Tag Archives: ILO

2021, 2021 global, Events listing

28 April 2021: Global dialogue on safety and health at work in response to emergencies and crises

 

The 2021 World Day for Safety and Health at Work calls on leveraging the main elements of national OSH systems, highlighting how each element is of equal significance and relevancy when facing these challenges.

Recognizing that a robust national OSH system safeguards lives and livelihoods, it is imperative to have OSH systems well-resourced and robust enough in order to better pre-empt the impacts, tackle the challenges head on, provide resiliency to the world of work, and indirectly positively affecting public health.

The ILO Director General, Guy Ryder and a panel of global leaders and senior representatives from governments, employers and workers’ organizations will provide perspectives and showcase how investing in OSH, both programmatically and financially, contributes to a stronger infrastructure at the national level which is prepared to respond to crises such as COVID-19 and similar events.

Speakers at the Event:

Guy Ryder, ILO Director-General
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director General
Owen Tudor, ITUC Deputy General Secretary
Roberto Suarez Santos, Secretary-General, IOE
Marty Walsh, Secretary of Labor, United States
Gisèle Ranampy, Minister of Labour, Employment, Social Services and Social Law, Madagascar
Vedat Bilgin, Minister of Labour and Social Security, Turkey

Jeannette Galanis, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Mine Safety and Health Administration, Department of Labor, United States
Silas Sng, Commissioner for Workplace Safety and Health, Ministry of Manpower, Singapore
Maria Fernanda Campos, Inspector-General, Authority for Working Conditions, Portugal
Selçuk Yasar, Head of International Collaboration Unit, DGOSH, Turkey
Kris De Meester, Senior Advisor, Belgium Federation of Employers
Maureen Onyia, Head of Occupational Health and Safety, Nigeria Labour Congress, Nigeria
Jerson Razafimanantsoa, Director General of Labour and Social, Madagascar

Joaquim Nunes, Branch Chief, LABADMIN/OSH
Manal Azzi, Senior OSH Specialist and Coordinator of the World Day report and campaign

Closing statement: 
Vera Paquete-Perdigão, Director, GOVERNANCE, ILO

Moderator:
Femi Oke, Journalist and Moderate the Panel Co-Founder

https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/safety-and-health-at-work/events-training/WCMS_780935/lang–en/index.htm

2021, 2021 Asia-Pacific, 2021 Europe, 2021 Russia, Events listing

Russia: Building workers’ union and employers’ groups call jointly for health and safety to be an ILO fundamental right

2021, 2021 Africa, 2021 global, 2021 Nigeria, Events listing

Global: Top union speakers from ITUC and Nigeria Labour Congress speak up for ‘fundamental’ safety at ILO 28 April event

Global Launch of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2021

Anticipate, prepare and respond to crises – Invest Now in Resilient Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Systems

The aim of this global virtual webinar is to stimulate dialogue on the importance of investing in safety and health at work in responding to emergencies and crises affecting workplaces, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Zoom webinar will be held in English and interpreted in French and Spanish. Apr 28, 2021, 1:30 pm  (CEST). Registration and further details

2021, 2021 global, Events listing

Global: Anticipate, prepare and respond to crises – Invest now in resilient occupational safety and health systems

The COVID-19 pandemic has led governments, employers, workers and the general population to face unprecedented challenges in relation to the virus and the many effects it has had on the world of work. The World Day for Safety and Health at Work will focus on strategies to strengthen national occupational safety and health (OSH) systems to build resilience, in order to face crises now and in the future, drawing on lessons learned and experiences from the world of work.

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Type: Campaign
When: 28 April 2021
Where: ILO HQ – Geneva
Contact(s): Manal Azzi (azzi@ilo.org); SafeDay Team (safeday@ilo.org)

Since emerging as a global crisis in early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has had profound impacts everywhere. The pandemic has touched nearly every aspect of the world of work, from the risk of transmission of the virus in workplaces, to occupational safety and health (OSH) risks that have emerged as a result of measures to mitigate the spread of the virus. Shifts to new forms of working arrangements, such as the widespread reliance on teleworking, have, for example, presented many opportunities for workers but also posed potential OSH risks, including psychosocial risks and violence in particular.

The World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2021 focuses on leveraging the elements of an OSH system as set out in the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006 (No. 187). The world day report examines how the current crisis demonstrates the importance of strengthening these OSH systems, including occupational health services, at both the national and undertaking level.

The ILO will take this opportunity to raise awareness and stimulate dialogue on the importance of creating and investing in resilient OSH systems, drawing on both regional and country examples in mitigating and preventing the Spread of COVID-19 at the workplace.

https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/safety-and-health-at-work/events-training/events-meetings/world-day-safety-health-at-work/WCMS_769834/lang–en/index.htm

2021, 2021 global, News

Coming soon: 28th April, International Workers’ Memorial Day

The International Labour Organization (ILO) includes the elimination of discrimination as a fundamental right at work, but occupational health and safety (OHS) is not included. OHS is crucial to tackling the Covid-19 pandemic, and it must be given sufficient priority by the global community. This International Workers’ Memorial Day, please join us in calling on the ILO to make OHS a fundamental right at work and #SaveLivesAtWork. #iwmd21

In solidarity,

Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary
@SharanBurrow

ITUC Campaign Brief: A new approach to global governance of occupational health and safety.

 

2021, 2021 global, News

Global: Work health and safety must be fundamental

A death toll of work that claims five lives every minute of every hour of every day around the world demonstrated the scale of the problem. That’s why, says Owen Tudor, that two years ago International Labour Organisation (ILO) conference agreed that occupational health and safety should become a fundamental right at work. Tudor, the deputy general secretary of the global union confederation ITUC, said the ILO’s centennial conference was held nearly a year before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, and changed the working world.

