Young workers are 40 per cent more likely than older workers to suffer injuries on the job. Why is this figure so high? For starters, young workers are often relatively new to the world of work and may have only limited experience of how to stay safe in the working environment. Young workers may lack access to good-quality training on how to prevent occupational accidents, and may not even be aware of their right at work when it comes to Occupational Health and Safety (OSH).

“Young workers often lack the knowledge and exposure to understand when and how to speak up in order to protect themselves and their peers from workplace risks and hazards. When young workers see something hazardous in their workplace, they may not alert anyone until it is too late,” said Mr Khalid Hassan, Director of the International Labour Organization (ILO)’s Country Office for the Philippines.

In the Philippines, young workers face some very real challenges when it comes to Occupational Safety and Health (OSH). “There are 25 million young people in the Philippines aged 15 to 24 years old accounting for one-fifth of the total population. At present, we see large numbers of these young people employed in economic sectors characterized by Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) risks and hazards. For example, there are more than 2 million young workers aged 15 to 24 in the agriculture sector, almost 700,000 in the manufacturing sector, and more than 400,000 in the construction sector. These sectors are some of the most dangerous in which to work at any age, in terms of work-related fatalities, non-fatal accidents and occupational diseases”, said Ms Kathy Brimon, National Project Coordinator of the ILO SafeYouth@Work Project in the Philippines. The ILO SafeYouth@Work Project aims to promote the occupational safety and health (OSH) of young workers, with a focus on those aged 15 to 24, in these 3 industry sectors.

SafeYouth@Work Media Competition

One of the ways that the ILO is seeking to address these concerns is by supporting opportunities for young people themselves to contribute creative ways to raise awareness on the issue of OSH and young workers. The SafeYouth@Work Media Competition currently being run by the ILO will see a small number of young people aged 18 to 24 win the opportunity to showcase their films, photos, videos, posters, stories, songs and other creative products to an audience of thousands at the forthcoming XXI World Congress on Safety and Health at Work taking place in Singapore in September 2017.

“The SafeYouth@Work Media Competition is designed to help put youth vision and voice at the center of discussion on preventing workplace accidents and diseases. We want young people to show the world what ‘Safety and Health at Work’ really means to them. We want to see and hear what young people are saying about the work-related dangers that young workers face in their daily lives and tells us how they and their community, friends, schools, and youth organizations can take action to improve the situation”, said Mr Jared Bloch, Communications Specialist at the ILO headquarters in Geneva.

The SafeYouth@Work Media Completion is open to young people aged 15 to 24 from all around the world, including the Philippines. In addition to being showcased in front of an audience of thousands in Singapore in September at the XXI World Congress on Safety and Health at Work, winning submissions will be included on the ILO YouTube channel as well as and International Media Festival for Prevention (IMFP) YouTube channel and will be featured on the SafeYouth@Work Media Competition Website. Winners will also receive a signed award certificate from the ILO. Additionally, the participants that have submitted the winning entries in the 18 to 24 year old category will be invited to participate in the XXI World Congress on Safety and Health at Work, in Singapore. The ILO and the organizer of the World Congress will pay for all travel, accommodation and other relevant costs associated with this participation. Holding valid passports and necessary visas remains the sole responsibility of the participants. Submissions to the SafeYouth@Work Media Competition close on Friday 30 June 2017.

Launch of the ILO Youth4OSH project in the Philippines

The ILO is currently launching a new development cooperation project in the Philippines to help to reduce the rate of workplace injuries, fatalities, and occupational diseases in the Philippines through increased preventative safety actions by young workers themselves as well as by their employers.

“We are very excited to be launching this new technical cooperation project that aims to reduce the incidence of workplace injuries, fatalities, and occupational diseases through increased preventative safety actions by young workers and their employers here in the Philippines, as well as in neighboring countries in the region, including Indonesia, Myanmar, and Viet Nam”, said Mr Dylan Tromp, Project Manager of the ILO Youth4OSH project. “A safer working environment for young workers is a win-win scenario for both employers and workers. To make this happen, our project will support key stakeholders with the communications tools they need to be able to more effectively raise the level of workplace safety awareness, in order to create a workplace culture of prevention and mindset that constantly promotes zero occupational accidents and diseases,” said Mr Tromp.

To capture inputs for the Youth4OSH project, the ILO held consultation meetings during the week of 29 May to 2 June with government officials of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Bureau of Working Conditions, Bureau of Local Employment, Occupational Safety and Health Center, Employee Compensation Commission, Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns, Bureau of Labor Relations, Institute for Labor Studies (ILS), National Youth Commission (NYC), Department of Education, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), as well as DOLE Regional Offices in the National Capital Region (NCR), Region 3 and Region IVA, Boy Scouts of the Philippines, representatives of employers and the business community, including the Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), Federation of Philippine Industries and the Young Entrepreneurs Association of the Philippines, representatives of several trade unions and workers organizations, including IndustriALL, ALU, ALLWIES, SENTRO, Construction Industry Workers Council and FFW, as well as safety organizations including the Safety Organization of the Philippines, Inc. (SOPI), Occupational Nurses Association of the Philippines (OHNAP), Association of Safety and Health Training Organizations of the Philippines (ASHTOP), and Association of Safety Practitioners of the Philippines, Inc. (ASPPI).

Supported by the United States Council for International Business (USCIB) Foundation and valued at USD 1 million, the Youth4OSH project will help to increase the capacity of organizations and networks in the Philippines to promote awareness and action on Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) for young workers and their employers.

For further information please contact:

Katherine Brimon
National Project Coordinator
ILO SafeYouth@Work
Tel.: +63 2 580 9900 or 580 9928 (Manila)
Email

Dylan Tromp
Project Manager
ILO Youth4OSH
Tel.: +62 21 391 3112 (Jakarta)
Email