The Role of Governments in Promoting Occupational Safety and Health Concepts

International Labor Organization estimates indicate that two million men and women die annually as a result of occupational accidents and work-related diseases, and that there are approximately 270 million occupational accidents and 160 million cases of occupational diseases worldwide annually, and that the cost of work-related accidents and diseases amounts to an estimated 4% of global GDP.

Concern for worker safety in any country is a reflection of the civilizational level of that country. The extent to which an employer respects their workers is considered one of the most important priorities that countries work to enforce through legislative principles such as the state constitution and laws that are implemented by entities that regulate the relationship between employers and workers, such as ministries of labor, social security institutions, and other regulatory and supervisory bodies.

Therefore, governments must establish policies and programs related to achieving high levels of occupational health and safety in workplaces, with relevant ministries and institutions overseeing their implementation due to the financial returns resulting from reducing the number of work injuries and highlighting the government's awareness in its pursuit of achievement and excellence.

Since most work injuries and their consequences are preventable, and the benefits of prevention are worthy of attention at various levels including the individual, family, establishments, society, and the state as a whole, governments must activate their role in occupational safety and health and the prevention of work accidents and occupational diseases. For the purpose of exercising this role optimally, the following foundations must be available:

A national database for work injuries and occupational diseases.

An entity concerned with occupational safety and health directly linked to the head of government.

Adoption of a national strategy for occupational safety and health.

Regarding the third foundation "adopting a national strategy for occupational safety and health," its essence must be based on respect and appreciation for the human being, with an integrated approach implemented by employers, workers, and government agencies, aiming to reach "zero accidents" through adopting a comprehensive program to make occupational safety a methodology and way of life.

The principle of "zero accidents" means not being satisfied with only preventing accidents that result in fatalities or loss of work time, but includes dealing with all risks (at the work site, during work procedures, and in the worker's daily life), identifying them, and addressing them by establishing appropriate controls to reach losses reduced to zero. This includes, in addition to work accidents and occupational diseases, traffic accidents as well.

The belief that work accidents and occupational diseases cannot be avoided to a certain degree inevitably leads to failure to develop occupational safety and health practices. Therefore, establishments that employ workers must work diligently toward the goal of reaching "zero accidents," which is an achievable goal if adopted by leadership in companies and institutions, in response to legislative requirements and national strategies that establish appropriate frameworks to incentivize reaching this goal.

It is not strange to find factories that have achieved the goal of "zero accidents" over a period that may extend to 5 or 10 years. Initially, the goal is to achieve "zero accidents" for one day, then it accumulates to a month, then to a year, and so on. The degree of success in accident prevention depends on the extent of understanding the philosophy of respect and appreciation for the human being, and therefore preventing accidents through everyone in the establishment participating in anticipating risks and contributing to developing solutions for them.

Global experiences have shown that a high culture of occupational safety and health principles reflects positively on workers, employers, and governments together. With the existence of a declared national strategy concerned with occupational safety and health and companies adopting programs and goals to reach zero injury levels, this contributes to the development and evolution of various prevention methods that have proven their effectiveness in avoiding work injuries as well as in developing establishment performance.

In conclusion, high occupational safety and health standards in some countries are nothing but a direct result of long-term policies and strategies based on continuous dialogue communication between the three parties: labor unions, employers, and the government directly responsible for establishing effective legislation and required policies in the field of occupational safety and health, supported by effective awareness and inspection.