Occupational accidents and diseases have an impact not only on the lives of individual workers but also on the productivity and profitability of enterprises and ultimately, on the welfare of society. In response, governments, workers and employers across the world are increasing their efforts to prevent accidents and diseases at the workplace.

In India, ILO’s activities in the area of occupational safety and health (OSH) have focused on supporting the efforts of the constituents in promoting national legislation, and updating it in line with international labour standards. In addition, other interventions aim at strengthening the capacity of workers’ and employers’ organizations, along with the promotion of tripartite consultations. Finally, ILO’s work also focuses on compliance strategies and strengthened monitoring and enforcement mechanisms.

Key activities include reviews of the labour administration system at the national and state levels, workshops to promote ratification of the ILO conventions on occupational safety and health, and capacity building on labour inspection and occupational health and safety at the state level.

Occupational health and safety is also one of the five SCORE training modules, which is being implemented in India through the SCORE project . Efforts have been made to promote awareness on OSH among micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in collaboration with FICCI, the Ministry of MSMEs and the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Throughout the subregion, the ratification rate of the ILO’s conventions related to OSH remains low. However, governments, workers’ and employers’ organizations are now showing stronger commitment to improving and promoting OSH standards and related inspection systems. Following recent work-related tragedies, the ILO’s long-standing technical support to these countries has significantly increased.