The role and activities of the ILO
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| Introduction Review of past activities Current and future activities Main features of ILO action Annex |
The protection of the worker against sickness, disease and injury arising out f employment is one of the tasks assigned to the ILO in the words of the Preamble of its Constitution. Over the years, the ILO concern for protection of the worker has evolved to assume a broader coverage of the fundamental objectives embodied in the ILO Constitution and the Declaration of Philadelphia. The 1984 International Labour Conference Resolution concerning the improvement of the working conditions and environment, laid down the following principles:
Based on the above fundamental objectives and principles, the Occupational Safety and Health Branch of the ILO aims to increase the capacity in member States to prevent occupational accidents and work-related diseases and improve the working conditions. In pursuing this aim, the Occupational Safety and Health Branch uses as a means of action the development of international labour standards and the formulation of guidance, the provision of technical advisory services including technical cooperation activities, and the dissemination of information through its publications. In the process, the work of the Branch promotes productive and remunerative employment in a healthy environment, which is a major contribution to poverty alleviation, worker protection and sustainable development.
The development of international standards in the form of Conventions and accompanying Recommendations is one of the main functions of the ILO. These standards, which are adopted by the International Labour Conference, cover labour and social issues. As a package, they constitute the International Labour Code which defines minimum standards in the labour and social fields. Between 1919 and 1997, 181 Conventions and 188 Recommendations were adopted. Close to 50 per cent of these instruments relate directly or indirectly to occupational safety and health. Conventions and Recommendations relevant to occupational radiation protection are listed in the Annex; among them Convention No. 115 and Recommendation No. 114 deal specifically with the protection of workers against radiation (ionizing).
Conventions are comparable to multilateral international treaties; they are open to ratification by member States and, once ratified, become binding obligations. A government that has ratified a Convention is expected to apply its provisions through legislation or other appropriate means as indicated in the text of the Convention. The government is also required to report regularly on the application of ratified Conventions. The extent of compliance is subject to examination by ILO machinery. Complaints about alleged non-compliance may be made by the governments of other ratifying States or by employers' or workers' organizations, and procedures exist for investigating and acting upon such complaints. Conventions that have not been ratified have the same value as Recommendations.
Recommendations are intended to offer guidelines for action by member States. Often, a particular Recommendation will elaborate upon the provisions of a Convention on the same subject. Member States have certain important procedural obligations in respect of Recommendations - namely, to submit the texts to their legislative bodies, to report on the action resulting therein, and to report occasionally at the request of the Governing Body on the measures taken or envisaged to give effect to the provisions, but no specific substantive obligations are entailed.
ILO standards have exerted considerable influence on the laws and regulations of member States. Many texts have been modeled on the relevant provisions of ILO instruments. Drafts of new legislation or amendments are often prepared with ILO standards in mind so as to ensure compliance with ratified Conventions or to permit the ratification of other Conventions. Trade unions use ILO standards to support arguments in bargaining and in promoting legislation. Governments frequently consult the ILO, both formally and informally, about the compatibility of proposed legislative texts with international labour standards.
Further guidance is provided in codes of practice to be used as reference work by anyone in charge of formulating detailed regulations or responsible for occupational safety and health. They are also drawn up with the objective of providing guidance to those who may be engaged in the framing of occupational safety and health programmes. Codes of practice are adopted by meetings of experts and their publication is approved by the ILO Governing Body. Codes of practice are not intended to replace national laws, regulations or accepted standards. The codes of practice also offer guidelines to employers' and workers' organizations. Their provisions should be read in the context of conditions in the country proposing to use this information and the scale of operation involved. More than twenty codes of practice have been drawn up so far, covering various branches of economic activity or specific risks.
In 1987 the ILO published a code of practice on radiation protection. Subsequently, and with a view to establishing basic requirements for protection against the risks associated with exposure to ionizing radiation and for the safety of radiation sources that may deliver such exposure, six international organizations (FAO, IAEA, ILO, OECD/NEA, PAHO, WHO) jointly developed and co-sponsored the International Basic Safety Standards for Protection against Radiation and for the Safety of Radiation Sources (BSS). These standards were published by the IAEA in 1994 and represent unified requirements and guidance which are common to the six sponsoring organizations.
