garment industry’s global supply chain of death-traps is a crisis for all involved – a crisis for workers, for contract manufacturers, for international brands, for governments in the developing world, for the ever-expanding “corporate social responsibility” (CSR) industry, and for the occupational health and safety profession. See the extended “Quotes of the Month” for the perspective of each level of the supply chain. It is a crisis for workers because they are forced by poverty and hunger to go to work every day knowing that they may be burned alive.

It is a crisis for the contractor manufacturers who are denied by their brand clients theresources needed to upgrade their facilities, pay decent wages and still make an “acceptable” profit – so they take “unacceptable risks” with the lives and livelihoods of their work force.

It is a crisis for the brands because their reputations are, or should be, in tatters, and there will come a point when their customers will think twice about buying their products and any employees with a conscience will look for another employer.

It is a crisis for governments in the developing world where more and more of the world’s consumer products manufacturing is being done as they lack the resources (human, financial and technical) and the political will to protect their own citizens.

It is a crisis for CSR because the endless factory fires are proof positive that “corporate social responsibility” is a fake and fraud – all the codes of conduct, all the “independent” monitors, all the “social audits,” and all the CSR consultants and conferences have failed completely in the global garment industry.

It is a crisis for the occupational health and safety profession because it is being drawn into “certifying” working conditions in global supply chains. The Pakistani garment factory that killed 300 workers had been “certified” as safe by Social Accounting International auditors. Apple supplier Foxconn, whose factories have had aluminum dust explosions immediately after inspections, boasted of “certification” under the OHSMS 18000 scheme.

As long as the OHS profession allows these charlatans to profit from meaningless certifications and the resulting worker deaths, the profession will bear an inescapable measure of responsibility. There is a growing recognition of this, such as the statement released by the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) after the Bangladesh fire. “It’s not enough to condemn local factory owners for these conditions and to expect long term change,” declared Thomas Cecich, CSP, CIH, Vice President for Professional Affairs and chair of the Center for Safety and Health Sustainability. “The corporations that source supply chain products, as well as their stakeholders, have tremendous power to influence the conditions in which supply chain workers operate.”

As our Network has pointed out repeatedly for many years, the factory fires and unsafe/unhealthy conditions in garment, electronics, and toy supply chains will continue unabated unless two things happen:

1. the near-universal “sweatshop business model” described above must change so that life safety issues and workers’ health an safety actually come first in deeds as well as in damage-control public relations statements; and
2. workers must be incorporated into plant-level health and safety programs, and be authorized, trained and empowered to play a meaningful role in identifying and correcting hazards – without reprisals and discrimination by their employers.

Perhaps the only ray of hope in this bleak panorama is the effort by a coalition of Bangladesh unions and international workers’ rights organizations – outlined in our July 2012 newsletter [hyperlink] – to establish an independent, competent fire safety program that would be transparent, involve workers as key actors, and actually inspect and require hazard correction in garment factories.

Four brands are required to initiate the project in Bangladesh. Two have signed on – PVH (Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and other brands) and the German brand Tchibo – but two more are needed. In September, after almost a year of negotiations, The Gap pulled out of talks and declared that it would set up its own program without almost all the elements of the program agreed to by PVH and Tchibo.

One way to remember the latest dead and injured in Bangladesh, and try to prevent more deaths, is to join with others around the world in demanding that the international brands step up to the plate with the proposed fire safety plan. Specifically you can add your voice in a campaign to convince The Gap to make good on its promises via the international letter campaign at http://www.cleanclothes.org/urgent-actions/gap-appeal .

For further information and background on the factory fires, please see:

• Clean Clothes Campaign: http://www.cleanclothes.org/news/bangladesh-factoryfire-brands-accused-of-criminal-negligence
• Garrett Brown, Corporate Social Responsibility; What is it good for?: http://mhssn.igc.org/CSR_BangladeshFires_ISHN_May2011.pdf
• Garrett Brown, Fashion Kills: Industrial Manslaughter in the global supply chain:http://mhssn.igc.org/EHSToday_FashionKills_Sept2010.pdf

Quotes of the Month from the Bangladesh factory fire

I won’t believe Walmart entirely if they say they did not know of this at all. That is because even if I am subcontracted for a Walmart deal, those subcontracted factories still need to be certified by Walmart. You can skirt the rules for one or two odd times if it is for a very small quantity, but no decent quantity of work can be done without the client’s knowledge and permission. 

- Annisul Huq, former president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and

Exporters Association, quoted by Reuters news service on November 28, 2012.

The buyers write to us to improve working conditions. We asked them to raise prices by 25 cents per clothing unit that would go to workers’ welfare. They refused, citing the financial downturn in their countries.

- Mikail Shiper, a senior official in Bangladesh’s Ministry of Labor and

Employment, quoted in “Bangladesh: How rules went astray,” The Wall Street Journal, December 5, 2012.

It was my fault. But nobody told me that there was no emergency exit, which could be made accessible from outside. Nobody even advised me to install one like that, apart from the existing ones. I could have done it. But nobody ever suggested I do it.

- Factory owner Delwar Hossain quoted in the Dhaka, Bangladesh, The Daily Star newspaper, November 29, 2012.

These factories should be shut down, but who will do that? Any good government inspector who wants to act tough against such rogue factories would be removed from office. Who will take that risk? [Kalpona Akter, Executive Director of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity]…These factories should be closed, but it is not an easy task. We need to follow a protracted legal battle. Always there is pressure because the owners are influential. They can manage everything. [anonymous Dhaka fire official].

- quoted in “Bangladesh Factory Where Dozens Died Was Illegal,” Associated

Press, December 7, 2012.

