Why is it in the news?

• The ILO has issued a report titled ‘A Call for Safer and Healthier Working Environments,’ a topic addressed at the 23rd World Congress on Safety and Health at Work, a prominent global conference dedicated to workplace safety and well-being.

Major Findings

• Approximately 30 lakh workers die annually due to work-related accidents and diseases globally. More than 63% of these deaths reported from the Asia-Pacific region.
• Factors Responsible for Work-Related Deaths: The ILO report highlights long working hours (55 hours or more per week) as the primary cause of concern, along with significant issues related to exposure to occupational particulate matter, gases, fumes, and occupational injuries in workplaces worldwide.
• Leading causes of work-related deaths include circulatory diseases, malignant neoplasms, and respiratory diseases. Highest attributable fraction in Africa, followed by Asia and the Pacific and Oceania.
• Rate of trachea, bronchus, and lung cancers attributable to occupational exposure to chromium doubled from 2000 to 2016.
• Non-melanoma skin cancer rate increased by over 37% between 2000 and 2020.
• Mining and quarrying, construction, and utilities sectors identified as the three most hazardous globally. 200,000 fatal injuries occur annually in these sectors, representing 60% of all fatal occupational injuries.
• However, deaths due to exposure to asthmagens and particulate matter, gases, and fumes decreased by over 20%.

Recommendations

Five categories of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work

• Freedom of association and effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining.
• Elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labor.
• Abolition of child labor.
• Elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
• Ensuring a safe and healthy working environment.