Dissemination of information is a major means of action of the ILO as regards occupational safety and health. Three major complementary tools should be mentioned: the ILO Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety, 4th edition, 1998 (4 volumes, some 1,000 authors from 50 countries); the International Occupational Safety and Health Information Centre (CIS); and the International Occupational Safety and Health Hazard Alert System which disseminates rapidly, through a world-wide network, scientific and technical information on newly discovered or suspected occupational health hazards.
The ILO has also a number of other means of disseminating information such as the publication of its Occupational Safety and Health Series and the organization of scientific and technical meetings, congresses or symposia.
Technical cooperation activities to protect the life and health of workers are very wide, ranging from the technical back-stopping of the Multi-Disciplinary Teams (MDTs) and of the technical departments at the headquarters, and the provision of experts to study particular problems or the award of grants for study and further training, to the setting up of occupational safety and health institutes, centres or laboratories, providing the necessary equipment and training of staff.
In 1993, the ILO adopted an active partnership policy (APP) which aims at bringing the Organization closer to its tripartite constituents in member States. Through the APP, the ILO seeks to enhance the coherence and quality of its technical services which are based on country objectives that are developed in close cooperation with the member States' governments and workers' and employers' organizations.
The objectives of the ILO's programmes of activities in the field of occupational safety and health aim essentially at:
At present, the ILO is preparing to launch a global programme on occupational safety, health and the environment. The ultimate objective of the global programme is to assist countries in designing and implementing national programmes supported by cost-effective measures and activities conducive to a significant reduction in occupational accidents and diseases and adverse effects on the environment.
The protection of the worker against ionizing radiations falls naturally within the scope of ILO's programme of action on occupational safety and health which uses, in a coordinated manner, the various means of action available to the ILO to give governments, employers' and workers' organizations the necessary help in drawing up and implementing programmes for the improvement of working conditions and environment.
Already in 1934, the ILO adopted an international instrument providing that persons sustaining occupational injuries caused by ionizing radiations would receive compensation and Convention No. 121 (1964) concerning benefits in the case of employment injury includes, under its Schedule 1, the compensation of diseases caused by ionizing radiations.
In 1949, the ILO published what is probably one of the first sets of practical international standards on radiation protection which were incorporated into the "Model Code of Safety Regulations for Industrial Establishment". These provisions were revised and considerably extended in 1957 and were incorporated as Part II in the ILO Manual of Industrial Radiation Protection. Other parts of this manual consisted of guides on radiation protection in industrial operations particularly concerning the use of industrial X-ray and gamma-ray radiography and fl uroscopic equipment and the use of luminous compounds.
In June 1960, the International Labour Conference adopted Convention (No. 115) and Recommendation (No. 114) concerning the protection of workers against ionizing radiations. The Convention applies to all activities involving exposure of workers to ionizing radiations in the course of their work and provides that each Member of the ILO who ratifies it shall give effect to its provisions by means of laws or regulations, codes of practice or other appropriate methods. It has been ratified by 47 countries. The Convention and Recommendation lay down basic principles and establish a fundamental framework for radiation protection of workers. They also contain provisions which concern the protective measures to be taken, the monitoring of radiation and the medical supervision of workers (the text of these international instruments is given in Annexes 2 and 3).
Several other international standards adopted by the International Labour Conference are also relevant to the protection of workers against ionizing radiations, notably Convention (No. 139) and Recommendation (No. 147) concerning the prevention and control of occupational hazards caused by carcinogenic substances and agents as well as Convention (No. 148) and Recommendation (No. 156) concerning the protection of workers against occupational hazards due to air pollution, noise and vibration in the working environment.
There are a number of instruments which establish the general framework and institutional arrangements for the protection of workers against occupational hazards in general. These are also relevant to the radiation protection of workers. In particular, there are the Occupational Safety and Health Convention (No. 155) and Recommendation (No. 164) concerning occupational safety and health and the working environment, adopted in 1981 and laying down for the first time at the international level the foundations of a national policy branching out to undertakings, in order to introduce a comprehensive and coherent system of prevention of occupational hazards. Convention (No. 161) and Recommendation (No. 171) concerning occupational health services, adopted in June 1985, provide for the establishment of occupational health services which should progressively be developed for all workers in all branches of economic activities. These instruments cover, in particular, the functions, organization and conditions of operation of such services.
