ILO Occupational Safety and Health : The Global Programme on Occupational Safety and Health

The Global Programme on Occupational Safety, Health and Environment

-under development-

Status

This programme is in the process of being established. Launch date is still to be determined.

Rationale

The worldwide incidence of occupational accidents and diseases is still unacceptably high. Growing environmental degradation resulting from economic production activities is also a major concern. Nevertheless, prevention and protection have traditionally been relegated to low priority for investment and financing, because of the difficulty of measuring the cost of inaction with sufficient accuracy, and the timescale involved in such measurements. Moreover, there has been a tendency for the appropriate measures to be perceived negatively as constraints on activity.

The situation is aggravated with the impact of globalization and rapid technological progress, which foster a drive for competitiveness based on higher productivity and quality at lower cost. In this environment, Occupational Safety, Health and the Environment (OSHE) standards are perceived as a barrier to trade and therefore as detrimental to the success of enterprises.

The programme responds to the need for a global framework that can promote, structure and coordinate the implementation of better adapted and cost-effective OSHE delivery systems, management tools and programmes, as well as monitoring and information services designed to prevent occupational accidents and diseases and to protect the health and welfare of workers, their families and the environment. It intends to demonstrate and publicize the fact that OSHE objectives are positive values in the economic equation, and to create a positive perception of prevention and protection as an integral part of quality management. It is based on the premise that, when the total costs resulting from injury, illness and disability are taken into account in calculating the true cost of production, it is apparent that high productivity and quality can be reached economically only when requirements in these areas are integrated in the production process. Safety, health and environmental issues are integral elements of other priorities such as health, employment, industrial relations and enterprise development. The integrated and holistic management approach required at the national, regional and international levels will be adopted by the programme, which will associate all relevant stakeholders to its implementation.

The programme also follows up on the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED, Rio de Janeiro, June 1992) and particularly on the environmental concerns arising from the world of work.

Links with the ILO's mandate and international labour standards

Principles such as those underlining the provision of a safe and healthy working and living environment and the promotion of workers' well-being and dignity are part of the core mandate of the ILO concerning social justice and worker protection. The programme directly advances the objectives of a number of international labour Conventions, particularly the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155), the Chemicals Convention, 1990 (No. 170), the Occupational Health Services Convention, 1985 (No. 161), and the Prevention of Major Industrial Accidents Convention, 1993 (No. 174).

Objectives

In general terms, the programme aims to contribute to a significant reduction in occupational accidents and diseases and environmental degradation resulting from the workplace. It aims to help countries strengthen their capacity to develop and implement cost-effective OSHE strategies that are compatible with the constraints of globalization while being conducive to a sustained, significant reduction in occupational accidents and diseases and in environmental degradation.

Strategy

The global programme will provide a framework for the development of national programmes based on internationally agreed policies and principles, aimed at meeting national needs and designed for national and local implementation, and which will be the basis for coherent and progressive expansion of national OSHE capacities. The focus will be on strengthening national capacity to deal with OSHE issues in government entities responsible for implementing OSHE monitoring and enforcement measures, employers' and workers' organizations, and small and medium enterprises.

The goal is to establish nationally integrated operational structures for the streamlined and synergistic delivery of occupational safety, occupational hygiene, occupational health and environmental services. Reliable databases will be established on occupational accident and disease statistics at national and international level. Priority will be given to workers in highly hazardous occupations (in particular agriculture, mining, logging, energy production, chemicals and waste disposal) and specific categories of workers, including women and young workers and workers in the informal sector.

The programme will target the most intolerable occupational risks and work-related environmental risks, aiming for their programmed elimination.

The programme will promote international cooperation in fields such as occupational health, chemical safety and radiation protection.

The ILO will periodically convene an International Forum on Occupational Safety, Health and Environment to promote cooperation between countries and networking, and to present and compare national experiences. It will also serve as a tool for the early detection of new OSH problems and issues.

Institutional arrangements

The programme will be located in the ILO's Occupational Safety and Health Branch, which will ensure overall implementation, including the coordination of inputs by other ILO departments. Other central functions will include overall monitoring, reporting and evaluating; the initiation of catalysing activities, ensuring the inclusion of programme values in policies and strategies at the national level; technical cooperation with other international organizations; and participation in resource mobilization initiatives. The ILO's MDT network will help national stakeholders to identify their priorities and to determine the composition of national OSHE programmes.

Updated by DG and EV. Approved by JT. Last updated: 2 April 1998