GENEVA (ILO news) - Tens of thousands of workers and employers from Lima to London and Bangkok to Sao Paulo will mark the World Day for Safety and Health at Work on 28 April, drawing attention to work-related accidents and illnesses which annually take some 2 million lives and cost the global economy an estimated $1,250,000 million US dollars ($1.25 trillion), according to the International Labour Office (ILO).
Events planned for the day include a safety and health fair and symposia in Lima, Peru, activities by the Trade Union Congress in the United Kingdom, a joint manifestation by the ILO and the Asian Workers Occupational Health, Safety and Environment Institute (OHSEI) in Bangkok, Thailand and an event aimed at stressing the value of prevention of workplace accidents and illness in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
At ILO offices in Geneva, top government, worker and employer representatives will participate in a round-table discussion on "Creating and Promoting a Health and Safety Culture in a Globalized World", on Monday 28 April from 10:30 to 12:30. The discussion is open to the public and media.
"Injury and disease are not 'all in a day's work'", says ILO Director-General Juan Somavia. "Fatalities, accidents and illness at work can be prevented. We must promote a new 'safety culture' in the workplace - wherever work is done - backed by appropriate national policies and programmes to make workplaces safer and healthier for us all."
Costs of workplace injury and illness
In a booklet issued for the world day entitled "Safety in numbers" * , the ILO reviews current knowledge about the toll of workplace illness, injury and death which, it says, costs some $1,250,000 million US dollars ($1.25 trillion) in annual losses in global gross domestic product (GDP). The ILO said its estimate was based on a calculation that accidents and work-related illnesses cost some 4 per cent of annual GDP.
In addition, the report says that costs borne by society due in part to work-related accidents and diseases include early retirements caused by disability which, on average, shorten working life by about five years; absenteeism that varies from 2 to 10 per cent, depending on sector and type of work; unemployment that may stem from impairment of working capacity due to illness and affects an average of one-third of all unemployed people; and poverty at home caused by the partial or full loss of income, especially among women workers.
The report also cited ILO data showing that some 5,000 job-related deaths occur each day, or some 2 million each year. In addition, the report notes that workers suffer approximately 270 million occupational accidents - of which 355,000 are fatal - and 160 million occupational diseases each year, including some 12,000 child labourers who die from work-related causes.
The booklet also highlights the impact of poor health and safety on a company's bottom line and provides information on how workers and employers can work hand-in-hand to create a "safety culture" to improve workplace occupational safety and health.
ILO event information
The observance of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work will bring a tripartite focus to the annual event, which has been organized by the trade union movement since 1996. The discussion at the ILO will focus on the challenges of reducing the toll of death, injury and sickness at the world's workplaces, with special attention to prevention techniques that have proven effective in both avoiding occupational accidents and disease and improving business performance.
Participating in the discussion, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on 28 April in the ILO's Governing Body Room, will be the following panelists: Mr. Antonio Peñalosa, Secretary-General of the International Organization of Employers (IOE); Mr. José Olivio Oliviera, Assistant General Secretary of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU); Ms. Janet Asherson, safety and health expert from the Confederation of British Industry; and Ms. Silvana Capuccio, safety and health expert from the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation (ITGLWF). The ILO Director-General will make an opening statement. Mr. Assane Diop, Executive Director of the ILO, will be master of ceremonies. The panel discussion will be closed by Dr. Jukka Takala, Director of the ILO's SafeWork programme. Bernard Gbézo, an independent consultant specializing in training and crisis intervention, will serve as moderator.
For more information, see the ILO Web site or a special Web site www.ilo.org/safework/safeday or email: safeday@ilo.org. You may also contact the ILO Department of Communication at +4122/799-7912 ( communication@ilo.org) or the ILO SafeWork Programme on +4122/799-6715.
* Safety in numbers: Pointers for a global safety culture at work , International Labour Office, Geneva, 2003. ISBN 92-2-113741-4.