The ILO has published jointly with IAEA a Code of Practice on Radiation Protection in the Mining and Milling of Radioactive Ores which was revised in cooperation with the WHO in 1983, the revised text was published by the IAEA on behalf of the three sponsoring organizations. This publication is currently being considered to be updated and expanded so that it can be brought in line with the new developments in radiation protection and give more coverage to mines and processing facilities other than those exploiting uranium or thorium which, for radiological reasons, may require some form of regulatory supervision.
The IAEA and the ILO co-sponsored a manual on radiological safety in uranium and thorium mines and mills, which was published in 1976 by the IAEA to supplement the above-mentioned ILO/IAEA Code of Practice on this matter. The revision of this manual took the form of a guide on monitoring in the mining and milling of radioactive ores published by the IAEA in cooperation with the ILO and WHO.
The ILO, IAEA and WHO co-sponsored a number of symposia and other meetings. For example, in 1963, a Symposium on Radiation Protection in Mining and Milling of Uranium and Thorium was organized by the ILO and the French Atomic Agency Commission in cooperation with the WHO and the IAEA. In 1983, the ILO co-sponsored a seminar organized in Gabon by IAEA on the same subject for developing countries in Africa. A joint IAEA/ILO technical advisory mission took place in Niger in 1991. In 1992, the ILO and WHO cooperated with the IAEA in a joint mission to Namibia with the purpose of making an in-depth assessment of radiation protection in uranium mining and milling.
Together with the IAEA and the WHO, the ILO has taken part in the production of a number of guides published by WHO on radiation protection in hospitals and general practice which is currently being revised. A manual on the medical supervision of radiation workers has been published by the IAEA under the auspices of the three organizations; its previous revision was carried out by IAEA in cooperation with WHO and ILO, and was published in the form of a training manual on radiation protection for occupational health physicians. This publication is, at present, being reviewed and revised for a possible publication as a Safety Guide.
A publication on mutual emergency assistance for radiation accidents was published by the IAEA in cooperation with FAO, ILO and WHO; it was updated in 1980 with the cooperation of UNDRO. In 1969 a publication on Planning for the Handling of Radiation Accidents (IAEA, ILO, FAO, WHO) was produced and in 1976 a Manual on early medical treatment of possible radiation injury with an appendix on sodium burns was issued.
The IAEA, WHO, ILO and OECD Nuclear Energy Agency co-sponsored the revision of the 1967 edition of the IAEA Basic Safety Standards for Radiation Protection in the light of the ICRP publication, No. 26, 1977. This revision was carried out by an advisory group of experts, which held three meetings in Vienna in 1977, 1978 and 1980. The revised Basic Safety Standards for Radiation Protection were published in 1982 by the IAEA on behalf of the four sponsoring organizations.
Consequently, the joint IAEA/ILO/WHO/NEA-OECD Basic Safety Standards for Radiation Protection (1982) represent a common basis on which each organization may develop specialized documents according to their own scope of competence and to the specific needs of their member States. Furthermore, for IAEA operations and operations undertaken with the assistance of IAEA, WHO and the ILO, the Basic Safety Standards should be applied in the light of national rules and regulations. The four organizations and ICRP co-sponsored a topical seminar on application of the Dose Limitation Systems for Radiation Protection in 1979.
The ILO prepared a brochure concerning the relevant provisions of the Basic Safety Standards (BSS-1982) in cooperation with IAEA and in consultation with WHO and OECD-NEA. The purpose of this brochure (No. 55 of the ILO Occupational Safety and Health Series) was to present these provisions in simple language, so that it can reach a wide audience and, in particular, all those directly concerned with the protection of workers against ionizing radiations, even if they are not specialists in this field. This publication was submitted as a technical contribution on the BSS by the co-sponsoring organizations at the UN Conference on Peaceful Use of Nuclear Energy which took place in 1986.
