International Labour Organization makes occupational safety and health its fifth fundamental principle and right at work

During the 111^th International Labour Conference, held in Geneva from 27 May to 11 June, and attended by the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) 187 member states, as well as both workers’ and employers’ representatives, the ILO adopted what has been described as an ‘historic’ resolution. This resolution adds an additional fifth principle of a “safe and healthy working environment” to the ILO’s existing four fundamental principles and rights at work, namely; the freedom of association and the right of collective bargaining, the effective abolition of child labour, the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation, and the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour. Thus, the ILO conventions on safety and health of workers (No.155) and on the promotional framework for safety and health at work (No.187) join the 8 fundamental conventions of the ILO by which the ILO Member States are bound, even in the absence of effective ratification. “More than 3 million workers die each year because of their work and tens of millions more suffer from injuries and health problems. This victory, the result of a sustained three-year campaign by trade unions…will begin to reverse this deadly trend,” the world’s largest trade union federation, the ITUC ( International Trade Union Confederation) reacted in a statement. The adoption also comes after consensus was reached on the need for a “people-centered recovery” more than two years after Covid-19 and the “resulting profound disruptions in the world of work,” the resolution text said.