In connection with the XV World Congress on Occupational Safety and Health, the author had an opportunity to talk with women from many parts of the world and to discuss with them the most topical issues and urgent needs in the development of women's work in various countries and on different continents. This collection of interviews will provide the reader with a glimpse of the varied situations and problems associated with the work of women throughout the world. Close to 200 participants were interested in the topic and attended the Session on Women and gender issues related to occupational safety and health in São Paulo, Brazil.
Through alleviation of poverty to better health
Dr. Erica Malekia, Medical Advisor on Workers' Health to the Tanzania Trade Unions, emphasizes the role of women's work in Africa. She sees a lack of knowledge of the risks involved in their work as the greatest problem facing women; and in many cases, women are forced to accept poor working conditions because they badly need the money from their jobs to sustain their families. A great deal of information support and training is also needed, says Erica Malekia. Such activities are, however, well under way. The international organizations, such as the ILO and WHO, have provided numerous guidelines and instructions, e.g. in the form of International Conventions and Guidelines, she continues. In addition, both trade unions and the employers' associations have organized various seminars and workshops aimed at increasing awareness. Such means are not sufficient, however, if the structures supporting occupational health and safety services are lacking. Therefore, strengthening of infrastructures is vital.
Women often work in small-scale industries, such as farming, households, and contruction work, which involve many problems and hazardous exposures.
The most important issue in the development of women's health is ensuring employment and thereby the alleviation of poverty, because these constitute the prerequisites for improvements in occupational health and safety, says Dr. Malekia. She urges the various organizations in the field of occupational health and safety to continue their work, which in some instances has already borne fruit.
The role of the government is to some extent difficult because of the large number of initiatives and actions needed in a developing country. Furthermore, the pressures for change in an ever more integrated world are enormous, and many people tend to forget the strength of national and local traditions, says Erica Malekia. It would be wise to keep one's own traditions but at the same time to adapt smoothly to the changing world, she concludes.
Women - an important resource in working life
Dr. Maritza Tennassee of the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) sees the role of women in the countries of the Region as being very important. From the 1960s to the 1990s, the number of women participating in working life in the Americas has grown from 18 million in 1960 to 57 million in 1990.
The problems and challenges pertaining to the health of working women in the Americas are associated with both the major changes in the labour market and the new production modes - such as the maquila (export processing zones or free trade zones) - that have come about with globalization of the economy.
We have seen an important growth in the informal sector of the economy; today, out of every 100 jobs created, 85 are in the informal sector, she says. A considerable proportion of this growth is the outcome of incorporating women into the workforce. During recent decades, high unemployment rates, underemployment, and the drop in households' real income have forced women onto the labour market, where they have often taken hazardous, low-paid jobs, without legal and social protection or coverage by occupational health services. Women's average wages are 20 to 40 per cent lower than those of men. Nor do cultural environments favour the promotion of women to top managerial positions.
During the last two decades, most of the measurable growth in women's economic activity has occurred in urban areas, where an average of 40 per cent of women in Latin American countries, are active in working life. On the other hand, the economic activity of women in rural areas is often underestimated because of the manner in which employment data are collected. Women's work in rural areas is characterized by unpaid family work. Because this unpaid activity is not part of the cash economy, these women are classified as economically inactive. Between 50 and 60 per cent of women in the countries round the Andes Mountains, in Mexico and in NE Brazil fall into this category.
Employment of women in low-paid, hazardous jobs has had important consequences. First of all, these women usually shoulder a double or triple burden: they work; they are responsible for the family's income; and they take care of the family. The risk factors they face - psychological, social, physical, chemical, ergonomic and others - lead to serious health effects among women. One major obstacle is a lack of data on the health outcomes of economic activity in general, and the situation is even more severe among women, says Dr. Maritza Tennassee. The social security institutes customarily responsible for data on health effects do not cover most working women. Occupations that are often studied with regard to workers' health - mining, construction work, and heavy metal industry work, for instance - are usually predominantly male occupations, Dr. Tennassee concludes.
New challenges in addition to the old ones
Dr. Dulce P. Estrella-Gust works as Executive Director in the Occupational Safety and Health Center of the Department of Labour and Employment in the Philippines. She emphasizes the importance of women's work in the Asian Region.
The Department of Labor and Employment has identified seven priority gender issues in the Philippine workplace. The main principle is the protection of vulnerable groups. Estrella-Gust stresses the importance of integrating gender issues into the agenda of various organizations, both private and public. "In 1997, we laid the foundations for integrating gender into our technical work, which includes research, training, advocacy and consultancy", she says. "In 1998, critical items on our research agenda were to map out occupational safety and health issues concerning women, including multiple roles and the burden of female workers, as well as women's exposure to toxic substances. In consultation with our social partners and NGOs, we identified and prioritized issues that impact on the safety and health of the Filipina worker. It is very important to join forces", she continues. "We are working closely with the ILO-IPEC in Manila to address the problems of female children, dealing with all forms of exploitation, including sexual abuse. The Center acts as resource in the Health and Safety Programme of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), one of the biggest trade unions in the country. In October this year, we will hold a 'National Symposium on Women in the Workplace: Issues on Safety and Health', which will bring together various practitioners and institutions. In addition to collaboration at both the national and international levels, legislative actions are needed to protect the most vulnerable groups. An additional problem is to transform the legislation into practical action at workplaces", Dr. Estrella-Gust points out.
XV World Congress on Occupational Safety and Health
The International Labour Organisation and the International Social Security Association arranged the XV World Congress on Occupational Safety and Health, in São Paulo, Brazil on 12-16 April 1999. A total of 2,300 participants from more than 70 countries attended the meeting. The Congress was organized by the Ministry of Labour, through the Secretariat on Occupational Safety and Health and FUNDACENTRO. The XVI World Congress will be held in Vienna, Austria in 2002.
The meeting covered a wide range of topics, structured around the following themes: 'Safety, health and environment - A global challenge'; 'Impact of globalization'; 'Questions arising from globalization'; 'Common perspectives for safety, health and environmental protection in agriculture and forestry'; 'Managing chemical risks'; 'Role and obligations of governments in the framework of globalization'; 'Implementation of occupational safety, health and environmental protection'; 'Information technologies: Opportunities and challenges within an evolving global environment'; 'Economic incentives for the state and self-regulated occupational safety and health systems in mining'; 'Occupational safety and health in health services'; 'New economic structures and small and medium-sized enterprises'; 'Occupational safety and health in construction'; 'Training for the assessment of safety and health risks'; 'Management of occupational safety and health'; 'Psychosocial issues and ergonomics'; 'Research applied to protect man at work and the environment: Relationships and complementary issues'; 'Dock work and transport'; 'Child labour'; and 'Women and gender issues related to occupational safety and health'.
At the Opening Session of the Congress, Dr. Jukka Takala of the ILO presented some facts and figures on occupational safety and health that made his listeners sit up and think: 250 million occupational accidents occur every year, 1.1 million of them fatal. As occupational accidents are preventable, this is not only a great human tragedy but also huge economic loss, he said.
Suvi Lehtinen
Finnish Institute of Occupational Health
Topeliuksenkatu 41 a A
FIN-00250 Helsinki, Finland
Asian-Pacific Newsletter 2/1999 p.44-45