A meeting of experts was held in Geneva in September 1986 to revise the ILO Manual of Industrial Radiation Protection. It approved a Code of Practice for the Radiation Protection of Workers (Ionizing Radiations). The purpose of the Code of Practice is to provide guidance on steps to be taken to ensure effective protection of workers against ionizing radiations in the light of new knowledge of radiation protection. In particular, it provides practical guidance for the implementation of the provisions of the Basic Safety Standards for Radiation Protection (BSS- 1982) at enterprise level.
In 1989, the ILO published guidelines for the radiation protection of workers in industry (ionizing radiations). These guidelines (No. 62 of the Occupational Safety and Health Series) provide technical information on protection against radiation in specific installations and for specific equipment, in order to assist the competent authority, employers, workers and their organizations, as well as all those concerned with the protection of workers against ionizing radiations. They describe the requirements for the control of exposure to radiation of workers engaged in radiation work with external sources and unsealed sources. More recently, the ILO and the IAEA cooperated in the preparation of a draft Safety Guide on Occupational Radiation Protection in the Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities.
An International Trade Union Consultative Meeting took place in Vienna in April 1989. It was organized at the initiative of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) with the IAEA and the participation of the ILO. The meeting called for close cooperation between the ILO and the IAEA with a view to ensuring that trade unions are involved in the development of nuclear safety policy and in the implementation of occupational safety and health standards. Subsequently, the ILO and the IAEA were closely involved in the WANO/ICFTU consultation on Nuclear Safety which was held in Geneva in February 1993.
There has been a long-standing history on an efficient interagency cooperation on radiation protection which was strengthened by the establishment in 1986 of an Interagency Committee for Nuclear Accident Response (IAC/NR) which was later renamed as the Interagency Committee for the Response to Nuclear Accidents (ICRNA) and by the establishment in 1990 of an Interagency Committee on Radiation Safety (IACRS). ILO participates in both Interagency Committees and took an active part in the UN Task Force on Chernobyl. The Occupational Safety and Health Branch acts as the ILO focal point for the Emergency Response System established by the IAEA to meet its obligations under the Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident and the Convention on Assistance in the case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency. The ILO participated in the Post-Accident Review Meeting (August 1986) and in the International Chernobyl Project; an overview of the project was published in 1991 by IAEA.
The establishment of the IACRS was an important step towards international harmonization of radiation protection and safety. The IACRS was constituted as a forum for consultation on and collaboration in radiation safety matters between international organizations. Within the framework of the IACRS, a Joint Secretariat was established for the preparation of the International Basic Safety Standards for Protection against Ionizing Radiation and for the Safety of Radiation Sources which would supersede the previous basic international standards (BSS, 1982) and reflect knowledge gained subsequently and developments in radiation protection and safety and related fields.
The unprecedented international effort to draft and review the Standards involved hundreds of experts from the member States of the sponsoring organizations and from specialized organizations. The meeting of the Technical Committee that endorsed the Standards in December 1993 was attended by 127 experts from 52 countries and 11 organizations.
These International Basic Safety Standards for Protection against Ionizing Radiation and for the Safety of Radiation Sources (BSS) which were published in 1994 mark the culmination of efforts that have continued over the past several decades towards the harmonization of radiation protection and safety standards internationally. The Standards are jointly sponsored by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD/NEA), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization (the sponsoring organization).
The Standards are based on the latest assessments of the biological effects of radiation made by the UNSCEAR and on recommendations from the ICRP (publication 60) and the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group.
The BSS comprise a Preamble, the Principal Requirements, Appendices and Schedules. The Preamble states the aims and the bases of the Standards, explains the underlying principles and philosophy, and describes appropriate governmental arrangements for applying the Standards. The Principal Requirements specify what is imperative in order to fulfil the aims of the Standards. Consequential Detailed Requirements, subsidiary to the Principal Requirements, are specified in the Appendices. Quantitative standards and guidance are provided in the Schedules. A Glossary, the list of experts who contributed to the drafting and review process, and the list of the representatives of countries and organizations in the Technical Committee which endorsed the Standard in December 1993 are also included. The sponsoring organizations are also briefly described.
