"Decent work must also be safe work"

1. MGD 120
Course: Information for Development Professionals
Analysis on Global Safety at Work
“Decent work must also be safe work.”
Juan Somavia, ILO Director-General
Francesca Romana Armini

2. Background (1/2)
Although there has been progress on many fronts in the
world of work, work-related deaths, accidents and diseases
are still major causes for concern. According to ILO, each
year an estimated 2.2 million women and men die as a
result of occupational accidents and work-related diseases.
Across the globe, there are some 270 million occupational
accidents and 160 million work-related diseases each year.
Sources: ILO, International Labour Organization, working paper “Facts on Safety at Work”, www.ilo.org/safework

3. Background (2/2)
Some numbers
• Of these 2.2 million, about 350,000 deaths are from workplace
accidents and more than 1.7 million are from work-related diseases.
158.000 of these are fatal accidents.
• Approximately 4% of the world’s gross domestic product is lost with
the cost of injury, death and disease through absence from work,
sickness treatment, disability and survivor benefits.
• Hazardous substances kill about 438,000 workers annually, and 10%
of skin cancers are estimated to be attributable to workplace exposure
to hazardous substances.
Sources: ILO, International Labour Organization, working paper “Facts on Safety at Work”, www.ilo.org/safework

4. Global estimated work-related disease mortality
Causes of death No. of deaths Estimated percentage No. of deaths
attributed to attributed to
occupation occupation
Cancer 30+ years 5,703,000 8% 456,240
Cardiovascular and 2,667,000 7.5 % 200,025
cerebral-vascular disease
15 - 60 years
Chronic respiratory 2750,000 10 % 275,000
disease 15+ years
Pneumoconioses 36,000 100 % 36,000
(proportional estimate
from US figures)
Nervous system disorders 604,000 2% 12,080
15+ years
Renal disorders 15+ 655,000 2% 13,100
years
Total 992,445

5. Focus: Comparison between Italy and France (1/2)
Accidents at work: incidence rate - With more than three days' absence
(per 100000 persons employed)
Italy
2000
1000
0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
France
4200
4000
3800
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Source: Data provided by Eurostat

6. Focus: Comparison between Italy and France (2/2)
Fatal accidents at work (per 100 000 persons employed)
70
Italy 60
50
40
30
20
10
0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
90
80
70
France 60
50
40
30
20
10
0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Source: Data provided by Eurostat

7. Legislation on safety at work at national level (1/2)
Focus on Italian legislation: Historical overview
50’s: first regulation about work safety and health
• (DPR 547/55 e DPR 303/56);
90’s: first modern directives
• (D.Lgs. 277/92) concerning noise, asbestos and chemical agents;
00’s: new approaches to work safety
• (D.Lgs. 626/94, D.Lgs. 25/2000)
2009: “Testo Unico” on Safety at Work (key points on the next page)
• (D.Lgs. 81/08)
Sources: Il nuovo Testo Unico sulla Sicurezza sul Lavoro, Simone Boschi, 2009.

8. Legislation on safety at work at national level (2/2)
“Testo Unico” on Safety at Work (D.Lgs. 81/08)
Key Points:
• Introduction of a Permanent Commission for Health and Safety at Work
(Ministry of Work);
• Introduction of Regional Committees for Coordination;
• Introduction of a National Informative System for Prevention in workplaces;
• Specification of employers, employees and medical doctors obligations and
related sanctions;
• Suspension of irregular productive activity;
• Risks evaluation procedures;
• Introduction of the Company Administrative Responsibility and related
sanctions;
• Introduction of a Prevention and Protection Service within the company;
• Employers information and training about the risks linked to their jobs;
• Introduction of Individual Protection Devices (risk-proof equipment);
• Security requirements and prohibitions.
Sources: Il Sole 24 ore, Documenti (Norme e tributi), 5/05/2008.

