Tuesday 30 April 2013

India's total population is now 1.21 billion


New Delhi: India's total population stands at 1.21 billion, which is 17.7 per cent more than the last decade, and growth of females was higher than that of males.

According to the final census released by Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde today, India's total population as on March 1, 2011 is 1,210,726,932 or 1.21 billion -- an increase of 181.96 million persons in absolute number of population during 2001-11.

There was an increase of 90.97 million males and increase of 90.99 million females. The growth rate of females was 18.3 per cent which is higher than males -- 17.1 per cent.

India's population grew by 17.7 per cent during 2001-11, against 21.5 per cent in the previous decade. Among the major states, highest decadal growth in population has been recorded in Bihar (25.4 per cent) while 14 states and Union Territories have recorded population growth above 20 per cent.

Altogether, 833.5 million persons live in rural areas as per Census 2011, which was more than two-third of the total population, while 377.1 million persons live in urban areas.

Urban proportion has gone up from 17.3 per cent in 1951 to 31.2 per cent in 2011. Empowered Action Group (EAG) states have lower urban proportion (21.1 per cent) in comparison to non EAG states (39.7 per cent).

Highest proportion of urban population is in NCT Delhi (97.5 per cent). Top five states in share of urban population are Goa (62.2 per cent), Mizoram (52.1 per cent), Tamil Nadu (48.4 per cent), Kerala (47.7 per cent) and Maharashtra (45.2 per cent).

