‘A Call for Safer and Healthier Working Environments’ report

• ‘A Call for Safer and Healthier Working Environments’ report was recently released by International Labour Organization (ILO).
• It was discussed at 23^rd World Congress on Safety and Health at Work (WCSHW) in Sydney, Australia.

MAJOR FINDINGS

• Nearly 30 lakh workers die every year globally due to work-related accidents and diseases.
• More than 63% of these deaths are reported from the Asia-Pacific region.
• In 2019, work-related deaths rose to 2.93 million, a 12% increase from 2000.
• Majority of work-related deaths are caused by work-related diseases e.g., circulatory and respiratory diseases.
• Exposure to long working hours (55 hours or more per week) was the biggest “killer”, with almost 7.45 lakh people dying of it in 2016, followed by exposure to occupational particulate matter, gases, and fumes (4.5 lakh deaths) and occupational injuries (3.63 lakh deaths).

CHALLENGES INCLUDE

• Changes in worker demographics, such as age, gender, and migration, impact occupational safety.
• Workers in the informal economy lack adequate legal and social protection.
• The report said that so far 79 out of the 187 member countries have ratified the ILO Occupational Safety and Health Convention (No. 155), while 62 countries have ratified the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006 (No. 187).
  1. India has not ratified both the conventions.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• The report has recommended five categories of “Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work” for ensuring safety and health at work.
• These are
  • freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining,
  • elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour,
  • abolition of child labour,
  • elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation, and
  • a safe and healthy working environment.

ABOUT ILO

• The International Labour Organization (ILO) is the only tripartite U.N. agency with government, employer, and worker representatives.
• It was established in 1919 by the Treaty of Versailles as an affiliated agency of the League of Nations.
• It became the first affiliated specialized agency of the United Nations in 1946.
• It encourages decent employment opportunities and work-related issues.
• Headquarters- Geneva, Switzerland.
• It also received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1969.