In June 2022, the International Labour Conference (ILC) decided to include “a safe and healthy working environment” in the ILO’s framework of fundamental principles and rights at work.
On 28 April 2023, the ILO celebrates this decision, bringing together experts and constituents to discuss the implications it has for the world of work, as well as how to practically implement this right in the world of work.
It also serves to present the findings of research on the implementation status of various provisions of the fundamental Conventions No. 155 and No. 187.
Prevention of occupational accidents and diseases
The annual World Day for Safety and Health at Work on 28 April promotes the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases globally. It is an awareness-raising campaign intended to focus international attention on the magnitude of the problem and on how promoting and creating a safety and health culture can help reduce the number of work-related deaths and injuries.
Each of us is responsible for stopping deaths and injuries on the job. As governments we are responsible for providing the infrastructure — laws, and services — necessary to ensure that workers remain employable and that enterprises flourish; this includes the development of a national policy and program and a system of inspection to enforce compliance with occupational safety and health legislation and policy. As employers, we are responsible for ensuring that the working environment is safe and healthy. As workers, we are responsible to work safely and to protect ourselves and not to endanger others, to know our rights, and participating in the implementation of preventive measures.
Emerging risks at work
New and emerging occupational risks may be caused by technical innovation or by social or organizational change, such as:
New technologies and production processes, e.g. nanotechnology, biotechnology
New working conditions, e.g. higher workloads, work intensification from downsizing, poor conditions associated with migration for work, jobs in the informal economy
Emerging forms of employment, e.g. self-employment, outsourcing, temporary contracts
They may be more widely recognized through better scientific understanding, e.g. the effects of ergonomic risks on musculoskeletal disorders.
They may be influenced by changes in perceptions about the importance of certain risk factors, e.g. the effects of psychosocial factors on work-related stress.
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