Ensuring safe work and social security for employees was one of the four priority topics on the agenda of the BRICS Ministers of Labour and Employment meeting. Following this year’s extension of the BRICS membership, this was the first time that ministers from ten countries participated in this meeting.

The ministers committed to “strive to both prevent and mitigate workplace hazards and extend comprehensive and adequate social protection for workers” in their joint Ministerial declaration.

Illustrative image (internet)

ISSA support

In his intervention, the ISSA Secretary General, Marcelo Abi-Ramia Caetano, pointed out that the financial burden of 2.8 million work-related deaths, 374 million injuries and 160 million illnesses per year can amount to 4 per cent of global GDP, and stressed that “ISSA research shows that every dollar invested in safety and health can generate over two dollars in benefit”.

The Secretary General highlighted the ISSA’s extensive experience and knowledge on OSH through the Special Commission on Prevention, the 14 international prevention sections, the Technical Commission on Insurance against Employment Accidents and Occupational Diseases, the Working Group on Rehabilitation, ISSA Guidelines and publications, and the Vision Zero strategy.

Special attention to the impact of climate change

The ministers paid special attention to the impact that climate change has on safety and health, and measures that need to be undertaken. They pledged to create strategies for adapting workplace accident and disease prevention, as well as develop measures to address the challenges brought by climate change, including heat stress and environmental disasters that impact working conditions.

The ISSA will organize the Technical Seminar: Challenges for occupational safety and health in the context of climate change, in Dakar, Senegal, 10–12 December 2024.

Next steps

The Declaration from the BRICS Ministers of Labour and Employment will be presented to the BRICS Summit on 22–24 October 2024 and recommended for endorsement. The ISSA will continue its support to the BRICS countries’ efforts on health and safety at work.