World Day for Safety and Health at Work (OSH) Event

World Day for Safety and Health at Work was marked under the theme of gathering occupational health and safety (OSH) information and driving progress in how it is put to use.

In its statement for World Day for Safety and Health at Work (OSH), the Turkey office of the International Labour Organization said the aim is to build awareness so that more progress can be made in preventing workplace accidents and occupational diseases.

The OSH Day, observed every April 28, is also recognized worldwide as the international day of remembrance for workers killed or injured in workplace accidents.

This year's theme highlights the importance of gathering reliable occupational health and safety data and putting it to use in practice. Each year, more than 2.5 million workers lose their lives in work-related accidents and illnesses, and nearly 400 million workplace accidents occur.

The statement underlined that these figures do not fully capture the scale of the problem, nor the impact of workplace accidents and occupational diseases on workers, their families, and the economy, and continued:

"Beyond measuring the scale of work-related illnesses, injuries, and diseases, high-quality national data is essential for shaping effective policies and strategies for safe, healthy workplaces. A number of ILO OSH conventions make clear that gathering and using reliable OSH data is essential for identifying new risks, defining hazardous workplaces, developing preventive measures, and shaping policies, regulations, and programs at the international, national, and workplace levels. Reliable OSH data helps set priorities and provides the basis needed to measure progress."

Social Dialogue Matters

The statement from the ILO's Turkey office for World Day for Safety and Health at Work also addressed the prevention of workplace accidents and occupational diseases and the identification and removal of risks before accidents and illnesses occur.

What matters most in gathering data on risk exposure and suspected occupational-disease cases is building a culture of prevention. Effective social dialogue between the state, workers' organizations, and employers' organizations is highly important for obtaining reliable OSH data. Accurate data helps save lives. Let us make this a priority, the statement added.