Contribution and impact of NGOs on occupational safety and health -
Growing recognition worldwide

Introduction

The term 'non-governmental organization' (NGO) has no precise definition; rather, it is used in a broad sense to cover the wide range of organizations not wholly funded or controlled by government. Depending upon their historical background, the structure of their management board and their sources of funding, NGOs enjoy different levels of autonomy. National NGOs operating in about 40 countries are quite different from each other in this respect, but they all subscribe to a common objective: strengthening of the voluntary OSH movement.

Such NGOs function with or without a statutory mandate, either as a part of the social security system - as in Germany, Austria, France and New Zealand, for instance - or independently - as in the USA, the UK, Canada, Sweden, Australia, Japan, India, Singapore, Hong Kong and others. The Industrial Accident Insurance Association started in Germany in 1885 is perhaps the oldest organization under the social security system, while the National Safety Council of the USA, set up in 1913, is the oldest independent safety council. The recent trend, however, is in favour of the latter. Some countries have more than one national organization devoted to separate sectors or aspects of OSH.

National Safety Council of India (NSCI)

Based on a unanimous recommendation of the first ever National Tripartite Conference on Industrial Safety and Health, convened by the Union Ministry of Labour and inaugurated by the President of India, NSCI was set up on 4 March 1966 as an autonomous and non-profit apex body. The goals set for the NSCI are to generate, develop and sustain the voluntary OSH movement at the national level. The Tripartite Conference had underlined that the country was experiencing a rising trend of industrial accidents and that the enforcement of safety and health statutes by the government agencies alone was not sufficient to reverse this trend. The birth of NSCI in such a national perspective therefore constituted an important milestone.

NSCI had ups and downs in the first decade of its operations, as the challenge of bringing OSH higher on the agenda of industrial management and governments in a large and populous developing country like India was indeed daunting. Fortunately, for more than two decades now, NSCI has progressed from one triumph to another, achieving its present status among the world's top ten safety councils. The NSCI has a tripartite Board of Governors with representatives from all the central organizations of employers and employees and is chaired by an eminent industrialist. Its membership of 5,000 comprises industrial establishments, trade union organizations, professional institutions and individuals. The NSCI now has a network of 13 State Chapters and 16 Action Centres that run grass-root activities across the country. The Council's own headquarters-cum-institutional building is newly constructed. Thanks to these factors and to the NSCI's self-supported annual budget of over 25 million rupees for well-recognized OSH activities, the NSCI has made an acknowledged contribution and has had a significant impact on the national OSH scenario.

Major areas of contribution

Owing to the limited space available for this article, I shall highlight four major areas, to illustrate the significant and pioneering contribution made by NSCI.

National Safety Day/Week Campaign

For about 30 years, a national awareness campaign - popularly known as the 'National Safety Day/Week Campaign' - has been organized annually to mark the day that NSCI was founded. Recenty, the Campaign has been extended to last one week and its scope has been broadened to cover all workplaces. The NSCI provides active leadership in developing innovative approaches and appealing campaign materials, the aim being to enhance the Campaign's effectiveness. The participants in this comprehensive Campaign include all the major players: the Central and State Governments and their regulatory agencies and institutions; district and local administrations; non-governmental organizations; employer organizations; public, private and joint sector undertakings; trade unions; and professionals. The Campaign continues to grow in size, reach and enthusiasm. Recognizing its success, a case study dealing with the Campaign was published in the ILO Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety in 1998.

Hosting the World Congress and APOSHO Conference

The NSCI's capability and record of contribution as a leading OSH institution in the country received an official seal of recognition when the ILO, the ISSA and the Government of India selected the NSCI to host the XIII World Congress on OSH, which took place in April 1993. Held in New Delhi, this was the first such event ever held in an Asian or developing country. Moreover, this collaborative effort also brought into focus the growing international recognition for the role and contribution of NGOs. The World Congress was an outstanding success in terms of its record attendance by national and international delegates, its meticulous organization, its excellent technical programme and its sound financial management. Our achievement opened the door for other developing countries, as borne out by Brazil's hosting of the XV World Congress in 1999.

The World Congress was followed by the 11th APOSHO (Asia Pacific Occupational Safety and Health Organisation) Conference hosted by the NSCI in November 1995. APOSHO was founded in 1985 by the NSCI and five other safety councils; today it has a membership of 28 organizations from 23 countries. The World Congress and the APOSHO Conference were inaugurated, respectively, by the Vice President and the President of India and were received enthusiastically by the Indian governments, industry and professionals; this underscores their contribution as international platforms for discussion of OSH issues in India. The NSCI continues to be among India's leading organizers of national and international OSH conferences.

