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Vaniria Setser
How occupational accident is defined
Notification of fatal occupational accidents
Notification of non-fatal occupational accidents
Type of accident information notified
How and when information is notified
The role and influence of Schedule I to the Employment Injury Benefits Convention, 1964
Recognition of occupational diseases for compensation and prevention purposes
New occupational diseases
Diseases suspected of being occupational in origin
International activities
ILO activities
Extent of under-reporting of occupational accidents and diseases
Coherence of information to be recorded
Recording of incidents
Preventing occupational accidents and diseases
Recording and notification of occupational diseases and diseases suspected of being occupational in origin
A possible new instrument on the recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases
Updating mechanism for the ILO list of occupational diseases
Consolidating the relationship between recording and notification of occupational diseases and Schedule I to Convention No. 121
Possible content of a new instrument or instruments
At its 279th Session (November 2000) the Governing Body of the International Labour Office decided to place an item on the recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases, including the possible revision of the list of occupational diseases, Schedule I to the Employment Injury Benefits Convention, 1964 (No. 121), on the agenda of the 90th Session (2002) of the International Labour Conference, with a view to standard setting under the single-discussion procedure. The Governing Body also indicated that the development of a mechanism for regularly updating the list of occupational diseases should be examined by the Conference as part of the above agenda item.
Owing to the limited time frame for the preparation of this law and practice report, it has been prepared on the basis of materials provided by member States in reply to past surveys, meetings of experts and other sources available at the International Labour Office. The approaches described in the report are representative samples of existing practices and identify the relevant issues for discussion. The Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155) (the substantive provisions of which are reproduced in Appendix I), includes provisions on the establishment of procedures for the notification of occupational accidents and diseases and provides the basis for the possible elaboration of a Protocol on the subject. The report also reflects the ILO code of practice on the recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases[1] published in 1996, the contents of which are reproduced in Appendix II.
Chapter I of this report covers recording and notification practice; Chapter II focuses on issues relating to lists of occupational diseases for compensation as well as recording and notification purposes; and Chapter III argues the case for new ILO instruments. It examines measures for strengthening recording and notification at both national and international levels. Looking at the relationship between recording and notification and the list of occupational diseases in Schedule I to Convention No. 121, it proposes the consolidation of these frameworks through the establishment of a new ILO list of occupational diseases with a flexible updating mechanism. The chapter concludes with an outline of the content of the possible new instrument or instruments.
The report ends with a questionnaire to which governments are asked to give substantiated replies. On the basis of information received, the Office will draft a second report summarizing the views expressed and pointing out the main issues the Conference may wish to consider.
To allow the Office time to draft the final report, which in accordance with article 38, paragraph 2, of the Standing Orders must be communicated to governments not less than four months before the opening of the 90th Session of the Conference, governments are requested to send their replies so as to reach the Office no later than 30 September 2001. In this respect, the Office draws the governments attention to article 38, paragraph 1, of the Standing Orders, under which governments are asked to consult the most representative organizations of employers and workers before finalizing their replies. The results of this consultation should be reflected in the governments replies, and they are requested to indicate which organizations have been so consulted.
The absence of reliable information about the incidence of occupational accidents and disease is a major obstacle to curbing the appalling toll of work-related deaths and injuries that continues to plague humankind. Despite enormous advances in technology, preventive medicine and the means to prevent accidents, the ILO and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimate that each year around 1.2 million work-related deaths, 250 million accidents and 160 million work-related diseases occur worldwide. Death, illness and injury on such a scale impoverish individuals and their families, and undermine attempts to improve working conditions. In addition to immeasurable human suffering, they cause major economic losses for enterprises and societies as a whole, such as lost productivity and reduced work capacity. It is estimated that around 4 per cent of the worlds gross domestic product (GDP) is lost in terms of various direct and indirect costs including compensation, medical expenses, property damage, lost earnings and replacement training. Information is needed, particularly by those charged with the task of remedying this situation, in order to understand what preventive action is necessary. This information must be sufficiently comprehensive and above all accurate.
There are many different audiences for information about occupational accidents and diseases: employers, workers, occupational safety and health professionals, insurance institutions, governments, international organizations, and those involved in emergency response to name but a few. Broadly speaking, all audiences need information for the same purpose, but there are differences in emphasis concerning the nature of the information required, as well as between action taken at the level of the enterprise and that taken at national and international levels.
As an important element of enterprise occupational safety and health management systems, employers need to record information about accidents and diseases as well as dangerous occurrences which have arisen, along with the results of their investigation. This record must be sufficiently detailed to include the essential facts about how the person was injured or came to be ill. The employer is thus able to analyse the information, obtain appropriate support where necessary, understand the circumstances leading to the accident or the cause of the disease, and take the necessary remedial steps to prevent a recurrence in the enterprise as far as possible. The strategy at the enterprise level must ensure that workers understand their obligations for reporting to allow the employer to develop an accurate assessment of the situation. Workers and their representatives too should be aware of the reported cases and the circumstances in which they occurred, so that they can contribute to improving working conditions.
At national level, the information compiled on the nature and circumstances or cause of occupational accidents and diseases is generally based on the information recorded and notified by the employers, although the medical practitioners treating the victims may notify the authorities themselves in some cases. The authority responsible for receiving the notification may be the enforcement authority, the insurance institution or both. The insurance institution may be a government body, an independent insurance organization or a combination of the two, depending on the regulatory framework in the country. The main purpose of the information is to provide the elements to be used in assessing qualification for and levels of compensation to the injured persons or their dependants.
An enforcement authority may react to a notification by launching its own investigation where necessary. Otherwise, it uses the information to identify recurring accidents and diseases, those with the most serious consequences, etc., and to compile statistics. The latter are used to identify trends within industrial sectors and regions, devise coherent enforcement strategies and develop effective preventive campaigns at national level or directed at sectors and specific enterprises. The accumulation of statistics enables the authority to gauge the success of its preventive programmes.
Recognizing the importance of collecting and analysing information on occupational accidents and diseases as a means of implementing the national policy on occupational safety and health, Article 11 of the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155) (see Appendix I), includes the following among the functions to be ensured by the competent authority:
- the establishment and application of procedures for the notification of occupational accidents and diseases, by employers and, when appropriate, insurance institutions and others directly concerned, and the production of annual statistics on occupational accidents and diseases;
- the publication, annually, of information on measures taken in pursuance of the policy referred to in Article 4 of the Convention and on occupational accidents, occupational diseases and other injuries to health which arise in the course of or in connection with work. While the systems for recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases should cover all branches of the economy, in most cases their coverage depends on that of occupational safety and health legislation or the national workers compensation schemes. The definitions of what is to be recorded and notified have huge implications on the data to be collected and analysed. The following definitions are provided in the 1996 ILO code of practice on the recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases: