Decent Work- Safe Work

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By Juan Somavía

Director-General

International Labour Office

  The right to life is the most fundamental right. Yet every year 1.2 million men and women are deprived of that right by occupational accidents and work-related diseases.By conservative estimates workers suffer 250 million occupational accidents and 160 million occupational diseases each year. Deaths and injuries take a particularly heavy toll in developing countries, where large numbers of workers are concentrated in primary and extractive activities such as agriculture, logging, fishing and mining - some of the world's most hazardous industries.

This social and economic burden is not evenly distributed. Fatality rates in some European countries are twice as high as in some others, and in parts of the Middle East and Asia fatality rates soar to four-fold those in the industrialized countries with the best records. Certain hazardous jobs can be from 10 to 100 times riskier. Likewise, insurance coverage for occupational safety and health varies widely in different parts of the world: workers in Nordic countries enjoy nearly universal coverage while only 10 per cent or less of the workforce in many developing countries is likely to enjoy any sort of coverage. Even in many developed countries, coverage against occupational injury and illness may extend to only half the workforce.

The International Labour Organization was founded to ensure everyone the right to earn a living in freedom, dignity and security, in short, the right to decent work. We have never accepted the belief that injury and disease "go with the job". In the course of this century industrialized countries have seen a clear decrease in serious injuries, not least because of real advances in making the workplace healthier and safer. The challenge is to extend the benefits of this experience to the whole working world.c

SafeWork is designed to respond to this need. It's primary objectives are: (a) to create worldwide awareness of the dimensions and consequences of work-related accidents, injuries and diseases; (b) to promote the goal of basic protection for all workers in conformity with international labour standards; and (c) to enhance the capacity of member States and industry to design and implement effective preventive and protective policies and programmes.

The programme will pursue a two-pronged approach. It will create alliances and partnerships by launching activities which can be used by ILO constituents, non-governmental organizations and human rights groups in advocacy campaigns and in calling for vigorous action by governments. Second, it will support action at the national level through an integrated programme of direct technical assistance. This will include the development of management tools and monitoring and information services designed to prevent occupational accidents and diseases and to protect the health and welfare of workers and the environment.

The primary focus will be on hazardous occupations. It will target workers in highly hazardous occupations, categories of workers vulnerable on account of gender or age, and workers in the urban informal sector who usually lack basic health protection.

The success of our effects depends on mobilizing our constituency in the world at large including the many committed professionals in the occupational safety and health community. I would, therefore, like to call on governments, employers' and workers' organizations of our member States and the international community to put the elimination of workplace hazards at the top of the public agenda. I would like to invite the international donor community to support our effort to lift this unacceptable burden on the world's workforce.Finally, I would like to call on you, the readers of this message, to join us in our global campaign to ensure decent working conditions for all working women and men throughout the world.