PTI

Monday 29 April 2013

Labour in India

Labour in India
Labor availability map for the world. In 2011, India had about 487 million workers compared to China's 795 million and United States' 154 million.
The labour in India consists of about 487 million workers, the second largest after China.[1] Of these over 94 percent work in unincorporated, unorganized enterprises ranging from pushcart vendors to home-based diamond and gem polishing operations. The organized sector include those employed by the government, state-owned enterprises and private sector enterprises. In 2008, the organized sector employed 27.5 million workers, of which 17.3 million worked for government or government owned entities.
India has numerous labor laws such as those prohibiting discrimination and child labor, those that aim to guarantee fair and humane conditions of work, those that provide social security, minimum wage, right to organize, form trade unions and enforce collective bargaining. India also has numerous rigid regulations such as maximum number of employees per company in certain sectors of economy, and limitations on employers on retrenchment and layoffs, requirement of paperwork, bureaucratic process and government approval for change in labor in companies even if these are because of economic conditions.
India is considered to be a highly regulated and most rigid labor law countries in the world. Rigid labor laws in India have been criticized as the cause of low employment growth, large unorganized sector, underground economy, use of casual labor and low per capita income. These have led many to demand reforms for labor flexibility in India.
History
The labor laws of India originated and express the socio-political views of leaders such as Nehru from pre-1947 independence movement struggle. These laws were expanded in part after debates in Constituent Assemblies and in part from international conventions and recommendations such as of International Labour Organization. The current mosaic of Indian laws on employment are thus a combination of India's history during its colonial heritage, India's experiments with socialism, important human rights and the conventions and standards that have emerged from the United Nations. The laws cover the right to work of one’s choice, right against discrimination, prohibition of child labor, fair and humane conditions of work, social security, protection of wages, redress of grievances, right to organize and form trade unions, collective bargaining and participation in management.[
Labor laws in India
http://bits.wikimedia.org/static-1.22wmf2/skins/common/images/magnify-clip.png
Labor law notices in India.
India has over 50 major Acts and numerous laws that regulate employers in matters relating to industrial relations, employee unions as well as who, how and when enterprises can employ or terminate employment. Many of these laws survive from British colonial times, while some have been enacted after India's independence from Britain.
India is a federal form of government. Labour is a subject in the concurrent list of the Indian Constitution and therefore labour matters are in the jurisdiction of both central and state governments. Both central and state governments have enacted laws on labour relations and employment issues. Some of the major laws relevant to India are:[
Workmen’s Compensation Act of 1923
The Workmen’s Compensation Act compensates a workman for any injury suffered during the course of his employment or to his dependents in the case of his death. The Act provides for the rate at which compensation shall be paid to an employee. This is one of many social security laws in India.[
Trade Unions Act of 1926
This Act enacted the rules and protections granted to Trade Unions in India. This law was amended in 2001.
Payment of Wages Act of 1936
The Payment of Wages Act regulates by when wages shall be distributed to employees by the employers. The law also provides the tax withholdings the employer must deduct and pay to the central or state government before distributing the wages.
Industrial Employment (Standing orders) Act of 1946
This Act requires employers in industrial establishments to define and post the conditions of employment by issuing so-called standing orders. These standing orders must be approved by the government and duly certified. These orders aim to remove flexibility from the employer in terms of job, hours, timing, leave grant, productivity measures and other matters. The standing orders mandate that the employer classify its employees, state the shifts, payment of wages, rules for vacation, rules for sick leave, holidays, rules for termination amongst others.
Industrial Disputes Act of 1947
The Industrial Disputes act 1947 regulates how employers may address industrial disputes such as lockouts, layoffs, retrenchment etc. It controls the lawful processes for reconciliation, adjudication of labour disputes.
The Act also regulates what rules and conditions employers must comply before the termination or layoff of a workman who has been in continuous service for more than one year with the employer. The employer is required to give notice of termination to the employee with a copy of the notice to appropriate government office seeking government's permission, explain valid reasons for termination, and wait for one month before the employment can be lawfully terminated. The employer may pay full compensation for one month in lieu of the notice. Furthermore, employer must pay an equivalent to 15 days average pay for each completed year of employees continuous service. Thus, an employee who has worked for 4 years in addition to various notices and due process, must be paid a minimum of the employee's wage equivalent to 60 days before retrenchment, if the government grants the employer a permission to layoff.
Minimum Wages Act of 1948[
The Minimum Wages Act prescribes minimum wages in all enterprises, and in some cases those working at home per the schedule of the Act. Central and State Governments can and do revise minimum wages at their discretion. The minimum wage is further classified by nature of work, location and numerous other factors at the discretion of the government. The minimum wage ranges between INR143 to 1120 per day for work in the so-called central sphere. State governments have their own minimum wage schedules.
Industries (Regulation and Development) Act of 1951
This law declared numerous key manufacturing industries under its so-called First Schedule. It placed many industries under common central government regulations in addition to whatever laws state government enact. It also reserved over 600 products that can only be manufactured in small scale enterprises, thereby regulating who can enter in these businesses, and above all placing a limit on the number of employees per company for the listed products. The list included all key technology and industrial products in early 1950s, including products ranging from certain iron and steel products, fuel derivatives, motors, certain machinery, machine tools, to ceramics and scientific equipment.
Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act of 1952
This Act seeks to ensure the financial security of the employees in an establishment by providing for a system of compulsory savings. The Act provides for establishments of a contributory Provident Fund in which employees’ contribution shall be at least equal to the contribution payable by the employer. Minimum contribution by the employees shall be 10-12% of the wages. This amount is payable to the employee after retirement and could also be withdrawn partly for certain specified purposes.
Maternity Benefit Act of 1961
The Maternity Benefit Act regulates the employment of the women and maternity benefits mandated by law. Any woman employee who worked in any establishment for a period of at least 80 days during the 12 months immediately preceding the date of her expected delivery, is entitled to receive maternity benefits under the Act. The employer is required to pay maternity benefits, medical allowance, maternity leave and nursing breaks.
Payment of Bonus Act of 1965
This Act, applies to an enterprise employing 20 or more persons. The Act requires employer to pay a bonus to persons on the basis of profits or on the basis of production or productivity. The Act was modified to require companies to pay a minimum bonus, even if the employer suffers losses during the accounting year. This minimum is currently 8.33 percent of the salary.
Payment of Gratuity Act of 1972
This law applies to all establishments employing 10 or more workers. Gratuity is payable to the employee if he or she resigns or retires. The Indian government mandates that this payment be at the rate of 15 days salary of the employee for each completed year of service subject to a maximum of INR1000000.
Labor structure in India


A majority of labor in India is employed by unorganized sector (unincorporated). These include family owned shops and street vendors. Above is a self-employed child laborer in unorganized retail sector of India.