9. Regulation of working conditions at international level (1/8)
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948):
Article 23
(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and
favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration
ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and
supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
Article 24
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of
working hours and periodic holidays with pay.
Sources: http://www.un.org/en/ documents/udhr/

10. Regulation of working conditions at international level (2/8)
Tripartite Declaration of Principles Concerning Multinational Enterprises and
Social Policy (1977):
(36) Governments should ensure that both multinational and national
enterprises provide adequate safety and health standards for their employees.
(37) Multinational enterprises should maintain the highest standards of safety
and health, in conformity with national requirements…
They should also make available … information on the safety and health
standards relevant to their local operations.
…They should make known to those concerned any special hazards and related
protective measures associated with new products and processes.
They should be expected to play a leading role in the examination of causes of
industrial safety and health hazards and in the application of resulting
improvements within the enterprise as a whole.

11. Regulation of working conditions at international level (3/8)
(38) Multinational enterprises should cooperate in the work of international
organizations concerned with the preparation and adoption of international
safety and health standards.
(39) … Multinational enterprises should cooperate fully with the competent
safety and health authorities, the representatives of the workers and their
organizations, and established safety and health organizations.
…Matters relating to safety and health should be incorporated in agreements
with the representatives of the workers and their organizations.
Sources: http://www.ilo.org/empent/WorkingUnits/lang--en/WCMS_DOC_ENT_DPT_MLT_EN

12. Regulation of working conditions at international level (4/8)
ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (1998):
The ILO Declaration recognized four fundamental rights as the central plank of
decent work, which are:
• Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining;
• The elimination of forced and compulsory labour;
• The elimination of discrimination in the workplace;
• The abolition of child labour.
Sources: http://www.ilo.org/declaration/thedeclaration/textdeclaration/lang--en/index.htm

13. Regulation of working conditions at international level (5/8)
OECD's Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (2000):
Recommendations addressed by governments to multinational enterprises
providing voluntary principles and standard in terms of employment and
industrial relations.
According to the Guidelines the enterprises should:
a) Observe standards of employment and industrial relations not less
favourable than those observed by comparable employers in the host
country.
b) Take adequate steps to ensure occupational health and safety in their
operations.
Sources: www.oecd.org/daf/investment/guidelines

14. Regulation of working conditions at international level (6/8)
Global Compact (2000):
It asked companies to respect a set of values in the areas of human rights, labour
standards, environment, and anti-corruption. Referring to safety at work and
working conditions, it stated:
Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of
internationally proclaimed human rights;
Principle 2: Businesses should make sure that they are not complicit in human
rights abuses.
Sources: http://www.unglobalcompact.org/AbouttheGC/TheTENPrinciples/index.html

15. Regulation of working conditions at international level (7/8)
Millennium Development Goals (Millennium Declaration 2000):
Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Target 1.B: Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all,
including women and young people
It should be noted that there aren’t MDG indicators directly referring to
achievement of decent work in terms of reduction of work-related deaths,
diseases and sicknesses.
Work can only be decent if it is safe and healthy: this is why reduction of work-
related deaths and diseases may be added as another indicator of Goal 1
achievement.
The Millennium Development Goals and targets come from the Millennium Declaration, signed by 189 countries,
including 147 heads of State and Government, in September 2000.
(http://www.un.org/millennium/declaration/ares552e.htm)

16. Regulation of working conditions at international level (8/8)
ILO Conventions referring to safety and health at work:
• Convention 102 concerning Social Security (Minimum Standards), 1952.
•Convention 115 concerning the Protection of Workers against Ionizing
Radiations, 1960.
• Convention 119 concerning the Guarding of Machinery,1963.
• Convention 130 concerning Medical Care and Sickness Benefits, 1969.
• Convention 136 concerning Protection against Hazards of Poisoning arising
from Benzene, 1971.
• Convention 139 concerning Prevention and Control of Occupational
Hazards caused by Carcinogenic Substances and Agents, 1974.
• Convention 155 concerning Occupational Safety and Health, 1981
Sources: http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/english/index.htm

17. Conclusions and guidelines to solve the problem
Experience and available studies have shown that
preventative safety culture could be beneficial for
workers, employers and governments both in avoiding
workplace accidents and illnesses and improving
business performance.

18. The following are actions that should be taken:
• Encouraging social dialogue between trade unions and
employers;
• Strengthening health and safety legislation through strong
labour inspection.
• Providing laws and services promoting safe and healthy
workplaces.
• Adapting work to the capabilities of workers in terms of their
state of physical and mental health.
Sources: ILO, International Labour Organization, working paper “Facts on Safety at Work”, www.ilo.org/safework