Another parallel development is the compilation of the Safety Fundamentals for Radiation Protection and the Safety of Radiation Sources which are co-sponsored by the same co-sponsoring organizations of the BSS. The Safety Fundamentals which was published in 1996 is a top-level publication in the IAEA Safety Series and provides the basis for the requirements in Safety Standards for the control of occupational, public and medical exposures and for the safety of radiation sources. Safety Guides and Safety Practices provide guidance and information on how to implement the requirements.
The current activities of the ILO are centred on the promotion of the active involvement of employers' and workers' organizations in occupational radiation protection and the implementation of the BSS and the Safety Fundamentals at both international and national levels. At the international level, the ILO is closely associated with the work of IAEA's Radiation Safety Standards Advisory Committee (RASSAC) which is vested with the important mission of reviewing the Agency's Safety Series documents on radiation protection and safety of radiation sources and the Agency's programme of work for the preparation of these documents. Within the framework of the IACRS, the ILO and other member organizations discuss international policies and standards on radiation protection and coordinate among themselves radiation protection activities carried out by individual member organizations.
The ILO has always maintained close links with international scientific communities, in particular with the ICRP, whose work is a primary basis for the development of international standards on radiation. For example, the ILO contributed to the work of the Task Group on Occupational Exposure of the ICRP and participated in the work of the ICRP Committee which reviewed the document. The general principles for the radiation protection of workers prepared by the Task Group lay a foundation for the development of a new Safety Guide on Occupation Radiation Protection.
With a view to promoting the involvement of labour departments in formulating regulations and establishing systems for radiation protection and control of radiation sources at the regional level, the ILO actively participated in an IAEA Regional Seminar on the Establishment of a System for Notification, Registration, Licensing and Control of Radiation Sources which took place in October 1997 in Beijing. Under the invitation of the Chinese Nuclear Safety Authority, the ILO participated in a Chinese national seminar on the preparation of China's National BSS. This shows that the ILO attaches high attention to the promotional activities at national level on the implementation of the BSS and on the cooperation between the nuclear and labour departments as well as the active involvement of workers' and employers' organizations in occupational radiation protection.
For the purpose of avoiding duplication of efforts and allowing for an effective use of resources, the ILO has decided to focus its radiation activities on cooperation with the IAEA and other international organizations in the preparation of a number of publications relevant to radiation protection of workers. At present, the ILO is cooperating with the IAEA in the preparation of the Safety Guide on Occupational Radiation Protection and with the IAEA, WHO and PAHO on a five-volume Manual on Radiation Protection in Hospitals and General Practice. Other publications which are being considered by the ILO for co-sponsoring in the near future include four IAEA Safety Guides: Radiation Protection of Workers in the Mining and Milling of Radioactive Ores; Control of Exposure to Natural Radiation at Work; Health Surveillance of Persons Occupationally Exposed to Ionizing Radiation; and Organization and Operation of a National Regulatory Infrastructure Governing Radiation and Safety of Radiation Sources.
The protection of workers against ionizing radiations represents a specific aspect of the protection of workers' health which falls within the larger framework of ILO action concerning occupational safety and health and the improvement of the working conditions and environment for all workers. Current ILO activities relevant to the protection of workers against ionizing radiations are of two kinds.
Firstly, a number of ILO activities concern all workers (including radiation workers) such as those relating to the promotion of national policies on occupational safety and health and the development of institutional arrangements for preventive action to protect workers' health.
Secondly, there are activities directly related to the protection of workers against ionizing radiations; examples of past activities on radiation protection of workers which were carried out by the ILO itself and by the ILO in cooperation with IAEA and WHO and other organizations concerned were given above. Such activities will continue and it is expected that the international cooperation in the field of radiation protection of workers will not only be pursued but strengthened.
A list of ILO instruments and publications relevant to radiation protection of workers is given in Annex 1. A typical briefing set on the ILO and radiation protection of workers (ionizing radiations) should contain the following documents:
Geneva, 17 February 1998
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