Video address by President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen on ILO World Day for Safety and Health at Work, 28 April 2004

I am delighted and honoured to address this ILO World Day for Safety and Health at Work. As the Co-Chair of the World Commission on Social Dimension of Globalization, it is also a personal joy to associate myself with ILO’s global campaign to reduce deaths and injuries related to work.

Globalization is taking place in unprecedented paces. It is exerting far-reaching effects on people everywhere in the world. The economic benefits and social costs of globalization are not evenly distributed worldwide.

As early as 1919, the ILO’s Constitution recognized that “the failure of any nation to adopt humane conditions of labour is an obstacle in the way of other nations which desire to improve the conditions in their own countries”. It is not by chance that this issue has resurfaced in view of today’s world with increasing interdependency due to globalization.

Workplaces that are unsafe and unhealthy damage the lives of workers and their families. They can threaten the environment and undermine social and economic development. Safety culture needs to be incorporated into the working culture of the undertakings.
Unsafe and unhealthy working conditions have an impact on the marketing of products. Safety and health is becoming a part of the quality of a product. Evidences at international level have suggested that the poor occupational safety and health record could also diminish attraction for foreign investments. Thus, countries, which wish to provide sustainable benefits of globalization for their people, have to subscribe to the basic principles for labor rights and to improve their safety and health record. Studies have shown that countries, which follow the ILO’s safety and health standards, are at the same time most competitive in the world market.

Today, the profiles of hazards and risk factors at work are changing. Old problems due to industrial accidents and traditional workplace hazards such as toxic chemicals, noise, repetitive and monotonous work remain a serious threat to workers’ safety and health in many workplaces. Atypical employment, telecommuting, outsourcing and the dissolving traditional distinctions between home and work place are posing new challenges to all the countries, be they industrialized or transitional alike.

As in 2003, promoting a Safety Culture is the theme of this year’s World Day for Safety and Health at Work. This promotional initiative is an important complement to the normative foundation of occupational safety and health at work. It helps us to take a holistic approach that is equally needed whether we are tackling conventional problems or new risk factors of the information society. Education, training and awareness-raising campaigns are all effective tools in creating a sustainable safety culture everywhere.

Governments have an important role to play in promoting safety culture which should be an integral part of a coherent national policy on occupational safety and health. Launching of a comprehensive national programme on safety and health at work will be a powerful tool to promote safety culture and should be put high on the government agenda.

Experience from countries with good occupational safety and health record could be useful for other countries. Governments of industrialized countries have important responsibilities to make sure that the transfer of technologies to developing countries is accompanied by the transfer of health and safety technology and skills. They can encourage the inclusion of safety and health requirements embodied in international labour standards in international trade and investment agreements. Governments should also encourage trans-national corporations to ensure safety and health in their operations worldwide. Governments, employers and workers all have an interest in safe and healthy workplaces. It offers a sound basis for successful social dialogue and consensus building.

The ILO estimates that some 4 % of the world GDP, more than 1.25 trillion US dollars, is lost each year due to occupational accidents and diseases. Lives lost and diminished working capacity cause and aggravate poverty. Reducing the high and preventable burden of accidents and diseases at work – currently more than 5000 lost lives every day - is not only a business case but also a development issue. The goals set out in the Millennium Declaration include poverty reduction and human security. Safety and health of workers is part and parcel of human security. We must make sure that globalization will work for all, not just for some, if we are to meet the goals in the Millennium Declaration.

My own country, Finland, is committed to promote a safety culture and is one of those four countries, which have ratified more than 100 ILO Conventions out of a total of 185. Finland is also willing to be an active international partner to work with other nations to implement the Global Occupational Safety and Health Strategy adopted at the 2003 International Labour Conference.