Global work death toll

About two million people are killed by their work every year. Estimated 160 million people on this planet have work-related diseases.This latest global estimate comes from the International Labour Office (ILO) - and it says that's just a small part of the carnage at work, says Jukka Takala, Director of ILO's SafeWork programme. "If terrorism took such a toll, just imagine what would be said and done." Jukka Takala, ILO.
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Trade unionists from countries across the globe are organising special events on April 28 to mark the annual commemoration of working people who are killed, injured or become ill due to health and safety hazards at work. Activities on the International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers are expected in over 100 countries, a number of which have now recognized April 28 as an official national observance day. The April 28 activities are also linked to global trade union activities on May 1, when millions of workers worldwide are expected to join in the call for “Respect” for workers’ rights, including the right to health and safety at work.

In the past 12 months, over 2 million working people around the world have lost their lives due to poor health and safety at work, with more than 1.2 million serious injuries and over 160 million falling ill.

“Poor health and safety and unsustainable work practices are leading killers in modern times”, said ICFTU General Secretary Guy Ryder. “At the same time, many governments are cutting back on enforcement of standards, and allowing unscrupulous employers to cut corners and operate in a way that puts the lives of working people at constant risk and jeopardizes broader social and environmental objectives.”

A major focus of the commemoration activities this year will be “employer accountability”, emphasizing the work of trade unions in ensuring that employers provide safe, hygienic and environmentally sustainable workplaces. Many companies promote public relations-oriented “codes of conduct” which promise much but deliver little. However, growing numbers of multinational companies are recognizing their global union counterparts and some are negotiating framework agreements with them. Such agreements provide a means to resolve real problems for workers at their work places. While binding measures to protect workers’ rights are needed at the global level, existing non-binding measures, in particular the OECD Guideline for Muntinational Enterprise, must also be vigorously promoted and implemented by governments. It is the combination of effective governance and regulation with voluntary action based on social dialogue and agreement that will support, rather than undermine, the standards of the International Labour Organisation and begin to change the nature of globalisation.

This year’s events will also highlight the public health aspects of the toll of work-related death, injury and illness. While employers may reap financial benefits from hazardous and unsustainable work practices, the huge costs which result from these are eventually transferred to already overburdened public health systems. Moreover, the effects of unsustainable workplaces often spill over into local communities, through air, water and ground pollution, excessive energy consumption and misuse of natural resources.

Full report on ICFTU ONLINE

For a fuller list of national and local activities planned on April 28, please visit Hazards Magazine’s.

The ICFTU represents 158 million workers in 231 affiliated organisations in 150 countries and territories. ICFTU is also a member of Global Unions

Brussels 24 April 2003

The ILO's Subregional Office for Southeast Asia in conjunction with OSHEI, the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, and the Ministry of Public Health will jointly organize a commemorative event to mark the World Day for Safety and Health at Work. The event will have two parts. First, there will be a ceremony reflecting on occupational hazards and illnesses that have long victimized Thai workers and businesses and current progress the Thai government and civil society organizations have made to enhance safety and health at work. The ceremony will include input from high-ranking ILO and Thai government officials.

The second part of the event will be a consultation meeting of representatives from concerned organizations to discuss safety and health in the Thai agricultural sector. The consultation aims at raising public awareness on occupational hazards facing Thai agricultural workers and employers and to brainstorm about future collaborative strategies, as the Thai government now has planned to increase safety and health in this sector. This event will take place on 25 April 2003. As well as this forward-looking aspect, they will also be remembering the past and the Kader Fire Tragedy.

This year is the 10th anniversary of the fire at the Kader toy factory. Workers’ organizations and non-governmental organizations will organize a series of public awareness raising activities during April 20 – May 11, 2003. These activities will address the following topics:

What happened and its significance
*Impact on the victims and their families
*Rights to compensation and legal difficulties
*Preventing another Kader Fire and accidents at work

The ILO's Bangkok office is providing financial assistance for the production of posters about the Kader Fire Tragedy to display at throughout this event and for permanent display at the Thai Labour Museum in Bangkok. A representative of SRO-Bangkok will give a speech at one of the public seminars organized to commemorate workers who died in the Kader Fire Tragedy.

For more information about ILO activities on World Day for Safety and Health at Work please contact Tsuyoshi Kawakami. Email: kawakami@ilobkk.or.th and for more information visit ILO World Day for Satefy

“Employer Accountability” & “Improving Public Health through Stronger Health & Safety”

8th INTERNATIONAL WORKERS' MEMORIAL DAY

Global Unions

ILO World Day for Satefy

ILO Fact sheet

OECD Guideline for Muntinational Enterprise

International Labour Law