OSH situation: overview
Most Asian countries achieved high economic growth during the 1980s and 1990s. While several countries are still experiencing economic difficulties since mid-1997, the countries of Asia continue to promote employment generation along with the rapid industrialization and modernization of agriculture.
There is a growing concern about safety and health at work in almost all parts of the region. In 1997, the numbers of reported industrial accidents in Thailand and Malaysia were 230,376 (1,040 fatalities) and 86,589 (1,473 fatalities), respectively. In China, 17,588 fatalities from work accidents, including significant numbers in mining and construction industries, were reported in 1997. Moreover, many countries report increases in accidents. For example, in Thailand there was nearly a threefold increase in accidents between 1990 and 1997; this increase is a reflection of the industrial expansion and improved reporting system.
In addition to workplace accidents injuring individual workers, normally not covered by the media, major accidents also continue to occur. These include a chemical explosion in northern Thailand in September 1999 killing 36 workers; a liquefied petroleum gas explosion in Nagothane, India, which killed 35 and injured 15 persons; and an explosion of a gunpowder warehouse in Hubei, China in 1993, killing 63 and injuring 52 persons. The number of work sites with potential to cause major accidents by hazardous chemicals - such as those in Bhopal killing more than 2,500 persons - are also increasing.
Reporting is still lacking on occupational diseases in most countries in the region. This is due to the weakness and/or lack of national mechanisms for identifying of occupational diseases. Basic awareness on the importance of taking safety and health measures are still lacking among most of the workers - and managers. The close linkage between working conditions and productivity has not been well recognized.
Recent developments in Asia and the Pacific
A number of steps have been taken recently in many countries to improve the national system for occupational safety and health. Encouraging evolution in the countries of transitional economies include the ratification of the ILO Occupational Safety and Health Convention (No. 155, 1981) by Vietnam in 1994 and by Mongolia in 1998, as well as the ratification of the ILO Chemicals Convention (No. 170, 1990) by China in 1995. The Philippines ratified the Safety and Health in Mines Convention (No. 176, 1995) in 1998. Other positive developments in the region are described below.
Review and upgrading of legislation
Many countries have been reviewing occupational safety and health (OSH) legislation. One of the encouraging achievements is the enactment of a new OSH Act in Malaysia, in February 1994. This Act expanded the safety and health protection to all employed persons from the limited coverage of the previous Factories Act. Other key features of the new Act include: establishment of a national tripartite advisory body; clear definition of employers to protect their employees; responsibilities of manufacturers, importers, and suppliers of a plant; establishment of safety and health committees; and requirement of safety and health officers. The Health and Safety at Work Act (1996) of Fiji also extends the protection to all workers as the responsibility of employers.
Improved support from workmen's compensation scheme
Several countries in the region have set up mechanisms to provide financial support for preventing occupational accidents and diseases. Thailand decided to allocate in 1994 a fixed percentage of interest from the workmen's compensation fund for preventive and rehabilitative programmes.
In Malaysia, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) was established in 1992 with the contribution of 50 million Malaysian Ringgits from the workmen's compensation scheme. It has become fully operational with the inauguration of its own building in 1996. Key functions of NIOSH include training, research, and advisory services. The provision of funds is also made by the workmen's compensation fund for training and provision of personal protective equipment in Indonesia.
Employers' and workers' organizations
Employers' and workers' organizations pay now more attention to the safety and health of workers. In 1996, the Malaysian Employers' Federation (MEF) has recruited a specialist in occupational safety and health in order to reinforce its function to assist members. In 1997, the Employers' Confederation of Thailand (ECOT) established a new committee on OSH and Environment and recruited a staff member responsible for the activities under the committee. The Mongolian Employers' Federation (MONEF) launched OSH training programme based on the ILO WISE approach in 1998. Workers' organizations in China and Vietnam have extensive training programmes and those in Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Bangladesh and India have been strengthening their OSH training capability under technical cooperation projects executed by the ILO.
Improvement in accident statistics and analysis
Significant improvements in accident statistics are observed in several countries especially where there is a close collaboration between OSH inspectorates and workmen's compensation scheme. As the coverage of the schemes has been expanded, the number of accidents in the statistics increased enabling more effective analysis of accidents.
Training and information
Training activities are essential components of OSH programmes and are being expanded with legal backups. A notable example is the training of all construction workers in Singapore. This training in Singapore is organized in different languages including English, Thai, Chinese, Malay, and Bengali. The training duration was increased from four to eight hours in 1997. In Thailand, the safety officer training has been organized as a key legal obligation of employers with 100 or more workers. More than 10,000 safety officers have been trained since 1985. Furthermore, a new ministerial notification on OSH personnel issued in Thailand, in 1997, expanded the training programme dramatically and 100,000 persons have been trained within just over a period of one year. Malaysia also started comprehensive training of safety officers in 1996.
The use of modern information management technologies for OSH is spreading rapidly throughout the region. The Internet infrastructure is becoming stronger, and its use for safety and health information dissemination is being promoted. Internet OSH home pages have been established by the national OSH information centres in Australia, China, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. OSH inquiry services as well as information dissemination through newsletters have been expanded in many countries.
