What does "Safety and Health at Work" Imply?
Workplace safety and health can be defined as the promotion and maintenance of the highest level of physical, mental, and social well-being for employees in all occupations, as well as the protection of workers from occupational health and safety risks.
It is recommended looking through occupational health and safety software like Safety Assure by CloudApper or consulting an occupational health and safety officer to understand more about the obligations of a competent individual. This day is also referred to as the international safety day.
When is World Day for Safety and Health at Work Celebrated?
The 28th of April is designated as World Safety and Health Day, which is also called international safety day. This year (2020), it will focus on preventing infectious disease outbreaks at work, particularly the COVID-19 pandemic. Let us take a closer look at the 2020 theme for World Day for Safety and Health at Work, as well as some key information.
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World Health and Safety Day 2020
Let us look at the details of the world health and safety day 2020. To combat the COVID-19 epidemic, governments, employers, employees, and entire societies must act together to preserve worker safety and health. COVID-19 infections are on the rise in some parts of the world, while the ability to maintain dropping rates in others is causing concern. As a result, Workers Memorial Day is observed to promote workplace safety and health, as well as to honor individuals who have died as a result of a work-related injury or sickness.
People spend the majority of time in the organization where they work to earn money. It is important to maintain healthy workplace standards in order to avoid mishappenings, work-related injuries, and other problems. The World Day for Safety and Health at Work is celebrated to raise public awareness.
Let us remind you that the International Labor Organization (ILO) proclaimed this day to promote the global prevention of workplace accidents and diseases. Essentially, it is a public awareness campaign aimed at drawing international attention to developing trends in occupational safety and health.
Objectives of World Day for Safety and Health
There are several objectives of world day for safety and health. Let us look at a few of them.
The major goal is to draw public attention to the magnitude of the issue and to create a healthy work culture in order to reduce the number of work-related deaths and injuries. Do you know that every year on April 28th, the trade union movement around the world organizes an International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers? Every year, the International Labor Organization (ILO) releases a booklet and disseminates information on this topic.
World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2020: Theme
We can say the theme for World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2020 is "Stop the pandemic: Safety and health at work can save lives".
Concerns about continuing activity in a way that maintains the gains gained in suppressing transmissions have arisen as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic situation. The purpose of the day is to promote a national tripartite discourse on workplace safety and health. The International Labour Organization (ILO) is working to raise awareness about the importance of safe work practices and the role of occupational safety and health (OSH) services in the workplace.
In 2019 the theme was celebrated as: “Safety and Health and the Future of Work”.
In 2018 the theme was celebrated as: "OSH vulnerability of young workers".
In 2017 the theme was celebrated as: "Optimize the collection and use of OSH data".
Thousands of individuals die every year as a result of work - related accidents or diseases, resulting in millions of deaths each year. Without a doubt, the human cost of daily adversity is enormous, and the economic burden on the poor is growing by the day. Every year, occupational safety and health practices have an impact on the worldwide Gross Domestic Product.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda 2030, which was established on September 25, 2015, focuses on specific objectives to end poverty, safeguard the environment, and promote prosperity for all.
How is World Day for Safety and Health at Work Celebrated?
On April 28, several organizations, including the United Nations, the International Labor Organization (ILO), communities, government bodies, and individuals working for workplace safety and better health joined up to promote an international campaign known as World Day for Workplace Safety and Health. Every year, the United Nations publishes an event calendar.
In addition, community leaders and organizational representatives support the day by speaking out on issues such as workplace health and safety. Programs about workplace health, safety, and other issues etc. broadcast.
The SafeDay report, Ensuring Safety and Health at Work in the Face of a Pandemic, focuses on the occupational safety and health (OSH) risks posed by the spread of COVID-19.
"We need special measures to protect the millions of health care workers and other workers who risk their own health every day for us," says ILO Director-General Guy Ryder.
