The World Day for Safety and Health at Work is celebrated on 28th April every year. This year, the day will address the issue of involvement and social discourse in establishing a positive health and safe environment. The awareness-raising programme is designed to minimise the volume of work-related injuries and fatalities.
The World Day for Safety and Health at Work is commemorated on 28th April every year. This year, the day will address the issue of involvement and social discourse in establishing a positive health and safe environment.
Since 2003, the day has been observed globally. It was an effort by the International Labour Organization (ILO) to promote the prevention of mishaps and illness at work and spread alertness of occupational health and safety.
The initiative was established to foster occupational health and safety culture throughout. The awareness-raising programme is designed to minimise the volume of work-related injuries and fatalities. It emphasises the importance of assuring better infrastructure, developing rules and services to impose compliance, and recognising growing occupational dangers to make the work environment safer. The day is also a crucial instrument to bring to light numerous developing threats at the workplace ranging from product technologies to psychosocial aspects and workplace conditions.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have witnessed that establishing a potent Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) system, which involves effective participation of workers, employers, health providers, governments, and all responsible authorities at the national and organisational levels, has been vital in safeguarding the workplace environment and the health and safety of employees.
Through successful social conversation, authorities and relevant partners engage in all aspects of OSH judgement-making procedures. This is crucial from formulating and adjusting OSH policy frameworks to meet recurring and emerging OSH concerns to actual implementation at the workplace level. Effective communication enhances OSH strategies and policies and is necessary to build loyalty and commitment, smoothing the way for quicker and more successful implementation.
Access to a healthy working environment is respected and supported by both employees and management in an OSH culture. A thriving OSH culture is built on participation through the purposeful involvement of all partners in the ongoing growth of welfare at work. A good OSH culture in the workplace is where employees feel comfortable sharing concerns about prospective OSH risks or dangers. The management partners with employees to identify a suitable, efficient and effective solution. This demands open communication and debate built on mutual trust and respect.
As we keep living through a worldwide medical crisis and confront persistent OSH dangers in the world of work, we must keep progressing towards creating a strong safety and health culture.
The YUVA Health & Safety Policy describes a course of action that has been chosen to influence workplace decision-making and guide actions related to workplace health and safety. Click here to download the PDF version of the policy.
Types of Danger
Physical dangers
Physical hazards influence numerous people in the profession. The most widespread job-related impairment in the United States is auditory issues, impacting around 22 million individuals because of their overly exposed noise levels. Employees’ severance costs are calculated at $242 million annually. The bulk of occupational deaths and injuries are caused by falls, mainly in mining, medical, transportation, cleaning and maintenance. The many mechanical parts, sharp angles, and extreme heat featured in equipment can impose catastrophic injury if used unsafely.
Biological dangers
Biological hazards encompass deadly microorganisms like bacteria, viruses and toxins caused by various species. Biohazardous substance influences employees in several fields; for instance, influenza represents a substantial group of employees. Farming and maintenance employees are subjected to many biohazards, including poisonous plants, animal attacks and diseases carried by animals, including Ringworm and Norovirus. Health-care personnel, notably veterinarian paramedics, are at risk of blood-borne diseases and multiple infectious ailments, especially those developing the disease.
Psychosocial dangers
Threats to workers’ emotional and mental health include employment insecurity, unreasonable hours, and poor job cohesion. Researchers have found that job-directed therapy in assessing stressed workers limits their days off from work. This study also revealed that integrating cognitive behavioural therapy with primary or occupational treatment with regular care helps reduce sickness absence days.
Harmful chemicals
Using dangerous chemicals at work might be hazardous. Regulation officials put limitations on employees’ exposure to harmful risks. Since poisons may interact effectively instead of just additively, experts globally are looking at the medical complications of chemical concoctions.
Albeit in low quantities, numerous compounds have posed a health threat when coupled with other compounds. Minimal recurring intakes of hazardous concentrations of some substances may develop over time in the individual, making them hard to notice until it’s too late.
Spreading The Word
Engage and increase awareness of the need for a constructive organisational culture on this day. These suitable options are available for reaching this goal:
- Highlighting workplace safety and health themes in either real or virtual staff meetings
- Arranging for a security consultant to appear at your business premises
- Enrolling in an interactive Workers’ Safety Day event in the city
- Using hashtags and sharing content on social media on this topic
- Trying to raise awareness at work by exhibiting posters
YUVA Intern Payal Mathur is a PhD Research Scholar based in Rajasthan, India. Her areas of interest are African-American literature, Japanese literature and global issues.
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