Fact Service March 2021

Issue 12

Experts urge adoption of health and safety as fundamental right

Occupational health organisations have called for the ILO (International Labour Organization) to designate workers’ health and safety as a fundamental right.

International occupational and environmental health organisation Collegium Ramazzini, has called on the ILO to make the change at its June 2021 conference.

It stated: “Hundreds of millions of people worldwide are harmed each year by their work. Millions more die. This carnage is preventable, but only if the protection of workers from harm is given high priority and worker health and safety is recognised as a fundamental human right. The ILO must act at the earliest opportunity.”

Nick Pahl, CEO of the UK-based Society of Occupational Medicine, also said that his organisation “strongly supports the designation of occupational health and safety as an ILO fundamental right at work.”

https://www.ituc-csi.org/experts-call-for-occupational-health-and-safety