World Day For Safety And Health At Work- The First Step Towards Change Is Awareness

                                                By Vaishnavi Srivastava

Dating back to the year 2003, the International Labour Organization declared the day of 28th April to be observed as World Day For Safety And Health At Work in the light of promoting the prevention of occupational diseases as well as accidents that take many innocent lives while they are at work. It works like an awareness campaign for the entire globe fabricated to draw attention to the mishaps and accidents that take place in the world with people while they are at their workstations. 

On an average, it is estimated that 15 to 20 working people have to face the wrath of death. This can be because of several factors ranging from ignorance of their deteriorating health to engaging them in completing dangerous tasks. Not only this, there are hundreds of people who get severely injured on a daily basis while they are in their course of work pertaining to similar problems in the system. This day has an immense importance as it has been gradually educating people about the severity of this entire propaganda and has been instrumental in ruling out instructions and laws to attenuate and administer the graph of the people who are being thrown into the deep end being entirely innocent. 

To control and bring down the fatality rate, there are several steps taken by the ILO(International Labour Organization) in accordance with the ruling powers of the countries that are implemented globally to take a step ahead in saving lives. 

Source: https://www.un.org/en/observances/work-safety-day 

In a situation where we are isolating and surviving a pandemic, the importance of this day cannot be stressed upon much. Including all the frontline workers to the volunteers who are lending a helping hand in saving humanity is a debt that is beyond any compensation. Being well apprised about the impending risks of this deadly virus, the workers and volunteers are leaving no stone unturned to save even a single life. 

What is the theme of this day in 2021?

Every year, this day comes with a theme. The motive behind having a dedicated theme for the campaign is to address the related issues and create awareness for the same among people to find solutions and way outs. 

This year, the theme or the objective of the World Day For Safety And Health At Work is Anticipate, prepare and respond to crises: Invest now in resilient occupational safety and health systems. In the current unprecedented situation, everyone is dealing with the horrors of the pandemic and on this day, it is an urge to people to respond to the crisis in a resilient manner that collectively we are able to get a hold of the situation. 

There will also be a global seminar wherein several speakers including the ILO- Director-General will be stressing upon the importance of investing in safety and responding to the emergencies brought by the current crisis of Covid-19. 

You can also register yourself to be a part of this seminar taking place on the 28th of April, 2021 at 13:30 to 14:45 CET. 

How to make workplaces safe for the employees?

An employee on an average spends around 7 to 8 hours of their entire day in the place where they work. Be it labours or doctors, there are a few risks that hang in the balance for everyone who steps out for work. To ensure that the workplace where an employee is working is safe and sound for him and is not at all going to hamper their being, there are a few steps that can be taken. A few of them are mentioned below- 

• No involvement in potentially dangerous tasks:

This usually pertains to the labourers who work day in and day out on a particular site or building. The designing of the buildings is done by the architects but when it comes to execution, it is the labourers who are putting their sweat and blood into it. It should be a strict directive that none of the labourers are employed for doing anything that is risky for them. Climbing to heights and ending up getting plummeted from great heights due to petty accidents like slips and imbalance takes a lot of lives daily. All of such work needs to be done under expert supervision to ensure that none is harmed in the process. 

• Maintaining proper sanitization:

The spread of viruses is nothing new, it has been a major matter of concern since human existence. There are several fatal viruses, bacterias, and germs that spread among people and might affect a host in the most deadly manner. If the working place is not clean and well-sanitized, the contamination of such bacterial and viral diseases becomes a hotspot. Viruses being something that cannot be seen with bare eyes can eventually hamper the health of a number of employees. 

• Discouraging overburdening of work:

Not only the physical but mental health of the employees is equally important. Being overburdened with work and being exploited by employers needs to be discouraged and looked down upon. This is to ensure that the employee’s mind is healthy and is in a good state to maintain a desirable balance between work and personal life. 

• Being empathetic:

Putting oneself in someone else’s shoes is highly needed for being empathetic and kind. Even at work, it is important for the employer as well as the colleagues to be empathetic against anyone who is facing any kind of physical issue. There shouldn’t be a constant pressure buildup of work on such a person that can eventually lead to them being collapsed under severe conditions. 

The World Day For Safety And Health At Work is an exceptional awareness drive that not just educates people on the ongoing crisis and struggles in the workplace but also helps in regulating and implementing the plans to overcome the same. 

As quoted in the very title of this blog- ‘The first step towards change is awareness’, this adage stands cent percent true as we can observe a change only when we are able to educate ourselves and others on the several critical crisis and predicaments to be able to save lives of people both on and off work. 

If this blog benefitted you in any way or has made you aware of anything important you were not familiar with, we would love it if you could just spare a moment and solicit your insights.