World Day for Safety and Helath at Work 2021

Global dialogue on safety and health at work in response to emergencies and crises

Virtual discussion on the importance of anticipating, preparing and responding to crises: invest now in resilient occupational safety and health, in the context of COVID-19.

Follow the discussion with the ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder and a panel of global leaders on how to strengthen occupational safety and health systems at the national level.


The 2021 World Day for Safety and Health at Work calls on leveraging the main elements of national OSH systems, highlighting how each element is of equal significance and relevancy when facing these challenges.

Recognizing that a robust national OSH system safeguards lives and livelihoods, it is imperative to have OSH systems well-resourced and robust enough in order to better pre-empt the impacts, tackle the challenges head on, provide resiliency to the world of work, and indirectly positively affecting public health.

The ILO Director General, Guy Ryder and a panel of global leaders and senior representatives from governments, employers and workers’ organizations will provide perspectives and showcase how investing in OSH, both programmatically and financially, contributes to a stronger infrastructure at the national level which is prepared to respond to crises such as COVID-19 and similar events.

Speakers at the Event:

Guy Ryder, ILO Director-General
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General
Owen Tudor, ITUC Deputy General Secretary
Roberto Suarez Santos, Secretary-General, IOE
Marty Walsh, Secretary of Labor, United States
Gisèle Ranampy, Minister of Labour, Employment, Social Services and Social Law, Madagascar
Vedat Bilgin, Minister of Labour and Social Security, Turkey

Jeannette Galanis, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Mine Safety and Health Administration, Department of Labor, United States
Silas Sng, Commissioner for Workplace Safety and Health, Ministry of Manpower, Singapore
Maria Fernanda Campos, Inspector-General, Authority for Working Conditions, Portugal
Selçuk Yasar, Head of International Collaboration Unit, DGOSH, Turkey
Kris De Meester, Senior Advisor, Belgium Federation of Employers
Maureen Onyia, Head of Occupational Health and Safety, Nigeria Labour Congress, Nigeria
Jerson Razafimanantsoa, Director-General of Labour and Social, Madagascar

Joaquim Nunes, Branch Chief, LABADMIN/OSH
Manal Azzi, Senior OSH Specialist and Coordinator of the World Day report and campaign

Closing statement: 
Vera Paquete-Perdigão, Director, GOVERNANCE, ILO

Moderator:
Femi Oke, Journalist and Moderate the Panel Co-Founder