#IWMD20 Have a look at trade union actions across the world https://t.co/VFphpkhikb ? Remember the dead, fight like hell for the living #Covid19 #Coronavirus pic.twitter.com/Qjz0IlClSU
— EUROPEAN TRADE UNION (@etuc_ces) April 28, 2020
#IWMD20 Have a look at trade union actions across the world 28april.org
The International Labour Organization warns that without adequate safeguards for returning workers there could be a second wave of the virus.
Press release | 28 April 2020
All employers need to carry out risk assessments and ensure their workplaces meet strict occupational safety and health criteria beforehand, to minimize the risk to workers of exposure to COVID-19, says the ILO.
Without such controls, countries face the very real risk of a resurgence of the virus. Putting in place the necessary measures will minimize the risk of a second wave of contagion contracted at the workplace.
“In the face of an infectious disease outbreak, how we protect our workers now clearly dictates how safe our communities are, and how resilient our businesses will be, as this pandemic evolves.”
Guy Ryder, ILO Director-General
“The safety and health of our entire workforce is paramount today. In the face of an infectious disease outbreak, how we protect our workers now clearly dictates how safe our communities are, and how resilient our businesses will be, as this pandemic evolves,” said the Director-General of the ILO, Guy Ryder.
“It is only by implementing occupational safety and health measures that we can protect the lives of workers, their families and the larger communities, ensure work continuity and economic survival,” Ryder added.
In particular, risk control measures should be specifically adapted to the needs of workers at the frontline of the pandemic. These include health workers, nurses, doctors and emergency workers, as well as those in food retail and cleaning services.
The ILO also highlighted the needs of the most vulnerable workers and businesses, in particular those in the informal economy, migrant and domestic workers. Measures to protect these workers should include – among others – education and training on safe and healthy work practices, free provision of PPE as needed, access to public health services and livelihood alternatives.
“On World Day for Safety and Health at Work, I call on all countries to assure well-defined, decent and safe working conditions for all health workers.”
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General
“The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgent need for strong national programmes to protect the health and safety of health workers, medical professionals, emergency responders, and the many other workers risking their lives on our behalf,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “On World Day for Safety and Health at Work, I call on all countries to assure well-defined, decent and safe working conditions for all health workers.”
To ensure a safe return to work and to avoid further work disruptions, the ILO recommends:
– Reducing physical interactions between workers, contractors, customers and visitors and respecting physical distancing when any interactions occur.
– Improving ventilation in the workplace.
– Regularly cleaning surfaces, ensuring workplaces are clean and hygienic, and providing adequate facilities for handwashing and sanitization.
https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_742898/lang–en/index.htm
BWI cannot overemphasis the need to do these simple, yet life-saving acts.
✅ Wash your hands.
✅ Wear a mask.
✅ Keep your distance.
Please help BWI share this message. Share this video. Help us save lives.
Protect workers. Stop COVID-19. #BWI2020IWMD #iwmd20
BWI global union resources for 28 April
Coronavirus is a deadly threat to frontline public service workers – And in particular, our members in the health sector
Safe Workers Save Lives
We rely on them to save countless lives – but for them to be able to do their job, governments across the world must take stronger action now:
The ongoing Coronavirus outbreak is exposing the vital need for quality public services – especially well-staffed, resilient public health systems.
This is a matter of life and death
Video
Nurse George Poe Williams watched colleagues die as Ebola decimated the Liberian health workforce. Now, he has a message for governments around the world facing the #CoronaVirus: #SafeWorkersSaveLive. Join PSI’s Campaign now at peopleoverprofi.it
Safe Workers Save Lives
What can I do?
What can unions do?
https://publicservices.international/campaigns/safe-workers-save-lives?id=10633&lang=en
IndustriALL’s manual for health and safety activists is a resource for union health and safety activists, particularly those who are just starting out. The manual, written by IndustriALL’s health and safety director Brian Kohler, provides an overview of basic structures and programmes that workers need to understand when fighting for safer and healthier workplaces.
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“The biggest challenge is to understand that health and safety at work is neither a perk to be bargained for nor a favour to be asked. It is our right.
“No wage is worth our health or our life, and no remedy can be granted by an arbitrator that will restore our health or our life, once it is lost.”
“If there is a quick fix, I have not found it in over 40 years of health and safety activism! Our rights are never granted easily, they must always be won by activism and determination. Indeed, every right that we now enjoy followed, and never preceded, the demands and determination and activism of people.
“There is no silver bullet; a safe and healthy workplace is the result of ongoing effort and attention.”
“IndustriALL can support union activists in their struggle by providing a framework for understanding occupational health and safety from a trade union point of view. Safe and healthy workplaces are the result of effective and overlapping safety systems: materials, tools, equipment, workplace environment, management priorities, policies, programmes, work procedures – and of course people.
“All of these must be designed, tested, educated or trained to be as safe and healthy as possible.”