Labor at an unorganized handicraft manufacturing enterprise.
Over 94 percent of India's working population is part of the unorganized sector. In local terms, organized sector or formal sector in India refers to licensed organizations, that is, those who are registered and pay sales tax, income tax, etc. These include the publicly traded companies, incorporated or formally registered entities, corporations, factories, shopping malls, hotels, and large businesses. Unorganised sector, also known as informal sector or own account enterprises, refers to all unlicensed, self-employed or unregistered economic activity such as owner manned general stores, handicrafts and handloom workers, rural traders, farmers, etc
India's Ministry of Labor, in its 2008 report, classified the unorganized labor in India into four groups. This classification categorized India's unorganized labour force by occupation, nature of employment, specially distressed categories and service categories. The unorganized occupational groups include small and marginal farmers, landless agricultural labourers, share croppers, fishermen, those engaged in animal husbandry, beedi rolling, labeling and packing, building and construction workers, leather workers, weavers, artisans, salt workers, workers in brick kilns and stone quarries, workers in saw mills, and workers in oil mills. A separate category based on nature of employment includes attached agricultural labourers, bonded labourers, migrant workers, contract and casual laborers. Another separate category dedicated to distressed unorganized sector includes toddy tappers, scavengers, carriers of head loads, drivers of animal driven vehicles, loaders and unloaders. The last unorganized labor category includes service workers such as midwives, domestic workers, barbers, vegetable and fruit vendors, newspaper vendors, pavement vendors, hand cart operators, and the unorganized retail.
The unorganized sector has low productivity and offers lower wages. Even though it accounted for over 94 percent of workers, India's unorganized sector created just 57 percent of India's national domestic product in 2006, or about 9 fold less per worker than the organized sector. According to Bhalla, the productivity gap sharply worsens when rural unorganized sector is compared to urban unorganized sector, with gross value added productivity gap spiking an additional 2 to 4 fold depending on occupation. Some of lowest income jobs are in the rural unorganized sectors. Poverty rates are reported to be significantly higher in families where all working age members have only worked the unorganized sector throughout their lives.
Agriculture, dairy, horticulture and related occupations alone employ 52 percent of labor in India.
About 30 million workers are migrant workers, most in agriculture, and local stable employment is unavailable for them.
India's National Sample Survey Office in its 67th report found that unorganized manufacturing, unorganized trading/retail and unorganized services employed about 10 percent each of all workers nationwide, as of 2010. It also reported that India had about 58 million unincorporated non-Agriculture enterprises in 2010.
In the organized privately owned sector with more than 10 employees per company, the biggest employers in 2008 were manufacturing at 5 million; social services at 2.2 million, which includes private schools and hospitals; finance at 1.1 million which includes bank, insurance and real estate; and agriculture at 1 million. India had more central and state government employees in 2008, than employees in all private sector companies combined. If state-owned companies and municipal government employees were included, India had a 1.8:1 ratio between public sector employees and private sector employees. In terms of gender equality in employment, male to female ratio was 5:1 in government and government owned enterprises; private sector fared better at 3:1 ratio. Combined, counting only companies with more than 10 employees per company, the organized public and private sector employed 5.5 million women and 22 million men.
Given its natural rate of population growth and aging characteristics, India is adding about 13 million new workers every year to its labor pool. India's economy has been adding about 8 million new jobs every year predominantly in low paying, unorganized sector. The remaining 5 million youth joining the ranks of poorly paid partial employment, casual labor pool for temporary infrastructure and real estate construction jobs, or in many cases, being unemployed.
Criticisms
