April 28, 2021

Anna Murray 

On April 28, World Day for Safety and Health at Work, the International Labour Organization (ILO) released the report "Anticipate, prepare and respond to crises. Invest now in resilient OSH systems". It is meant to call for countries to build sound and resilient occupational safety and health (OSH) systems. United Nations agency investigated 187 member states of risk management and prevention amid the COVID pandemic and studied other health and safety risks associated with control measures in changing work arrangements to avoid coronavirus.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic ignited millions of employees in emergency, health and social care have been most vulnerable to the risk of the deadly infection. According to the ILO report, 7,000 health workers have died since the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis, and 136 million health and social care workers are prone to contract COVID-19 disease at the workplace. The pressures and risks that invaded health workers during the COVID pandemic have also hurt their mental health. About 20% of global healthcare workers have reportedly appeared with depression and anxiety symptoms.

In conclusion the annual ILO report revealed measures to improve OSH management systems at the enterprise level, to prevent and respond to workplace-related risks. Furthermore, in the annexes to this report, the ILO, other international and local organizations developed some outlined guidance, resources, and tools to respond to the COVID pandemic so that the enterprises can figure out policies and programs to promote a decent workplace for all women and men.

Photo:webshot.