“The Covid-19 pandemic that we now face is an extraordinary situation, but the principles of infection control are known and have been known for decades. Keep yourselves – especially your hands – clean. Keep equipment, tools, controls and surfaces clean. If social distancing cannot be maintained in your workplace, consider masks – but make sure you wear the correct mask and implement the mask program with appropriate education and training and auditing. (Any respiratory protection programme, whether to wear a simple surgical mask or a supplied-air respirator, needs careful implementation and follow-up to succeed.)
“Think about routes of transmission: during the commute to work and home again, at shift changes, near particular pieces of equipment, in the lunch room, washrooms – wherever people will share breathing space.
“Ensure that workers have sufficient “sick leave” so that they do not feel the need to come to work while sick. Implement a testing program when tests become more readily available. Have a plan to accommodate workers who have higher risk levels. Have a plan to deal with a worker who begins to feel symptoms while at work – how will you get them to medical care, and how will you trace and track every worker that they came into contact with?
“These are just examples, there are extensive guidelines available from the World Health Organization and from national governments and other credible sources. There is also a lot of misinformation out there, so make sure you are getting your guidance from a credible source!”
“Trade unions insist on three basic occupational health and safety rights for workers: the right to know, the right to participate, and the right to refuse or shut down unsafe work.
“The right to know means to know everything there is to know about the hazards of our work, and to receive the necessary education and training to do the job safely.
“The right to participate means to be full partners in the development and implementation of all workplace health and safety policies, programmes, procedures, accident/incident investigations, inspections, audits, risk assessments – everything. We want health and safety done with us, not “to us”. The only people with the moral authority to assess a risk are those who face the risk.
“Finally, we demand the right to refuse to perform, or to shut down, any work that a worker believes to be unsafe or dangerous to health – without negative repercussions.”
Recognising the challenge that governments, employers, workers and whole societies are facing worldwide to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, to mark International Workers’ Memorial Day – World Day for Safety and Health at Work – the International Labour Organisation (ILO) will focus on addressing the outbreak of infectious diseases at work, focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic.
The day will focus on addressing the outbreak of infectious diseases at work, focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim is to stimulate national tripartite dialogue on safety and health at work. The ILO is using this day to raise awareness on the adoption of safe practices in workplaces and the role that occupational safety and health (OSH) services play. It will also focus on the medium to long-term, including recovery and future preparedness, in particular, integrating measures into OSH management systems and policies at the national and enterprise levels. More
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our lives and that of the workers in our sectors, with new risks and fears not only for health and safety but for our overall wellbeing and that of our families and communities. Given that the pandemic is affecting all workers worldwide, including building and construction workers and wood and forestry workers, our work as a Global Union to be united has never been as relevant as it is today. International Workers Memorial Day (IWMD) is on Tuesday 28th of April 2020 and the BWI will campaign theme is year is “Protect Workers! Stop COVID-19” We encourage all affiliates to incorporate our theme in your respective campaigns so that your members can be part of the global campaign.
There are other serious health and safety issues continue to be important and should not be put aside this IWMD. We know that more than 100,000 construction workers die each year in preventable “accidents” on site. Forestry workers are also confronted with dangerous conditions that are notorious in the sector. Health and safety are undermined by the reliance of the forestry sector on informal and subcontracting work to boost their profits. The cement industry is also highly hazardous and accounts for hundreds of deaths in worksite accidents, and thousands of workers in the sector contract occupational diseases each year. The heavy use of outsourcing is also largely responsible for the lack of coherent management of hazards at work.
Precarious work in the sectors organised by the BWI affiliates is being paid for by workers with their health and their lives. Thus, the BWI supports IWMD campaign actions taken by affiliates on the need to prevent the loss of lives in these sectors. For example, affiliates active on our Lafarge Holcim campaign are likely to protest together on worker deaths at the company and outsourcing which is a contributing factor. Also, the BWI Youth Committee is organising its IWMD campaign under the sub theme “Life before Profit”.
The BWI also supports continued campaign actions on our longstanding Ban Asbestos campaign; meanwhile, two million tons of chrysotile asbestos is being put into the built environment every year – guaranteeing a deadly legacy for building workers and the public.
We encourage all IWMD campaign actions by affiliates to be shared with the BWI. Please send photos, statements/messages and videos to info@bwint.org
The BWI has put together seven-point 28 April 2020 action list that affiliates can consider which we will be able to incorporate under our global campaign theme. We suggest that campaign actions are carried out between 20 to 28 April 2020.
BWI has developed posters that can be printed and shared online in various languages
We dedicate our efforts to the upcoming Intl Workers Memorial Day (April 28) to our beloved Jin Sook Lee. It will be challenging to take action, but unions must not be silenced. We call on our affiliates to take part on this, starting 20 April. Protect Workers! Stop COVID-19! pic.twitter.com/BpPDYvfVdC
— BWI Global Union (@BWIglobal) April 16, 2020