Awareness campaigns
Awareness raising is one of the key aspects of OSH promotion. The organization of national campaigns such as a national safety week/month has become common in the region. Good examples are those organized in Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, and China. In September 1996, Malaysia launched a big national OSH campaign including the organization of series of seminars and TV programmes. The National Safety Day events were also organized in Pakistan in August 1996. Sri Lanka launched the National Safety Week in October 1997. In 1998, the Safety Month in China had a focus on chemical safety with a view to implement the ILO Chemicals Convention; over 500,000 people participated in the safety quiz organized by the media. Vietnam organized the first National Safety Week in May 1999. This included activities in Hanoi and provinces with the estimated participation of 5 million workers.
Safety management and auditing
The setting up of a safety management system has been promoted in many countries, including China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Singapore. In Singapore, external auditing of safety management system is a legal requirement for a certain scale of construction sites since 1994. A statutory safety management guideline for chemical industry was issued in Korea in 1996. A new regulation titled Regulation of the Minister of Manpower Regarding Occupational Safety and Health Management System was promulgated in 1996 in Indonesia. The Japan Industrial Safety and Health Association has started a service to carry out safety auditing in 1997. New safety management system standards were issued by the standard organizations in Australia/New Zealand in 1997 and in Thailand in 1998. A new ministerial guideline on the OSH management system was issued in Japan in April 1999.
Chemical safety and major hazards control
In addition to implementing the Chemicals Convention in China, several countries including Korea and Singapore have issued regulations on the labelling and provision of chemical safety data sheets. The Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA - former KISCO) started an on-line computer service for chemical safety information in 1997. Korea amended the Industrial Safety and Health Law to include the requirement of safety reports for major hazard installations in line with the ILO Prevention of Major Industrial Accidents Convention (No. 174) and more than 500 safety reports are reviewed annually by KOSHA.
The International Chemical Safety Cards (ICSCs) of the ILO/UNEP/WHO International Programme on Chemical Safety have already been translated into Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese, and Thai; and they are being translated into several other languages.
ILO activities
In 1995, the ILO East Asia Multidisciplinary Advisory Team (EASMAT) brought out the following three publications to enhance awareness of occupational hazards and guide governments and employers' and workers' organizations in establishing programmes to promote safety and health.
- Protecting and saving lives at work: The emerging challenge in Asia
- Preventive Measures in Hazardous Occupations in Asia: A Guide
- Preventing Major Industrial Accidents in Asia: A Guide
These guides have been translated into several languages in Asia including Chinese, Indonesian, Korean, Mongolian and Vietnamese for wide distribution in each country.
Several comprehensive advisory missions on OSH have been undertaken by the ILO/EASMAT. The reports of these missions include Strategy for the Improvement of Occupational Safety and Health and Working Conditions in Indonesia (1995), China in Transition: Towards a better workplace and environment (1995), Launching an occupational safety and health programme by the Malaysian Employers' Federation (1995), Promoting Occupational Safety and Health in Nepal: Programme of Action (1996), and Strategy for promoting OSH in township and village enterprises in China (1997).
Since 1992, the ILO Asian-Pacific Regional Programme on Occupational Safety and Health (ASIA-OSH) - a technical cooperation project financed by the Government of Finland - has been providing the region's tripartite constituents with technical support. ASIA-OSH focuses on strengthening OSH information systems and services in different countries including national OSH networks, institutions, and information centres, establishment of OSH homepages; promoting national action for implementing ILO OSH-related Conventions; and providing OSH training assistance.
Challenges in promoting OSH
In spite of these positive developments, many countries face common problems.
Workers are generally unaware of hazards they are exposed to. Preventive measures are taken by large enterprises, seldom by the small ones. The legal requirements on safety and health are often not complied with. Enterprises have few trained safety personnel, such as safety officers and supervisors. Accident statistics are inadequate. The labour inspectorate is limited in terms of the number of personnel and their technical expertise. Training and technical advisory services by governments and private institutions are still insufficient.
The experience of industrialized countries shows that the incidence of occupational accidents and diseases could be decreased significantly even in situations of rapid growth. The challenge is how to do so. The steps to be taken towards this common goal include: (1) review of the national policy on OSH and legislation under tripartite collaboration; (2) improving enforcement; (3) improving statistics compilation and analysis; (4) developing special programmes for hazardous occupations and specific sectors; (5) setting up training mechanisms; (6) creating nation-wide awareness; (7) arranging for the mobilization of available resources and expertise.
National policy and programme
The establishment of a firm national policy will be a key step for promoting OSH. The formulation of such a policy integrating it into the national economic plan under the collaboration of the government, employers' and workers' organizations will ensure the action with the commitment of tripartite partners. A key for the success will be the formulation of a practical national programme which could be implemented in a local condition on a step-by-step basis. The arrangement for adequate financial support is critical for the effective programme implementation.