“The pandemic has only reinforced the case for health and safety at work to be given a higher profile and a higher priority. But it still hasn’t happened,” he wrote in an Ethical Trade Initiative (ETI) blog post. Later this month, workers’ representatives on the ILO Governing Body will be arguing that the final steps that need to be taken to give effect to that centennial conference decision should be scheduled for this year’s ILO conference in June.

“If we can’t secure agreement, we will be demanding that at the very least, the next Governing Body meeting this November should complete the preparations, so that the final decision can be taken without further delay, in June 2022,” Tudor explained. That will mean persuading more governments and the employers’ lobby group IOE to throw their weight behind the move.

According to Tudor many major employers, including those who are ETI members, already support the move. “We want to see more employers doing what ETI’s members have done, and come out publicly to support the speedy recognition of occupational health and safety as a fundamental right at work…  making occupational health and safety a fundamental right at work would reduce the toll of death, injury and illness for workers, businesses, families and communities. It would save lives at work. We must do it now.”

See: Occupational health and safety should be a fundamental right at work, ETI blog, 8 March 2021.

2020, Events listing, News, Videos

Global: 28 April message from Catalene Passchier – ILO Workers’ Group

Video


A 28 message from Catelene Passchier, Chair of the Workers’ Group and Vice Chair of the Governing Body of the ILO, Special adviser to the FNV president. Read the transcript 

 

2020, 2020 Global, Events listing, News

Global: ILO webinar – Stop the pandemic. Safety and health at work can save lives

ILO webinar
28 April 2020 15:00-16:00 (Geneva)
Please register at this link 

The aim of this webinar event is to stimulate dialogue on the importance of ensuring safety and health at work, not only to protect the lives of workers but also to ensure business continuity.

Global OSH experts will bring us the views of the scientific community, workers and employers on:

  • Safety and health and the response to the pandemic
  • The mental health impact of COVID-19 in different work scenarios
  • How to prepare for return to work under a risk-controlled scenario

Panellists:
Mr Joaquim Nunes, Chief, LABADMIN/OSH
Ms Manal Azzi, Senior OSH specialist and coordinator of the world day report and campaign
Ms Silvana Cappuccio, ILO Workers’ Group member from Italy
Mr Kris De Meester, Senior Adviser at the Federation of Enterprises, Belgium
Mr Richard Jones, Head of Policy and Regulatory Engagement, Institution of Occupational Safety and Health
Mr Lode Godderis, Leuven Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care
Ms Chris Laszcz-Davis, Founder and President of The Environmental Quality Organization and Co-Chair, Occupational Hygiene Training Association (OHTA)
Ms Michelle M. Robertson, Executive Committee, International Ergonomics Association
Mr Barry Kistnasamy, Head of Occupational Health, Department of Health, South Africa
Ms Teresita S. Cucueco, OIC Assistant Secretary and concurrent Director IV, Bureau of Working Conditions, Department of Labor and Employment, Philippines

Please register at this link 
Kindly send your questions to the panellists ahead of the webinar to safeday@ilo.org 

Further information

Event

World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2020 – Stop the pandemic: Safety and health at work can save lives 

https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/safety-and-health-at-work/events-training/events-meetings/world-day-safety-health-at-work/WCMS_742138/lang–en/index.htm

2020, 2020 Global, Events listing, News

Global: Protecting workers in the workplace: Protect workers both now and after lockdowns ease, says ILO

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:

  • Mapping hazards and assessing risks of contagion in relation to all work operations, and continuing to assess them following a return to work.
  • Adopting risk control measures adapted to each sector and the specifics of each workplace and workforce. These may include:

– 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.

  • Providing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to workers where necessary and at no cost.
  • Providing arrangements for isolating suspected cases and tracing every contact.
  • Providing mental health support for staff.
  • Providing training, education and informational material about health and safety at work, including proper hygiene practices and the use of any workplace controls (including PPE).

https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_742898/lang–en/index.htm

2020, 2020 Global, Events listing, News, Videos

Global: Stop the pandemic: Safety and health at work can save lives – ILO

Recognizing the great challenge that governments, employers, workers and whole societies are facing worldwide to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Day for Safety and Health at Work will focus on addressing the outbreak of infectious diseases at work, focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Type: Campaign
When: 28 April 2020
Where: ILO HQ – Geneva
Contact(s): SafeDay Team (safeday@ilo.org)

Concern is growing over the continuing rise in COVID-19 infections in some parts of the world and the ability to sustain declining rates in others. Governments, employers, workers and their organizations face enormous challenges as they try to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and protect safety and health at work. Beyond the immediate crisis, there are also concerns about resuming activity in a manner that sustains progress made in suppressing transmission.

The World Day for Safety and Health at Work will focus on addressing the outbreak of infectious diseases at work, focussing 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.

Original and exclusive think pieces on the OSH response to the Covid-19 pandemic from the global OSH community

 

“We need special measures to protect the millions of health care workers and other workers who risk their own health for us every day.”

“Teleworking offers new opportunities for workers to keep working… However, workers must be able to negotiate these arrangements so that they retain balance with other responsibilities, such as caring for children, the sick or the elderly, and of course themselves.”

ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder

Please note that the world day theme announced earlier for 2020 on violence and harassment in the world of work has been replaced in view of the current global crisis. The technical products and promotional material on violence and harassment will continue to be made available here .

what’s new

  1. Report for World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2020 – In the face of a pandemic: Ensuring Safety and Health at Work 
  2. Stop the pandemic: Safety and health at work can save lives 
  3. Poster for World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2020 
  4. PPT Presentation of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2020 
  5. Original and exclusive think pieces on the OSH response to the Covid-19 pandemic from the global OSH community 

ILO webpage