APELL-LAMP Project

In recognition of the grass-root level reach of the NSCI's activities through its wide network of Chapters, Action Centres and members, its close interaction with governments, local authorities and industries, and its ongoing professional contribution through OSH training courses, workshops and seminars as one of its core activities, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests selected the NSCI as the focal national institute for introducing the internationally developed APELL (Awareness and Preparedness for Emergencies at Local Level) Process in India. This 5-year project (1992-97) was also supported by USAID/OFDA through the World Environment Centre. The project was instrumental in spreading enormous international technical inputs (training/workshops/seminars, manuals, books, computer software, videos) and experience of successful models and approaches, devised by UNEP, the USA, Canada and Europe, to be applied to strengthen chemical emergency preparedness in six high-risk industrial areas in India. Additionally, the project was successful in providing legal backing for the APELL process through the Chemical Accidents (Emergency Planning, Preparedness and Response) Rules 1996 and by triggering the start of national schemes for reinforcing the work of the Crisis Groups set up under the above Rules for effective management of chemical accidents and chemical emergency preparedness. The NSCI continues to be actively involved as a lead institution in formulating and implementing these schemes. The NSCI also makes an international contribution through UNEP by helping to start or fortify the APELL process in several other countries.

Collaborations with ADPC (Bangkok) and JICOSH (Tokyo) to strengthen training

Recognizing the contribution and capabilities of the NSCI in the area of training, the ADPC (Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre) in Bangkok, which is implementing a USAID funded Asian Urban Disaster Mitigation Program for Safer Cities, entered into collaboration with the NSCI as the leading National Partner Institute for designing and conducting regional (for Asian countries) and national training courses on technological risk mitigation in cities. The first 2-week regional training course for Asian countries was developed and conducted successfully in November 1998 in India. This collaboration is also proving fruitful by initiating domestic national training courses in this emerging area, with the aim of making our cities safer.

Similarly, JICOSH (the Japan International Centre for Occupational Safety and Health), set up near Tokyo by the Ministry of Labour, Japan in June 1999 under JISHA (the Japan Industrial Safety and Health Association), a member of APOSHO, selected the NSCI as the focal national institute for nominating all participants from India (industry, governments or institutions) to attend their training courses. The NSCI has nominated participants for seven different international courses conducted by JICOSH since July 1999, providing further evidence of the Council's role in safety training.

Overall contribution and impact

The four areas of contribution highlighted above are illustrative; a brief overview of the overall contribution of the NSCI is also needed here. In some key areas - such as the publication of its quarterly technical journal, Industrial Safety Chronicle; the annual production of HSE diaries with over 100 pages of authentic technical information; and the compilation of a variety of original and attractive promotional material suited to Indian conditions, (a wall calendar, posters, stickers) - the NSCI enjoys the position of undisputed leadership. In some other key areas - such as safety training, safety audits, risk assessment and consultancy - the NSCI is a major player along with a few other institutions. Since it is an NGO, the NSCI would seem to have no role in the enforcement of OSH legislation, as this is a function assigned to various government enforcement authorities. In reality, however, through its practical guidance and advisory services the NSCI plays a key role in promoting self-compliance and beyond.

One parameter in evaluating the overall impact of the services of the NSCI and other Indian government bodies and non-government organizations could be the incidence rate of accidents. It can be seen from the table that the incidence rate of reportable injuries per 1,000 employees in factories fell from 75.67 in 1971 to 17.02 in 1995 (the latest year for which officially published data are available). This no doubt is a commendable achievement to the credit of all the Indian organizations working to ameliorate OSH.

The other parameters indicating contribution and impact, though qualitative, are equally important, visible and perceptible. These include improved nationwide safety awareness, strengthened chemical emergency response preparedness, a more professional approach to safety and health management and training, greater transparency, and better management and sharing of OSH information.

Growing recognition globally

Owing to the overall strength of NGOs, various funding and technical support agencies - such as USAID, the World Bank, the ADPC, UNEP, the WHO and the ILO - have been keen to give NGOs an increasing role in the implementation of their projects in different countries. The ILO has utilized the services of NGOs particularly in effective implementation of its IPEC (International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour). Besides the hosting of the XIII World Congress, as discussed earlier, and implementation of an Action Programme for improving the safety conditions of children in regulated industries under IPEC, the NSCI also shares OSH information with counterparts through the Asian-Pacific Regional Network on Occupational Safety and Health Information (an initiative of the same ILO/FINNIDA project that sponsors this newsletter). It is time for the ILO to recognize NGOs as one of its constituencies, in the same way as governments, employers, and trade unions are. The ILO should provide technical inputs to strengthen NGOs, and the ILO should utilize the experience, expertise and grass-roots contacts of NGOs in all their OSH projects, as this would yield improved results.

Table 1. Number of Indian factories, estimated average daily employment, reportable injuries and their incidence rates

* = incomplete data.

Source: Labour Bureau, Shimla.

K.C. Gupta, Director General
The National Safety Council of India
P.O. Box 26754
C.L.I. Bldg, Sion
Mumbai - 400 022
India

E-mail: nsci@giasbm01.vsnl.net.in