Terms of Reference: Feasibility study to identify opportunities to address occupational safety and health challenges linked to climate change in the agricultural supply chains in Viet Nam

1. BACKGROUND

The Vision Zero Fund (VZF), an initiative of the Group of Seven (G7) countries, endorsed by the G20 countries, aims to contribute to the achievement of zero severe fatal work-related accidents, injuries and diseases in global supply chains (GSCs).

The Fund implements a model of collective action, involving a wide range of stakeholders and resources to address the root causes of the most serious Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) deficits in GSCs. Interventions are centered around the following three outcomes:

1. Global and national stakeholders confirm their commitment to OSH by taking action to enhance OSH in global supply chains;

2. Strengthened system of OSH services, legislation, policy, availability of data and compliance in targeted countries; and

3. Female and male workers in targeted global supply chains and countries benefit from reduced exposure to OSH hazards and improved access to employment injury insurance.

The Fund implements comprehensive actions using both bottom-up and top-down approaches, successfully engaging with leading multinational corporations as well as with some of the most vulnerable women and men working in the world’s least developed countries.

The Fund is administered and implemented by the International Labour Organization (ILO). The Fund is part of the ILO Flagship Programme Safety+Health for All.

In June 2022, Vision Zero Fund received a mandate from the G7 to implement pilot projects to address the impact of climate change on the occupational safety and health of workers- In its Communiqué, G7 Leaders recognize “the importance of effective occupational safety and health measures to protecting workers, ensuring decent work, maintaining high productivity and promoting employability, including in the face of new challenges due to structural reasons and climate change.” ¹

Vision Zero Fund is currently exploring pilot activities in Mexico, Madagascar and Viet Nam. The focus in Mexico and Madagascar will primarily be on addressing the impact of climate change-induced heat stress on the safety and health of workers in the agriculture and textile sectors.

In Viet Nam, the Fund will conduct a feasibility study to assess the overall impact of climate change on the safety and health of agricultural workers and to identify appropriate adaptive measures² that can be implemented with the support of the Fund.

The effects of climate change in Vietnam

The Global Climate Risk Index 2020³ ranked Vietnam sixth among all countries in the world most affected by climate variability and extreme weather. A rise in the sea level, rising temperatures and extreme weather events are projected to become even more severe in the coming decades, which, without additional action, will increase the number of people at risk of climate-sensitive diseases and place severe challenges on the country’s health system⁴. As a consequence, the Vietnamese government recently developed the National Climate Change Adaptation Plan. The main goal is to reduce vulnerability and risk to the impacts of climate change through strengthening the resilience and adaptive capacity of communities, economic sectors and ecosystems and to promote the integration of climate change adaptation into the strategic and planning system.⁵

Working women and men are often the first to be exposed to climate change effects, for longer durations and at greater intensities than the general public as they cannot elect to avoid related hazards.⁶

Agricultural workers in particular are among workers who are most exposed to climate change-related occupational safety and health risks. A characteristic of most agricultural

work is that it is performed outdoors, and most agricultural workers are exposed to prevailing climatic conditions.⁷

The effects of climate change on agriculture can result in lower crop yields and substantial reductions in area available for cultivation⁸, which increase input costs and put pressure on productivity levels. Furthermore, climate change will affect the distribution of agricultural production and, therefore, food supply and global markets.⁹

Agriculture is highly dependent on good weather, including high and low temperatures, rainfall, wind intensity, and many other variables, which can place the sustainability of farmers livilihoods under threat. Climate change induced health outcomes exacerbate those problems. Hence, a better understanding of the intersection of climate change and OSH is needed in order to design and implement appropriate preventive and adaptive measures.

The general objective of this study is to identify the main climate change-induced occupational safety and health hazards to which agricultural workers in Vietnam are exposed, and to rank these in term of severity (level of OSH risk) and level of opportunity (feasibility of interventions). The study should identify opportunities to increase resilience of direct beneficiaries such as ILO’s tripartite constituents (governments, employer and workers organisations) and other key stakeholders to climate change-related occupational safety and health hazards. Ultimate beneficiaries for mitigating vulnerabilities should be women and men working in the agricultural sector.

The study should include recommendations for adaptive measures (workplace, sectorial, institutional/policy levels) that can be implemented in a collective action manner, namely in partnership with the ILO constituents, including multinational enterprises sourcing from the country. The proposed measures should be evidence-led and respond to stakeholder needs. It should also promote ownership and sustainability.

Known hazards¹⁰ resulting from climate change include (among others):

o extreme weather conditions and related events; (heat waves, droughts, floods, cyclones, wildfires, landslides)

o increased temperature;

o increased air pollution;

o ultraviolet (UV) radiation;

o vector-borne diseases and expanded habitats;

o psychosocial hazards such as economic stress

Each of these hazards should be assessed in respect of the severity of their respective OSH risks in the Vietnamese context and also assess the opportunities each presents for the Vision Zero Fund project in Vietnam to promote and implement adaptive measures at national, sectorial and workplace levels.

Adaptive workplace measures to address heat stress, for example, could include appropriate clothing, shaded rest areas, hydration, empowerment of workers to self-pace, health screening, etc. At the institutional/policy level, adaptive measures could include changing of working time / working time organization policies, early warning systems for extreme weather events, etc. Depending on research outcomes, other hazards may require their own unique set of OSH risk control measures.