Scholars suggest India's rigid labor laws and excessive regulations assumed to protect the labor are the cause of slow employment growth in high paying, organized sector. India's labor-related acts and regulations have led to labour market rigidity. This encourages shadow economy for entrepreneurs, an economy that prefers to employ informal labor to avoid the complicated and opaque laws. In particular, Indian labour legislation such as the Industrial Disputes Act of 1947 added rigid labour laws and one sided trade union laws. Although the Act does not prohibit layoffs and retrenchments, it does require entrepreneurs and companies to get the permission from government officials to fire an employee for absenteeism, retrench employees for economic reasons, or to close an economically nonviable company. This bureaucratic process can stretch into years, and the government officials have consistently and almost always denied such permission. As a result, the scholars argue that India's inflexible labor laws have created a strong disincentive to formally register new companies and hire additional workers in existing organized sector companies. Unlike China, Indian businesses have avoided substituting India's abundant labor for export or domestic opportunities, or use labor instead of expensive equipment for quality control or other operations. These are reasons for India's weak employment growth.
More recently, a few scholars have completed a comparative study between states of India with different labor regulations. They compared states of India who have amended labour legislations to grant more flexibility to employers, to those states in India that have made their labor laws even more rigid and complicated to comply with. These studies find that states with flexible labor laws have grown significantly faster. Flexible labor states have been able to take advantage of the export opportunities, and the per capita household income has risen much faster in states with flexible labor laws. States with rigid labor laws have led local entrepreneurs to prefer casual workers or contract workers with finite employment time period; in essence, more rigid and inflexible labor law states see increased informal employment.
A 2007 article in The Economist finds India to have the most restrictive labor laws in any major economy of the world. India's private sector, including its organized manufacturing sector, employs about 10 million Indians. Manufacturing firms need to obtain government permission to lay off workers from factories, and this permission is usually denied if they have more than 100 staff. This partly explains why most Indian firms are small: 87 percent of employment in India's organized manufacturing sector is in firms with fewer than ten employees, compared with only 5 percent in China. Small Indian firms cannot reap economies of scale or exploit the latest technology, and so suffer from lower productivity than if they scaled up, employed more people and were much bigger companies. This cripples Indian firms ability to rapidly expand or adjust with changes in global economy, both during early opportunity phase and during economic change.
One exception is white collar jobs, where companies have stronger lobbies and employees are not unionized, so they have managed to operate freely with a much larger workforce and have been able to lay off significant chunk of their workforce without cognizance of the labor laws. In almost all cases white collar employees are forced to resign under threat of negative recommendations and black-listing with industry associations.
Djankov and Ramalho have reviewed a number of labor studies on developing countries including India. They find, consistent with above criticisms, that countries with rigid employment laws have larger informal/unorganized sectors and higher unemployment, especially among young workers. They also report the rigid, inflexible labor laws are strongly related to low per capita income.
International comparison of Indian labor laws
The table below contrasts the labor laws in India to those in China and United States, as of 2011.
Relative regulations and rigidity in labor laws
Practice required by law
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/41/Flag_of_India.svg/22px-Flag_of_India.svg.png India
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg.png China
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png United States
Minimum wage (US$/month)
90 (INR 5000)
182.5
1242.6
Standard work day
8 hours
8 hours
8 hours
Minimum rest while at work
30 minutes per 5 hour
None
None
Maximum overtime limit
200 hours per year
1 hour per day
None
Premium pay for overtime
100%
50%
50%
Dismissal due to redundancy allowed?
Yes, if approved by government
Yes, without approval of government
Yes, without approval of government
Government approval required for 1 person dismissal
Yes
No
No
Government approval required for 9 person dismissal
Yes
No
No
Government approval for redundancy dismissal granted
Rarely
Not applicable
Not applicable
Dismissal priority rules regulated
Yes
Yes
No
Severance pay for redundancy dismissal
of employee with 1 year tenure
2.1 week salary
4.3 week salary
None
Severance pay for redundancy dismissal
of employee with 5 year tenure
10.7 week salary
21.7 week salary
None

