Occupational Health & Safety is now a fundamental right at work

This year, the United Nation’s International Labour Conference has agreed that occupational health and safety is a fundamental principle and right at work – this means government, employers and workers have the duty to respect and promote the fundamental right to a safe and healthy working environment.

Within international labour law, there are universally recognised principles and rights which member States are required to promote – whether or not they have signed the specific agreements. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) enforces this through its supervisory mechanism, the Committee on the Application of Standards.

The ILO estimates that 2.78 million work-related deaths are recorded every year, of which 2.4 million are related to occupational diseases. Alongside the personal and social impact, the economic cost from compensation, lost workdays, interrupted production, training and reconversion, as well as health-care expenditure, represents approximately 4% of the world’s annual GDP.

Global employers’ organisations supported the decision to make occupational health and safety a fundamental principle and right at work – at the conference, our CBI expert team focused on how this could work within the UK’s legislative and enforcement framework.

What does this mean in practice?

Through the Health and Safety at Work act, UK employers are already subject to comprehensive occupational safety and health requirements which the International Labour Organisation’s decision is unlikely to affect.

The UK government is considering whether to formally adopt this convention over the coming years for governance purposes. However, because UK legislation and the Health and Safety Executive’s enforcement approach is already in line with the requirements and recommendations of the relevant international conventions, UK-based employers are not expected to change their approach.

But this decision from the ILO will encourage more countries – particularly those in economic development – to strengthen their domestic approach to health and safety.

If your company operates internationally, just keep an eye on potential changes but for now, continue following any local legislation in the regions/countries where your firm does business. The CBI successfully lobbied for the inclusion of a saving clause in the final text, which makes it explicit that occupational safety and health obligations do not impact existing trade and investment agreements between States.

If you have questions about the CBI’s work on international employment, or any feedback on how this is affecting your business – speak to Jennifer.