“Teleworking allows employees to continue working in innovative ways. Workers must be able to negotiate these agreements, however, in order to preserve a sense of balance with other responsibilities, such as caring for children, the sick or elderly, and, of course, themselves.”
As a result, on this day, we should also come together to raise public awareness about the need for workplace health and safety measures in order to build a healthy and positive environment.
World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2021
Governments, employers, workers, and the general public have all faced unprecedented challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the numerous effects it has had on the workplace. The World Day for Workplace Safety and Health will focus on measures to strengthen national occupational safety and health (OSH) systems in order to create resilience in the face of current and future crises, based on lessons gained and experiences from the workplace.
Guy Ryder, Director-General of the International Labor Organization, and a panel of global leaders and senior representatives from governments, employers, and workers' organizations will share their perspectives and demonstrate how investing in occupational safety and health systems contributes to a stronger national infrastructure that is prepared to respond to crises like COVID-19 and similar events.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a worldwide impact since it first emerged as a global crisis in early 2020. From the risk of virus transmission in the workplace to new occupational safety and health (OSH) issues that have arisen as a result of virus countermeasures, the pandemic has impacted practically every aspect of the workplace.
Shifts to new forms of working arrangements, such as the extensive use of teleworking, have provided many opportunities for workers while also posing potential OSH risks, particularly psychosocial risks and violence.
The World Day for Occupational Safety and Health at Work in 2021 will seek to implement the components of an OSH system outlined in the 2006 Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health. (No. 187). The global day study looks at how the current crisis highlights the significance of strengthening OSH systems, including occupational health services, at both the national and enterprise levels.
The ILO will use this occasion to increase awareness and promote awareness about the significance of developing and investing in resilient OSH systems, drawing on regional and country examples in reducing and preventing COVID-19 at work.
History of World Day for Safety and Health
The International Labor Organization (ILO) established World Day in 2003 to highlight the prevention of work accidents and diseases, leveraging the ILO's traditional strengths of tripartism and social discourse.
This celebration is a key component of the ILO's Global Strategy for Occupational Safety and Health, as outlined in the International Labour Conference's Conclusions in June 2003. The World Day for Workplace Safety and Health is a useful tool for increasing awareness about how to make work a safe and healthy environment. Furthermore, one of the Global Strategy's main pillars is to enhance the political prominence of workplace safety and health.
Since 1996, the International Memorial Day for Dead and Injured Workers has been marked on April 28th by the global trade union movement.
This is the history of world day for safety and health.
FAQs on World Day for Safety and Health at Work
1. Discuss the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases?
The annual World Day for Workplace Safety and Health, which takes place on April 28th, promotes the prevention of workplace accidents and diseases all around the world. It's a public-awareness campaign aimed at drawing international attention to the scope of the problem and how promoting and cultivating a safety and health culture can help minimise the number of work deaths and injuries.
2. How can we stop the disasters at work?
Each of us is responsible for preventing workplace deaths and injuries. As governments, we are responsible for providing the infrastructure — laws and services — required to ensure that workers remain employable and businesses thrive. This entails creating a national strategy and programme, as well as a system of inspections, to guarantee that work safety and health laws and policies are followed. As employers, it is our responsibility to ensure a safe and healthy working environment. We have a responsibility as workers to work safely, protect ourselves and others, understand our rights, and contribute in the execution of preventive measures.
3. Give some emerging risks at work?
Technical innovation, as well as social and organisational change, can result in new and emerging occupational dangers, such as:
Nanotechnology and biotechnology are examples of new technologies and production processes.
New working conditions, such as excessive workload, downsizing-related work intensification, bad working conditions associated with migration seeking work, and informal economy jobs
Self-employment, outsourcing, and temporary contracts are examples of emerging forms of employment.
Better scientific understanding, for example, of the effects of ergonomic dangers on musculoskeletal disorders, may help them become more widely recognised.
Changes in views regarding the importance of specific risk factors, such as the effects of psychosocial factors on work-related stress, may have an impact.