The first May Day celebration in India was organised in Madras by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan on 1 May 1923




International Workers' Day
International Workers' Day
Swedish Social Democratic Party at May Day demonstration in Stockholm, Sweden in 2006. The party has dominated Swedish politics for nearly a century. The Trade union palace in Stockholm is seen at the end of the picture
Official name International Workers' Day
Also called May Day
Observed by working people and their labour unions
Date May 1
Celebrations organized street demonstrations and street marches
Related to May Day, Labor Day, various other Labour Days
International Workers' Day (also known as May Day) is a celebration of the international labour movement. May 1 is a national holiday in more than 80 countries and celebrated unofficially in many other countries.
The first May Day celebration in India was organised in Madras by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan on 1 May 1923. This was also the first time the red flag was used in India. The party leader Singaravelu Chettiar made arrangements to celebrate May Day in two places in 1923. One meeting was held at the beach opposite to the Madras High Court; the other meeting was held at the Triplicane beach. The Hindu newspaper, published from Madras reported,

Triumph of Labour at the Marina Beach
The Labour Kisan party has introduced May Day celebrations in Chennai. Comrade Singaravelar presided over the meeting. A resolution was passed stating that the government should declare May Day as a holiday. The president of the party explained the non-violent principles of the party. There was a request for financial aid. It was emphasized that workers of the world must unite to achieve independence.
May Day is a nationwide bank and public holiday in India. The holiday is tied to labour movements for communist and socialist political parties. In Maharashtra and Gujarat, it is officially called Maharashtra Day and Gujarat Day respectively, since on this day in 1960 each attained statehood, after the old Bombay State became divided on linguistic lines.

What Are the Most Common Occupational Health Hazards?

Occupational health hazards refer to the potential risks to the health and safety for those who work outside the home. According to the World Health Organization, this represents about 70% of adult men and up to 60% of adult women throughout the world, and an estimated additional 40 million adults enter the global workforce each year. Of course, the specific occupational hazards faced by this large and growing number of people depends on the region and its economic standing, but there are some of the common hazards faced by workers worldwide.
Topping the list internationally are structural failures and mechanical accidents. This includes structures vulnerable to adverse weather conditions, moving and/or unprotected parts of machinery, or general equipment failure. These occupational health hazards exist fairly equally in developed and undeveloped countries, regardless of industry.
One of the most common work-related injuries to occur globally is the development of musculoskeletal disorders caused by heavy lifting and performing tasks that require repetitive motions. These occupational health hazards are also responsible for the most incidents of disability claims, whether temporary, long-term, or permanent. Muscle injuries due to physical stress most often occur in occupations such as construction and farming, while repetitive motion injuries are most often sustained in environments related to services that typically involve heavy typing and data entry. Also grouped into this category are ergonomically poor working conditions and equipment.

Hearing loss is another hazard encountered by those who work in industries such as construction and manufacturing. In fact, hearing loss ranks with mechanical hazards in terms of being one of the most common occupational health hazards in both developed and developing countries. Typically, this problem occurs over time from chronic exposure to noisy machinery without the use of earmuffs designed to protecting hearing. Even long-term exposure to vibrations can contribute to hearing loss.
Exposure to chemicals and other biological agents account for one of the most common and most harmful occupational hazards that effect several industries. The health risks from these hazards include liver damage, cancer, and reproductive disorders from chronic exposure to pesticides, heavy metals, and corrosive substances. Health care workers are at particular risk for contracting diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and hepatitis B and C. Others, such as those who work in agriculture, are at increased risk of infections caused by fungi and parasites. Other groups are affected by a high incidence of skin and respiratory disorders due to exposure to allergens such as mold, bacteria, and organic dusts.

