Dear colleagues,

The right to a safe and secure working environment is a fundamental right at work, and the ITUC will continue to bring visibility to the need to strengthen workers’ health and safety in advance of International Workers’ Memorial Day (April 28th). This year, the ITUC will give a key focus to psychosocial risks and will prepare a specific report on the topic.

Psychosocial risks are an increasing reality for workers across a wide variety of sectors and across all regions. This year, the ITUC will outline many of the key underlying factors contributing to generating increasing incidences of risks such as anxiety, depression and suicide – including job insecurity (temporary/gig work), unregulated long working hours, low levels of legal protection and enforcement, climate-related stressors, and the outsourcing of particularly hazardous jobs like data labelling and content moderation – disproportionately carried out under poor conditions in the global south.

A worrying trend of deregulation in many countries is reversing hard-won rights and protections secured by unions. However, unions around the world are mobilising, and the ITUC intends to bring visibility to highlight the many actions unions are undertaking, and the reforms that they are calling for, to support mental health at work.

While many organisations will have their own priority themes for 28 April, the critical issue is that unions mobilise to ensure the date remains the biggest and most effective global action to bring visibility to workers’ safety and health.

In preparing the ITUC’s forthcoming report, we welcome contributions about union experiences in addressing psychosocial hazards at work. These may include protective legal standards won or campaigned for by trade unions, collective agreements on stress and mental health at work, and union-led campaigns.

In the run up to 28 April, the ITUC would also like to hear about planned events and activities, as well as any related materials. Updates and resources will be posted on the dedicated website, www.28april.org. Please send details of your union’s work to rory.oneill@ituc-csi.org

Yours sincerely,

Luc Triangle
General Secretary