- November 24, 2014
Unions call for more emphasis on preventing workplace accidents and diseases
A symposium of union participants and ILO experts in Jakarta says preventative culture must become a priority.
JAKARTA(ACTRAV INFO) –Union participants at a regional symposium on occupational safety and health (1-3 October) have agreed that building a preventative safety and health culture must become a priority The symposium, organized by the ILO’s Bureau for Workers Activities (ACTRAV) in cooperation with the ILO Office in Jakarta and the Labour Administration, Labour Inspection and Occupational Safety and Health Branch, was supported by the South-South Cooperation ACTRAV/All-China Federation of Trade Union (ACFTU) Programme.
The trade union representatives from 14 countries drew up a series of recommendations to enhance regional cooperation of trade unions on OSH. They urged action by all the unions in promoting the shift from behaviour based safety and health to prevention, ratification and implementation of the key ILO standards on OSH (Convention No 155, its 2002 Protocol and Convention No 187), training and education of trade union leaders, and awareness-raising among management and workers on hazards and risks as well as preventative measures.
Other recommendations included: campaigning for the right to decent work; promoting workers’ and their representatives’ involvement in design, implementation and monitoring in the field of OSH at all levels from workplace to national; promoting rehabilitation and right to return to work for injured workers; strengthening cooperation with authorities and labour inspectorates to ensure improved workplace compliance and lobby for strengthened and effective inspectorates.
Union representatives stressed on the need for decent work-led rights based approach to health and socio-economic security of workers. To promote this, it is necessary that government take steps to ensure that workers have effective right to organize, to union recognition and to collective bargaining is guaranteed.
In addition, the participants called for the integration of OSH into the Decent Work Country Programmes.
http://www.ilo.org/actrav/media-center/pr/WCMS_312066/lang–en/index.htm