Tanzania and Uganda to mark the 2016 World Day for Safety and Health
The two East-African countries are ready to nationally mark this year’s OSH campaign under the theme: “Workplace Stress: a collective challenge”.
27 April 2016
KAMPALA/DAR ES SALAAM (ILO News) - The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development through the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH), in collaboration with employers’ and workers’ organizations in Uganda and the ILO, are marking the World Day for Safety and Health, on 28 April 2016 with the theme “workplace stress: A collective challenge.”
An Occupational Safety and Health dialogue which brings together key national stakeholders from the academia, diplomatic community, economists, administrative and labour sectors is slated for 28th April as part of the celebrations.
The dialogue is aimed at promoting safety and health of all workers in all sectors in Uganda, for improved economic productivity and national development through raising national awareness about workplace stress and its mitigation.
Work-related stress is now generally acknowledged as a global issue, affecting all countries, all professions and all workers, and can have a significant impact on workers' health, absenteeism and performance.
Among the areas to be covered at the dialogue include OSH in the context of working population and their families, OSH in the context of productivity and OSH as a driver of national development.
Other activities lined up to mark the day include media campaigns on the year’s theme, procession by workers and exhibitions.
Uganda has taken concrete steps towards building the national capacity for preventing workplace accidents, occupational diseases and death at work. One of the steps is the implementation of the Government funded Strengthening, Safeguards, Safety and Health at Workplace (SSASHEW) Project.
Two robust programs, Promotion of “Green” Jobs and Fair Labour Market, and Promotion of Chemical Safety and Security have also been approved by the Government to combat workplace safety and health challenges, stress being one of them.
In Tanzania, several activities have been planned to mark the day. They include – OSH exhibitions, OSH training workshops for SMEs, HIVAIDS Voluntary Counselling and Testing services, blood donations, presentation of awards to OSH winning companies, and a sports bonanza.
The World Day for Safety and Health at work is marked globally on the 28th April every year since 2003, in commemoration and solidarity with the workers who have been injured or lost their lives in the course of their work, with the aim of attracting international attention onto emerging trends in the OSH field and the magnitude and challenges of work-related problems. According to the ILO, an estimated 2.3 million workers die every year from occupational accidents and work-related diseases. Over 350,000 are caused by occupational accidents and 2 million by work-related diseases.
An Occupational Safety and Health dialogue which brings together key national stakeholders from the academia, diplomatic community, economists, administrative and labour sectors is slated for 28th April as part of the celebrations.
The dialogue is aimed at promoting safety and health of all workers in all sectors in Uganda, for improved economic productivity and national development through raising national awareness about workplace stress and its mitigation.
Work-related stress is now generally acknowledged as a global issue, affecting all countries, all professions and all workers, and can have a significant impact on workers' health, absenteeism and performance.
Among the areas to be covered at the dialogue include OSH in the context of working population and their families, OSH in the context of productivity and OSH as a driver of national development.
Other activities lined up to mark the day include media campaigns on the year’s theme, procession by workers and exhibitions.
Uganda has taken concrete steps towards building the national capacity for preventing workplace accidents, occupational diseases and death at work. One of the steps is the implementation of the Government funded Strengthening, Safeguards, Safety and Health at Workplace (SSASHEW) Project.
Two robust programs, Promotion of “Green” Jobs and Fair Labour Market, and Promotion of Chemical Safety and Security have also been approved by the Government to combat workplace safety and health challenges, stress being one of them.
In Tanzania, several activities have been planned to mark the day. They include – OSH exhibitions, OSH training workshops for SMEs, HIVAIDS Voluntary Counselling and Testing services, blood donations, presentation of awards to OSH winning companies, and a sports bonanza.
Background information
The World Day for Safety and Health at work is marked globally on the 28th April every year since 2003, in commemoration and solidarity with the workers who have been injured or lost their lives in the course of their work, with the aim of attracting international attention onto emerging trends in the OSH field and the magnitude and challenges of work-related problems. According to the ILO, an estimated 2.3 million workers die every year from occupational accidents and work-related diseases. Over 350,000 are caused by occupational accidents and 2 million by work-related diseases.