The ILO and the Ministry of Emergency Management jointly organize a tripartite event in Beijing on 27 April 2018 to commemorate the World Day for Safety and Health at Work (SAFEDAY). The event aims at improving the public awareness on the importance of improving the safety and health of young workers.

According to the latest estimates released by the International Labour Organization (ILO), 2.78 million workers die every year due to occupational accidents and work-related diseases. Some 2.4 million (86.3 per cent) of these deaths are due to work-related diseases, while over 380,000 (13.7 per cent) result from occupational accidents. Young workers have significantly higher rates of occupational injury than do adult workers. They are more vulnerable to occupational diseases because they are still developing, both physically and mentally, and this makes them more susceptible to harm from hazardous chemicals and other agents.

Claire Courteille-Mulder, Director of ILO Country Office for China and Mongolia called on government, employers, workers, and trade unions to play their unique roles in building a safe and healthy generation. She pledged the commitment of ILO to further strengthen the close cooperation with its tripartite Chinese constituents in promoting safe work, for example through the SCORE project which has contributed to improving both safety and productivity in Chinese small enterprises over the last four years.

Sun Huashan, Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Emergency Management, highlighted the importance of raising the awareness of young workers on safety and health at work. He emphasized the need for closer cooperation between the relevant ministries to provide OSH training for rural migrant workers and incorporating OSH into the national skill training programme.

Construction is a sector where many young workers are employed. It is also one of the most dangerous sectors. For this reason, this year the SAFEDAY event is organized in a Safety Training Center for construction workers. This mobile Center is conveniently located next to a vast construction site where the future sub-center of Beijing is being built. All workers use the Center before they start working at the construction site. Such safety training centers are being promoted in China amongst other efforts to improve the OSH knowledge and skills of workers and reduce work-related injury.

Government officials, a delegation of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, representatives of the organizations of workers and employers, companies, media, and around 200 young construction workers participated in the event. The participants received OSH training and tried some of the safety training facilities at the Center after the event.