What Is Occupational Health?

What Is Occupational Health?

Occupational health is a branch of medicine which is concerned with the intersection of work and health. Many workplaces contain risks for employees, ranging from offices where people can develop repetitive strain injuries to high rise construction projects where people are at risk of serious falls. In fact, occupational health is such a major concern for many governments that entire government agencies are developed to the safety and health of workers, such as the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) in the United States.
Specialists in occupational health may work with individual patients who have work-related injuries, helping the patients recover and developing plans to help the patients avoid injury in the future. This work can include routine screening of people in risky professions, patient education to prevent common workplace injuries, and physical examinations to determine the level of someone's disability after a workplace injury.
The practice of occupational health is also concerned with the health and safety of workplaces as a whole. A growing recognition of the need to protect workers led to a number of reforms in the 20th century, including laws targeted at hazardous workplaces such as laws requiring people exposed to radiation to wear tags to monitor exposure levels, laws concerning the types of conditions under which construction workers can work, and laws specifying working conditions in a variety of settings from abbatoirs to spas.
One of the cornerstones of occupational health is the prevention of injury and disease as a result of occupational exposure. This can include recommendations for ergonomic workplaces to protect office workers, along with laws which address specific risks in the workplace like electrocution, falls, drowning, car accidents, crush injuries, shipwrecks, and so forth. Many careers are surprisingly hazardous, and occupational health and safety legislation has greatly improved conditions for workers.
In addition to working with patients and in workplaces, making recommendations for safety and efficiency, specialists in this field can also be employed as legislative advisors. They may make recommendations and suggestions for policies which are designed to promote the health of workers, and they can also work on the enforcement end of things, inspecting workplaces, equipment, and tools to confirm that they conform with government standards. In all cases, the goal is to balance the need of industries to get work done in an efficient manner with the right of workers to enjoy a reasonably safe working environment, and to have protections if they report workplace hazards or are injured in unsafe workplaces.

What Is an Occupational Injury?

An occupational injury is quite simply any injury that occurs as a result of working. This term usually does not include occupational diseases, which are chronic and often much harder to diagnose. Typically, an occupational injury occurs in a single moment, whereas a disease occurs over a longer period time. Injuries can occur to many different body parts and may vary in severity, but in many areas where workers rights are respected all cases in which an employee is injured must be solved by the employer in some way. Usually, compensation for an occupational injury consists of paying for all treatment related to the injury as well as paying for time off, although some areas offer less.
Often, body parts that suffer occupational injuries are directly related to the activities performed on the job. In some cases, freak accidents may occur that cause other types of bodily harm to employees, but much more frequently injuries are a result of carelessness or the risks of a job. Safety standards designed to prevent workers from suffering bodily harm are not always obeyed, but even when safety guidelines are followed perfectly, people still sometimes get hurt. Given that many companies are obligated to pay for injuries that happen to employees on the job, companies typically invest significantly in worker safety.
some of the most common occupational injuries involve the hands, skin, and spine. People often carelessly cut themselves performing what appear to be simple tasks, or they may hurt their hands in other ways. Skin can be burnt, cut, and otherwise injured anywhere on the body in any number of professions. When a worker experiences an occupational injury having to do with the spine, the problem is typically the result of lifting too much weight or lifting improperly, although falls can also affect the spine. Broken bones and other relatively minor injuries are also common in some professions.
Certain hazardous professions are known to be more susceptible to a high rate of occupational injury than others. A person who does deep sea welding or fire fighting, for example, is at a much higher risk of experiencing a severe occupational injury when compared to a person who works at a desk or in a grocery store. People in lower-risk professions, however, often follow safety standards much more laxly and may become injured in minor ways more frequently.
In many countries, there are national regulatory agencies that work to make certain that all workers are safe. This may entail checking safety procedures, evaluating compliance with safety training, and looking at why past injuries have occurred. Insurance for compensating workers can be costly, particularly when a workplace has many accidents, so businesses often reward workers with incentives for going without injury.

