BWI World Board action calls for OHS as a fundamental worker right

A day before the marking of International Workers’ Memorial Day (IWMD), 35 participants of BWI’s World Board Meeting held a solidarity action at the iconic Broken Chair monumental sculpture in Geneva, Switzerland to push for the recognition of healthy and safe workplaces as a fundamental workers’ right. They were joined by representatives from UN1A, BWI's Swiss affiliate.

The solidarity action expressed the demand of the 2022 International Labour Conference (ILC) to make OHS a fundamental right. It also expressed support for ILO Convention No. 155 on Occupational Safety and Health (1981) and ILO Convention 161 on Occupational Health Services (1985), which BWI called as “core OHS conventions” and necessary pillars for the recognition of workplace health and safety as a right. 

On 28 April, BWI affiliates from different parts of the world will hold different activities and initiatives to mark IWMD and support the global union’s international call for the ILO to recognise healthy and safe workplaces as a fundamental right. It said that a global consensus for such a change will encourage the application of good occupational health and safety standards and discourage countries and companies from seeking competitive advantage based on substandard conditions and practices.  

For more information on BWI's 2022 IWMD campaign, go here.