ILO designates occupational safety and health as a Fundamental Right at Work

Geneva — Delegates of the International Labor Organization recently adopted a resolution that adds “a safe and healthy working environment” to ILO’s framework on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

Adopted June 10 during the 110th session of the International Labor Conference, the measure makes occupational safety and health the fifth element of the framework, joining:

• Freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining
• Elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labor
• Effective abolition of child labor
• Elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation

The Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work were first adopted in 1998.

“Under the declaration, ILO member states, regardless of their level of economic development, commit to respect and promote these principles and rights,” an ILO press release states.

In March 2021, international scientific academy Collegium Ramazzini urged the ILO governing body to “take at the earliest opportunity the necessary steps to implement its decision to treat occupational health and safety as a Fundamental Right at Work.”