| ILO’s global
programme on occupational safety, health and the environment The problem Despite immense efforts made since the seventies, occupational accidents and diseases are still too frequent. Their cost to society and to workers and their families continues to be unacceptable. ILO estimates put the number of occupational accidents around the world annually at more than 125 million. Of these, approximately 220,000 are fatal accidents! Every year 10 million crippling injuries and diseases add to an estimated 500 million workers with disabilities around the world. Agriculture, forestry, mining and construction lead in the incidence of occupational deaths worldwide. In highly hazardous occupations such as tropical logging, the death rate reaches a staggering level of 300 per 100,000 workers. Growing degradation of the environment from industrial, agricultural and energy production activities is a major concern. Pressures from the ongoing globalization of the world’s economy, liberalization of trade and rapid technological progress are forcing many countries to change their employment patterns and organization of work in order to stay competitive. There is concern that these pressures may result in moving production to countries offering low wages and inadequate safety, health and environmental management standards. Technology is often transferred without appropriate training and knowledge to run processes safely and with minimum environmental impact. The transformation of many enterprises into transnational entities is leading to the replacement of national technical and quality standards as well as management and productivity tools by globally harmonized ones. Market competition requirements for high productivity and quality at a lower cost are leading to a perception of occupational safety, health and environment (OSHE) standards as a barrier to trade, and therefore as detrimental to the success of enterprises. The reverse is, in fact, the case! When the total economic costs of disregarding OSHE requirements, i.e. those costs resulting from injury, illness, disability, and environmental degradation are taken into account in calculating the true cost of production, it becomes apparent that high productivity and quality can only be reached economically when OSHE standards are integrated in the production process. OSHE inputs, which are the fundamental elements of a safety culture, must be recognized not only as beneficial economic and social inputs but also as prerequisites for achieving equitable and sustainable development. This means that all the social actors - government, employers, workers and public interest groups - must have an input in building and maintaining the required level of safety culture in their country. It also means that the structures and tools for the implementation of occupational safety, occupational health, occupational hygiene and environmental management measures must be adapted, rationalized, coordinated and ultimately integrated to ensure their full accessibility even in times of severe economic constraints. The response There is an urgent need to create a global framework based on both transdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder approaches to OSHE. It will promote, structure and coordinate the implementation of better adapted and cost effective OSHE delivery systems, management tools and programmes, monitoring and information services, designed to prevent occupational accidents and diseases and to protect the health and welfare of workers and their families, as well as the environment. Particular attention needs to be given to the integration of environmental concerns and those arising from the world of work. Starting with the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development and during subsequent major conferences, member States have repeatedly underlined the strong linkages between health, environment and quality employment. For these reasons, the ILO has decided to launch a Global Programme on Occupational Safety, Health and the Environment as a new initiative to ensure that the positive values of a strong safety, health and environmental culture at all levels of society are integrated in the globalization process as a critical element of social stability and equitable and sustainable development. It will also ensure that environmental degradation resulting from the workplace are addressed directly within the workplace through integrated management processes. These goals are an integral part of the fundamental mandate of the Organization concerning social justice and safe and productive quality employment. Objective and benefits The ultimate objective of the Global Programme is to assist countries in building their capacities to design and implement cost-effective measures and actions which are compatible with the constraints of globalization while being conducive to a sustained, significant reduction in occupational accidents and diseases and of environmental degradation. The Programme will focus particularly on capacity building in the areas of integrated policy development, elimination of hazardous occupations, access to and exchange of information and experience, and environmentally sound technologies and practices. It will also promote international cooperation such as those currently implemented by ILO in the areas of occupational health, chemical safety and radiation protection. The benefits or outputs expected from actions undertaken within the Programme will include:
Target groups and sectors The Global Programme will focus on workers and employers in hazardous occupations in sectors such as agriculture, mining, logging, energy production, chemicals and waste disposal. Specific categories of workers, including women and young workers, as well as workers in the informal sector not covered by adequate safety and health measures will be covered. At the national level action will be focused on strengthening the capacities of small and medium-sized enterprises, organizations of employers and workers, and government entities responsible for implementing OSHE monitoring and enforcement measures. Implementation strategy The Global Programme is designed to be an effective template for the development of projects based on internationally agreed policies and principles but designed for national and local implementation. It will ensure a coherent and progressive build up of national OSHE capacities. Financing of the Programme will draw on pooled resources provided by national and international donor agencies, and on ILO regular budget funds devoted to OSHE technical cooperation projects. A coherent set of indicators of progress will be developed as part of the programme. The ILO Occupational Safety and Health Branch will be responsible for overall administration of the Global Programme and for coordination with the ILO global network of field offices and multi-disciplinary teams. A tripartite Programme Advisory Mechanism will ensure that the objectives of the Global Programme remain focused on priority issues. The periodical convening of an OSHE Forum to foster cooperation, networking and exchange of information and experience among all stakeholders is envisaged. |