ILO makes health and safety work a “fundamental right”

Delegates attending the International Labour Conference have adopted on 10th June a resolution to add the principle of a safe and healthy working environment to the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

Until now there have been four categories of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work since the adoption of the Declaration in 1998:

• freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;
• the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour;
• the effective abolition of child labour;
• the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

The declaration “clearly” states that the rights it enshrines are universal. Under it, “ILO Member States, regardless of their level of economic development, commit to respect and promote these principles and rights, whether or not they have ratified the relevant Conventions.”

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