KARACHI (NPTV/ILO): International Labour Organization (ILO), began to observe World Day for Safety & Health at Work from 2003 in order to stress the prevention of accidents and diseases, capitalizing on the ILO’s traditional strengths of tripartism and social dialogue.
It is pertinent to mention here that 28th of April is also the International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers organized worldwide by the trade union movement since 1996.
Speaking on the occasion of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2026, ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo stated: “This celebration is an integral part of the Global Strategy on Occupational Safety and Health of the ILO, as documented in the Conclusions of the International Labour Conference in June 2003.
“As the world of work evolves, factors like job design, management practices, and workplace culture have a direct impact on workers’ health, dignity, and well-being. With over 840,000 deaths linked annually to psychosocial risks, the call is clear: governments, employers, and workers must act together to create safer, healthier, and more just workplaces for all.
“Across the world, work shapes people’s lives in profound ways. It can provide purpose, security and opportunity. But the way work is designed, organized and managed also affects something fundamental: workers’ safety, health and dignity. Today, the world of work is changing rapidly. Digital technologies, new forms of employment, demographic change and climate pressures are transforming the way we work.
“In this context, the psychosocial working environment has never been more important. For workers in every sector, psychosocial factors at work can make the difference between a job that supports well-being and one that undermines it. The consequences are significant. Psychosocial risk factors at work are linked to more than 840,000 deaths each year worldwide, associated with cardiovascular diseases and mental disorders.
“They place heavy costs on societies and economies. Safe and healthy working environments are a fundamental principle and right at work. But they do not happen by chance. When work is designed with reasonable demands, adequate support, opportunities for participation and respect for dignity, it benefits everyone. Workers are healthier and more motivated. Enterprises become stronger and more sustainable.
“Preventing psychosocial risks requires commitment and cooperation. Governments must put in place effective policies, legal frameworks and occupational safety and health systems that support prevention. Employers shape the daily reality of work through leadership and responsible management practices. And workers and their representatives bring essential knowledge about how work is experienced.
“On this World Day for Safety and Health at Work, the ILO calls on governments, employers and workers everywhere to strengthen their efforts to prevent psychosocial risks through social dialogue, to ensure that the design, organization and management of work creates the conditions for healthier workers, successful enterprises and societies that are closer to social justice. This is at the heart of the ILO’s vision of decent work.”
Let’s ensure a healthy psychosocial working environment. The psychosocial working environment is defined by how work is designed, organized and managed, and the organizational practices that shape everyday working conditions.
Psychosocial factors – such as workload and working time, role clarity, autonomy, support, and fair and transparent processes – strongly influence how work is experienced and affect workers’ safety, health and performance. When psychosocial factors harm workers, they become hazards which, alongside physical, chemical and biological types, must be addressed and managed to ensure safe and healthy working environments.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) marks the day with a global report that takes an organizational, prevention-focused approach and looks at psychosocial factors across three levels: the job, how work is managed and organized, and the broader policies, practices and procedures that govern work.
Message of Roberto Suárez Santos, Secretary-General of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) on the occasion of the World Day for Safety & Health at Work.
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Professor at Iqra University, writes on UN activities, health and social issue.
