26 September | 13:00-14:00 ICT

A Safe and Healthy Working Environment: How to get there?

Background

With the recognition of a safe and healthy working environment as a Fundamental Principle and Right at Work (FPRW) by the ILO in 2022, occupational safety and health has become a topic of particular interest in how it intersects with other FPRWs and contributes to addressing challenges in protecting workers' rights in the workplace. The recognition of OSH as FPRW has also further promoted the fact that healthy working environments are more likely to enhance work performance and productivity, improve staff retention, and minimize tension and conflict, The importance of OSH is recognized in the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (MNE Declaration), which provides guidance for responsible business conduct for the realization of decent work and includes specific principles regarding occupational safety and health (OSH) addressed to governments, employers' and workers' organizations, and enterprises.

Yet, certain groups of workers, such as those in micro- and small-sized enterprises, informal economy, and migrant workers often face elevated risks to their safety, health and well-being due to a combination of higher level of exposure to workplace hazards and less access to safety and health protection, as well as systemic root causes at the national level linked to failures of the State duty to protect human and labour rights. Many of them often are not covered by any employment injury, social protection schemes, which prevent them to receive benefits to access adequate health care as well as income security for themselves and their dependants in case of occupational accidents and diseases.

The ILO Global Strategy on Occupational Safety and Health for 2024-30 calls for considerations related to the high-risk sectors and social vulnerabilities to be mainstreamed into OSH policies and programmes. The protection and promotion of safe and healthy working environment for those workers requires effective coordination mechanisms and joint efforts from governments, employers' organizations, workers' organizations, and other stakeholders.

Objectives

Aiming to promote safe and healthy working environment of all workers in all sectors by ensuring equal access to public and private services and remedy mechanisms, this session will center on the good practices of various stakeholders including governments, employers, workers, and civil society organizations (CSOs). The focus will be placed on the coordination and collaboration among key stakeholders at both national/regional and workplace level, emphasizing workers' participation.

Questions

What are the difficulties and challenges encountered in the respect, promotion and realization of the right to a safe and heathy working environment, especially for groups or persons in situations of vulnerability and facing high OSH risks?
What are the on-going activities and achievements in tackling OSH problems faced by those vulnerable workers and what have been the promoting access to remedy mechanisms?
How can we establish or enhance the mutually beneficial system and practice for workers and enterprises on safety and health prevention and effective remedy?

Format

The session will be held in a participatory and interactive format, consisting of the following elements:

Simulation of working environment of migrant workers on a fishing vessel in Thailand
Hazard identification and risk assessment
Learning good practices on the access to OSH services and remedy mechanism
Buy-in and future actions