It is in the interests of workers, employers and governments that health and safety at work be elevated to the rank of fundamental principles of the ILO and considered as a right in the workplace.
This is why global, sectoral and national unions, as well as those represented in factories, care centers and offices around the world, want to mark International Workers’ Memorial Day, celebrated on 28 April, asking that this indispensable and long-awaited measure be taken at the tripartite International Labor Conference scheduled for next June.
Nine million workers have lost their lives to workplace illnesses (66%) or occupational accidents since the ILO first decided to consider this measure in its the 2019 Centennial Conference. We must now make this project a reality.
Governments must ratify and above all implement ILO Convention 155 on Occupational Safety and Health and ILO Convention 161 on Occupational Health Services (which currently cover only 20% of workers), in insofar as they specify the practical measures to be put in place to respond to the problems that workers and employers encounter on a daily basis.
They set out the common sense rules that will save lives and save money. Disasters such as the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh on April 24, 2013, which killed more than a thousand workers and injured many more, damage the reputation of companies and cause damage and long-term damage within all economies. Including health and safety at work among the fundamental rights of the ILO would prevent this type of disaster and would benefit everyone.
Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary, said: “There is no excuse for continuing to sidestep this issue. It benefits neither workers nor businesses and costs economies billions in sick leave, disability benefits and lost production. »
“We need to set up workplace safety officers and joint safety committees with employers, and increase the opportunities for access to occupational health services fivefold, to ensure the protection of all workers. »
“The right to refuse dangerous work is positive for both companies and workers. Responsible companies must move forward, both to save lives and to save money, by recognizing that occupational health and safety are fundamental rights for workers. »
“May this year’s International Workers’ Memorial Day be the last when workers are denied this fundamental right. »
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