Reviewing OSH legislation
The legal standards for workplace safety and health must be set out to cover all hazardous jobs. It is essential to state responsibilities of employers for all hazardous jobs in all workplaces. The employers must have health standards laid down in relevant laws and take appropriate measures to improve the safety and health of the workers who are exposed to risks.
ILO Conventions and Recommendations provide basic principles for organizing OSH at both national and enterprise levels. In particular, Convention on Occupational Safety and Health (No. 155, 1981) and Convention on Occupational Health Services (No. 161, 1985) state the needs to establish a national policy and implement it at the national and enterprise levels. These Conventions give useful guidance in upgrading the national legislation. Other important ILO Conventions include Safety and Health in Construction Convention No. 167 (1988), Chemicals Convention No. 170 (1990), Prevention of Major Industrial Accidents Convention No. 174 (1993); and Safety and Health in Mines Convention No. 176 (1995).
Improving OSH law enforcement
It is essential to ensure the good OSH administration and undertake specific measures for hazardous occupations. The effective enforcement of the existing legislation will greatly contribute to the reduction of accidents and diseases without waiting for more comprehensive legislation. The appointment of adequate number of qualified government inspectors would be a key step. Measures in this regard would include the high-level decision of the government for stricter enforcement of the laws and regulations and the technical and administrative training of existing inspectors and recruitment of technically qualified persons. The commitment of the government with allocation of sufficient budgets will be essential for these activities including a possible increase of the salary to secure qualified people.
Developing special programmes
Developing special programmes for hazardous occupations/industries and small-scale industries is crucial to use efficiently limited financial and human resources. Selection of priority industries should be based on national accident statistics data as well as on analyses of economic sectors which are considered hazardous in other countries. Priority subjects in many countries could be construction, mining, chemicals, forestry, transport, manufacturing, and prevention of major industrial accidents. Small-scale enterprises require special attention as they usually have a higher accident rate.
Improving statistics compilation and analysis
Statistics on occupational accidents and diseases are the basis for priority setting for preventive actions as well as for concrete programmes for identified sectors. Experiences show that the best way to compile more accurate information on accidents and diseases is the linkage with workmen's compensation scheme. If such a social security system does not exist, its development should be examined as a matter of priority. Other efforts such as integrating occupational injuries in the labour force surveys should also be made.
Information on occupational diseases is lacking in many countries. The development of a mechanism to identify prevailing occupational diseases is important in promoting preventive measures. The training of medical doctors who would be involved in the diagnosis of occupational diseases has to be organized widely. The arrangements for monitoring and recording of the work environment should be made including legal stipulation and network of institutions capable of such monitoring.
Establishing an occupational health service network
A national mechanism for the medical surveillance of workers exposed to health hazards and work environment monitoring of hazardous substances should be established to help employers in discharging their responsibility. The establishment of such mechanisms for comprehensive occupational health services should be promoted together by reviewing and upgrading relevant legislation as well as training of medical, paramedical staff, occupational hygienists, and engineers.
Setting-up national OSH training mechanisms
Training of managers, supervisors, and workers is the most important aspect in the promotion of OSH. They deal with hazards at work. Such training should be available throughout the country. Though safety and health inspectorates play an important role in promoting OSH training, inspectors cannot organize all the necessary training. The mobilization of the private sector should be considered. The setting up of a semi-governmental body - such as Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in Malaysia, and Japan Industrial Safety and Health Association (JISHA) - would provide a firm basis for the establishment of a training institutions' network.
Creating nation-wide awareness and promotional activities
It is extremely important to make people concerned aware of both the importance of safety and health action in achieving sustainable socio-economic development and the potential for achieving immediate improvements. Promotional activities through tripartite cooperation can play a vital role. The organization of a national campaign on OSH is particularly useful. This could take the form of a national safety week/month undertaken every year. During the campaign, national OSH conference, seminars and granting of awards to enterprises with good safety records, the use of mass media and the wide distribution of practical information materials could be arranged.
Mobilizing available resources and expertise
When promoting OSH, securing necessary funds is crucial. The key financial resource at the national level is the government's regular budget. When the government commits itself to promote OSH, it allocates a reasonable fund to it. Another resource would be the workmen's compensation scheme: accident reduction results in the fund's expenditure.
The protection of workers is the primary responsibility of the employers. Law would also be the basis to ensure the allocation of necessary budget within enterprises. Further stipulation of training requirements for personnel at the enterprise level such as safety officer, members of a safety and health committee, and supervisors for hazardous jobs could be considered as a means for mobilization of resources. Discussions and consensus by the government agencies, employers' and workers' organizations at a forum (such as a National Tripartite Advisory Body) are the key actors for developing effective mechanisms for mobilizing financial and technical resources.
Seiji Machida
Senior Specialist on OSH
East-Asia Multidisciplinary Advisory Team (EASMAT), Bangkok
Currently working for InFocus SafeWork, ILO, Geneva
machida@ilo.org
Pia Markkanen
Expert in OSH
ILO/FINNIDA Asian-Pacific Regional Programme on OSH, Bangkok
E-mail: markkanen@ilobkk.or.th