The study should also consider practices and behavioural changes of workers that could increase or exacerbate safety and health risks. This could include, for example, the increasing use of agrochemicals such as fertilisers for soil infertility or the use of pesticides to address novel or increased pests resulting from changing weather patterns.

Structurally the study should include the following key components:

a mapping and analysis of existing initiatives on climate change in the country and / or the region, in particular initiatives focused on the agriculture sector and addressing occupational safety and health aspects;

an evaluation of the country’s legal and policy environment related to the intersection of climate change and the world of work, including commitments that the national government and stakeholders in the country have made to meet international, regional and national climate change targets;

an assessment of climate change related OSH risks in the selected region(s) and agricultural value chain(s). This is necessary because climate change-related hazards can vary widely across and within regions and activities.

the risk assessment will include, inter alia, an assessment of exposure, the physicality of the work, the physiological attributes of the workforce, and of the adaptive capacity of businesses and workers;

a set of recommended adaptive measures at national and workplace level that each target stakeholder group can implement to mitigate the impact of climate change related health risks.

Any of the proposed intervention areas aimed at the prevention of work injuries and illnesses resulting from climate change should be aligned with stakeholder needs and the local context.

3. METHODOLOGY

The Service Provider will implement this assignment through desk review and field work that would include key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and surveys. At the start of the assignment, the Fund’s Vietnam project team and global Secretariat will share key technical documents produced by the ILO as well as external research for the desk review, including the “Occupational Safety and Health in Global Value Chains Starter kit” and other relevant documents, such as findings of OSH assessments of coffee supply chains conducted in Viet Nam, the VZF strategy 2019-2023, the VZF private sector engagement strategy and VZF gender guidelines.

Throughout the assignment, the Service Provider’s lead consultant will work closely with a team of national consultants with expertise in selected research topics. As necessary, additional technical guidance will be provided by ILO technical specialists.

Additionally, the Service Provider is expected to participate in one stakeholder validation workshop to present the assessment findings and proposed interventions. After the workshop, the Service Provider will finalize the assessment and intervention design report by incorporating the outcome of the workshop discussions.

This research work is conducted between February and June 2023. During this period, the Service Provider will collaborate closely with the VZF Vietnam team and participate in regular meetings to discuss progress of the research work.

1. Identify key literature and conduct a desk review.

2. Conduct at least 10 key informant interviews with technical specialists from ILO HQ Geneva from LABADMIN/OSH, Vietnamese national constituents, public and private sector partners, NGOs and relevant stakeholders as identified during the desk research to:

o gather technical insights and a better understanding on how climate change is affecting agricultural workers (vulnerability factors such as informality, pregnancy and etc. should be considered), which aspects of climate change might be most relevant in the Vietnamese context and identify a set of interventions that will catalyse positive change. This should include a list of key stakeholders (including but not limited to ILO constituents) with whom the project could collaborate, including each stakeholder’s potential role in designing and implementing the relevant adaptive measures.

o integrate cross-cutting issues (such as gender) into the analysis as relevant

3. Conduct at least three farmer focus group discussions (FGD). Results of FGDs should be cross checked with available medial data in community clinics (if available).

4. Develop a concise and informative report with input from the above-mentioned activities. The report should include a comprehensive climate change/OSH risk assessment, agricultural worker vulnerability profiles and recommend practical interventions.

5. Design and facilitate a workshop with relevant stakeholders to validate and discuss findings and recommendations and to gather additional information to finalize the report. PowerPoint slides and other material (graphs, charts, and other visuals), covering key findings and recommendations should be developed and used by the consultant during this workshop.

The consultant(s) will be expected to deliver the following products:

Product 1: Inception report, including 1) proposed methods and tools for data collection, 2) detailed work plan, 3) detailed field mission plan, and 4) outline of report structure/envisioned lengths of chapters. Deadline: February 24, 2023.

Product 2: Report on “opportunities to take adaptive action address occupational safety and health challenges linked to climate change in agricultural supply chains in Viet Nam”, max. 40-50 pages including annexes and bibliography; Deadline first draft: May 08, 2023; Deadline second draft: May 28, 2023.

Product 3: PowerPoint slides and other material (graphs, charts, and other visuals) as well as the design and facilitation of a validation workshop. Deadline: June 02, 2023.

The assignment shall be conducted between 08 February – 14 June 2023.

The successful service provider has the following experiences and skills:

Experience in conducting research on the impact of climate change on agricultural value chains;

Very good knowledge on OSH, including occupational and environmental health, and experience in conducting occupational hazard identification and risks assessments in agricultural workplaces;

Good understanding of gender issues, which need to be integrated into the research as a cross-cutting theme;

Good knowledge of the Vietnamese political, economic and social context (work experience in the country will be a plus);

Ability to establish and work in a multi-disciplinary team, including with international and national consultants;

Excellent data analysis skills;

Very good English writing skills and capacity to produce high-quality reports;

Strong social, organizational and knowledge management skills. .

The service provider will be expected to work in close consultation with the VZF Viet Nam project staff and ILO OSH experts at regional and global level.

To apply for this assignment, an expression of interest should be submitted to the ILO. This technical proposal should – at a minimum – include a CV(s); a workplan and a budget. Deadline for submissions is January 22, 2023.

The consultant(s) will report to Kristina Kurths (kurths@ilo.org), VZF Project Manager Viet Nam and Paul Wallot (wallot@ilo.org), VZF Programme Officer.