“At the end of the day, the goals are simple: safety and security.”
-Jodi Rell
It is the working class of all the nations, states, cities and villages which carries the progression of the world on its shoulders. Karl Marx defined the working class or proletariat as individuals who sell their labor power for wages and who do not own the means of production. He argued that they were responsible for creating the wealth of a society. Moreover, the working class physically builds bridges, craft furniture, grow food, and nurse children, but generally face the wrath of accidents due to lack of care for their safety. It therefore becomes mandatory for businesses of all sorts and sizes to keep health and safety as their utmost priority. Complying with the health and safety requirements not only cuts the risk of prosecution, fines and reputational damage but improves the likelihood of the efficient business performance. With the aim of preventing accidents and diseases at workplace the International Labor Organization (ILO) started observing the World Day for Safety and Health at Work, beginning in 2003. The ILO is dedicated to creating opportunities for people to obtain decent and productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity.
The main organization behind this day i.e. the ILO appreciates this day with the purpose of focusing international attention on the immensity of the problem and how advancing and establishing safe and healthy culture can help lessen the figure of work-related deaths and injuries. 28th April, every year is used to raise consciousness on the implementation of safe practices in places of work and the role that Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) services play. After all ‘safety isn’t expensive but priceless.’ Every year, as per United Nations reports, two million men and women lose their lives through accidents and diseases allied to their work. Fatalities, accidents and illness at work are highly preventable and this initiative objects to spread awareness on that.
The theme for this year, 2021, is “Anticipate, Prepare and Respond to crises - Invest Now in Resilient Occupational Safety and Health Systems”. This year The World Day for Safety and Health at Work will concentrate on strategies to brace national occupational safety and health (OSH) systems to build resilience, in order to face crises now and in the future, drawing on lessons learned and experiences from the realm of the working class. The global crisis which began in early 2020, has affected the entire world and has led to a dramatic loss of human life worldwide.
The 2020 deadly virus has left no space of work untouched from the risk of transmission of the virus in workplaces, to (OSH) risks that have emerged as an outcome of measures to mitigate the spread of the virus. Alteration to new forms of working arrangements, such as the extensive dependence on teleworking, have, for example, presented many opportunities for workers but also posed potential OSH risks, including psychosocial risks and violence in particular.
The World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2021 emphasizes on strengthening the elements of an OSH system as set out in the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006 (No. 187). The world day report scrutinizes how the current crisis determines the importance of strengthening these OSH systems, including occupational health services, at both the national and undertaking level.
The ILO will take this opportunity to raise awareness and stimulate dialogue on the importance of creating and investing in resilient OSH systems, drawing on both regional and country examples in mitigating and preventing the spread of Covid-19 at the workplace. The idea is to prepare and prevent and not repair and repent.
Organizations need to enthusiastically stimulate and promote a strong culture of safety, year-round, so that safety becomes a fragment of the enterprise’s DNA. As Voltaire says, “the danger which is least expected soonest comes to us.”
Everyone has a role to play in curbing the number of deaths and injuries happening at the work space. The governments are responsible for providing adequate infrastructure to ensure that workers remain employable and that enterprises flourish. This involves development of a national policy and program and a system of examination to enforce compliance with occupational safety and health legislation and policy. The employers should be accountable for ensuring that the working environment is safe and healthy. Workers should work in a manner where their safety is not at risk and at the same time they are not endangering the safety of their co-workers. Individuals can also share ideas and accordingly create awareness through various means about certain preventive measures and safety tips. Moreover, every working citizen has a basic human right to be equipped with proper safety mechanism for the labor he/she extends in industries, companies, factories, etc.
The collaboration between the government, employers, workers and public at large to tackle the ongoing crises can prove to be advantageous. At the end of the day luck may run out but safety wouldn’t.
--Written by Chahat Bhandari (3rd Year)
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