Changes in working practices, demographics, technology and the environment are creating new occupational safety and health (OSH) concerns, according to a new report from the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Growing challenges include psychosocial risks, work-related stress and non-communicable diseases, notably circulatory and respiratory diseases, and cancers.
The report, Safety and Health at the heart of the Future of Work: Building on 100 years of experience, is being published ahead of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work, which is marked on April 28th. It reviews the ILO’s 100 years of work on OSH issues, and highlights emerging health and safety issues in the world of work.
Currently, more than 374 million people are injured or made ill every year through work-related accidents. It is estimated that work days lost to OSH-related causes represent almost 4 percent of global GDP, in some countries as much as 6 percent, the Report says.
“As well as a more effective prevention for established risks, we are seeing profound changes in our places and ways of working. We need safety and health structures that reflect this, alongside a general culture of prevention that creates shared responsibility,” said Manal Azzi, ILO Technical Specialist on Occupational Safety and Health.
Read and download the report: Safety and Health at the heart of the Future of Work: Building on 100 years of experience.
Original source: ILO
Published on 18 April 2019
