CoursesDatails

 

World Day for Safety and Health at Work

The World Day for Safety and Health at Work observed annually on 28 April to promote the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases globally.

It is an awareness-raising campaign intended to focus international attention on the magnitude of the problem and on how promoting and creating a safety and health culture can help reduce the number of work-related deaths and injuries.

Each of us is responsible for stopping deaths and injuries on the job. As governments we are responsible for providing the infrastructure — laws and services — necessary to ensure that workers remain employable and that enterprises flourish; this includes the development of a national policy and program and a system of inspection to enforce compliance with occupational safety and health legislation and policy.

As employers we are responsible for ensuring that the working environment is safe and healthy. As workers we are responsible to work safely and to protect ourselves and not to endanger others, to know our rights and to participate in the implementation of preventive measures.

In 2003, the International Labour Organization (ILO), began to observe World Day in order to stress the prevention of accidents and diseases at work, capitalizing on the ILO's traditional strengths of tripartism and social dialogue.

This celebration is an integral part of the Global Strategy on Occupational Safety and Health of the ILO, as documented in the Conclusions of the International Labour Conference in June 2003.

This year’s theme is Revolutionizing health and safety: the role of AI and digitalization at work. AI and digital tools are revolutionizing occupational safety and health. Today, robots are operating in hazardous environments, doing the heavy lifting, managing toxic materials and working in extreme temperatures. They take on repetitive and monotonous tasks, while digital devices and sensors can detect hazards early on. At the same time, in the absence of adequate OSH measures, digital technologies can lead to accidents, ergonomic risks, work intensification, reduced job control and blurred boundaries.

The campaign will shed light on how new technologies are transforming OSH, including through the automation of tasks, use of smart OSH tools and monitoring systems, extended reality and virtual reality and algorithmic management of work.

The digital transformation of work has led to evolving work arrangements, such as telework and digital labour platforms, which will be further examined.​