ILO calls for urgent global action to fight occupational diseases

GENEVA – The International Labour Organization (ILO) has called for an “urgent and vigorous” global campaign to tackle the growing number of work-related diseases, which claim an estimated 2 million lives per year.

“The ultimate cost of occupational disease is human life. It impoverishes workers and their families and may undermine whole communities when they lose their most productive workers,” said the ILO Director-General Guy Ryder in a statement issued for the World Day for Safety and Health at Work. “Meanwhile, the productivity of enterprises is reduced and the financial burden on the State increases as the cost of health care rises. Where social protection is weak or absent, many workers as well as their families, lack the care and support they need.”


ILO Director-General's statement on World Day for Safety and Health at Work
Ryder said prevention is the key to tackling the burden of occupational diseases, and is more effective and less costly than treatment and rehabilitation. He said the ILO was calling for a “paradigm of prevention with comprehensive and coherent action targeting occupational diseases, not only injuries.” He added: "A fundamental step is to recognize the framework provided by the ILO’s international labour standards for effective preventative action and promoting their ratification and implementation."

The head of the International Organization of Employers (IOE), Brent Wilton, said: “The ILO is well placed to lead a concerted and holistic effort to address OSH challenges by providing integrated web-based information that is practical and easily accessible to workplace actors, prevention and treatment centres, employers’ and workers’ organizations, enforcing authorities and labour inspectorates. We have an opportunity to ensure that countries are better equipped to avert the risk of facing the same OSH challenges by learning from shared experiences.”

Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), said: “Our societies must not accept that workers can lose their health to make a living. And we must not forget that occupational diseases put a huge burden on families and the public purse – a burden that is preventable. Harnessing the knowledge of workers, backed by their unions, is crucial for preventing death and illness. Protection, including through respect for workers’ rights to trade union representation, and government legislation and enforcement following ILO standards and guidance should be expanded.”

The report, entitled The Prevention of Occupational Diseases, issued for the World Day for Safety and Health at Work, the ILO said that despite the fact that occupational diseases kill six times as many people, accidents attract greater attention. Of the estimated 2.34 million annual work-related deaths, the vast majority – approximately 2.02 million – are due to work-related diseases. This represents a daily average of 5,500 deaths. The ILO also estimates that 160 million cases of non-fatal work-related diseases occur annually.

Let us set clear OSH goals, establish a road map and most critically, act."
Guy Ryder
Technological and social changes, along with global economic conditions, are aggravating existing health hazards and creating new risks. Well-known occupational diseases, such as pneumoconioses and asbestos-related diseases, remain widespread, while relatively new occupational diseases, such as mental and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), are on the rise.

Occupational diseases carry an enormous cost – for workers and their families, as well as for economic and social development. The ILO estimates that occupational accidents and diseases result in an annual 4 per cent loss in global gross domestic product (GDP), or about US$2.8 trillion, in direct and indirect costs of injuries and diseases.

Good quality data is of key importance, providing the basis for an effective prevention strategy. Yet, globally, more than half of all countries do not provide statistics for occupational diseases. Only a few countries collect sex-disaggregated data. This makes it difficult not only to identify specific types of occupational injuries and diseases that affect men and women, but also hinders the development of effective preventive measures for all.

”Significantly reducing the incidence of occupational disease is not simple, it may not be easy and it will not happen overnight, but progress is certainly feasible. So let us, in our respective areas of responsibility, set clear OSH goals, establish a road map and most critically, act and persevere so that, together, we succeed in turning the tide on the epidemic and make good progress on this dimension of decent work,” Ryder said.