“We want the owner to reopen the factory as soon as possible or pay us a few months of salary because we have nowhere else to go right at this moment,” said Hasan, a worker who escaped the fire and uses only one name…”I need to recover soon. I need money immediately. We want at least four months of salary to just get by now and by this time, we will look for jobs in other factories,” said Dipa Akter, the 19-year-old worker who injured her led escaping the fire and who has worked at the factory for three years. “Otherwise, I have to go back to my village, where I have nothing to do.”

- BBC News, November 30, 2012

XIX World Congress on Safety and Health at Work:

Building a Global Prevention Culture for a Healthy and Safe Future

The XIX World Congress on Safety and Health at Work, jointly organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Social Security Association (ISSA) and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security of the Republic of Turkey, will be held in Istanbul, 11-15 September 2011. The theme of this year's World Congress is 'Building a Culture of Prevention for a Healthy and Safe Future'.

Read more on the host website: www.safety2011turkey.org/

Organized every three years since 1955, the World Congress provides a forum for the exchange of knowledge, 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.

The Congress includes an International Film and Multimedia Festival organized by the ISSA, which will feature over 200 short films and multimedia presentations on occupational safety and health. An International Safety and Health Exhibition will run in parallel to the Congress, and will showcase safety and health technologies and products from a wide range of companies.

Source: ILO.

http://www.ilo.org/global/meetings-and-events/events/world-congress-on-safety-and-health-at-work/lang--en/index.htm

XIX World Congress on Safety and Health at Work to focus on building healthier and safer workplaces:

The XIX World Congress on Safety and Health at Work – the world’s largest gathering of health and safety experts – opened in Istanbul with the aim of strengthening global commitment to a culture of safety and health at work amid the ongoing challenges of global economic uncertainty.

ISTANBUL, Republic of Turkey (ILO News) – The XIX World Congress on Safety and Health at Work – the world’s largest gathering of health and safety experts – opened in Istanbul with the aim of strengthening global commitment to a culture of safety and health at work amid the ongoing challenges of global economic uncertainty.

The 5-day meeting brings together more than 3,000 policy-makers, experts, industry and labour leaders from over 100 countries to discuss issues such as comprehensive and proactive approaches to safety and health at work; social dialogue and partnerships on occupational safety and health; and new challenges in a changing world of work and an uneven global economic recovery.

The congress seeks to build on the Seoul Declaration on Safety and Health at Work, adopted at the Safety and Health Summit held on the occasion of the XVIII World Congress in June 2008, just prior to the onset of the global economic and jobs crisis. The Seoul Declaration committed its signatories to “taking a lead in promoting a preventative safety and health culture and placing occupational safety and health high on national agendas”.

It also stated for the first time that the right to a safe and healthy working environment should be recognized as a fundamental human right.

Participants to the congress will discuss the latest ILO “Global Trends and Challenges on Occupational Safety and Health”. The report shows that the overall number of fatal work-related accidents and diseases increased between 2003 and 2008. At the same time, the report also says that while the number of fatal accidents declined from 358,000 to 321,000, but the number of fatal diseases increased from 1.95 million to 2.02 million over the same period.

This equates to an average of more than 6,300 work-related deaths every day, and with some 317 million workers injured in accidents at work each year, a daily average of some 850,000 injuries that result in four or more day absences from work.

In fact the numbers released in the report represent just the tip of the iceberg. In his statement in the occasion of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work, ILO Director-General Juan Somavia said that “Dramatic events such as the nuclear accident at Fukushima, Japan this year or the Pike River mining accident in New Zealand last year feature in the headlines. Yet most work related injury, illness and deaths go unnoticed and unreported. Workers and families are commonly left unprotected and unaided to cope”.

According to the report, there have been considerable advances in occupational safety and health over the past decades. This is due to an increased understanding in many countries of the need to prevent accidents and occupational diseases. There is also a growing acceptance of the heavy burdens that unsafe and unhealthy working conditions impose on women and men’s health and their well-being, in addition to the adverse affects on productivity, employment and the economy as a whole.

However, the report also states that “the global economic recession appears to have had a significant impact on workers’ safety and health and on their working conditions. While it is too soon to tell what long-term effect it has had on rates of accidents and ill-health, there is evidence that some of the recent advances in terms of promoting OSH are being lost as enterprises struggle to remain productive”.

“Increased work intensity due to the pressures in enterprise performance can lead to less time being given to prevention and less effective OSH management systems,” the report says. “Plant maintenance schedules are at risk of being cut back, increasing the risks of accidents through poor maintenance and lack of investment in newer equipment. This may also mean that workers have to continue working with older and more hazardous installations, equipment and tools”.

The report also notes that psychological factors, such as stress, harassment and violence at work have a marked impact on workers’ health, adding that “such factors are likely to be more significant as employment becomes more precarious for some, and workloads and working hours often increase for those remaining in employment”.

The XIX World Congress, co-organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Social Security Association (ISSA) in cooperation with the Turkish Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MOLSS), is also expected to set the guidelines and priorities ahead of the next global gathering in 2014.

For more information on the World Congress or to request interviews with ILO or ISSA experts, please contact:

Ms. Iselin Danbolt, ILO Department of Communication:

E-mail: g3dcomm@ilo.org – Mobile: +4176/566-8200

Mr. Alexander Belopopsky, ISSA Promotion Unit:

E-mail: belopopsky@ilo.org – Mobile: +4179/455-9080

Further information about the XIX World Congress on Safety and Health at Work and the ILO can be found at: www.ilo.org/oshcongress2011.

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

http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/press-and-media-centre/news/WCMS_162655/lang--en/index.htm

Questions and Answers on global trends and challenges on occupational safety and health:

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

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