REFLECTIONS FROM PERU FOR THE WORLD DAY FOR SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK

The World Day for Safety and Health at Work is celebrated on 28 April , it was established by the ILO in 2003. The World Day for Safety and Health at Work promotes the prevention of workplace accidents and occupational illnesses throughout the world. This is one of the many initiatives destined to raise awareness and focus international attention on the magnitude of the problem and on how the creation and the promotion of a culture of safety and health can help reduce the number of deaths and injuries related to work.

This objective is shared by the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and different Agreements of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), an objective which is reinforced by the Political Constitution of Peru –all looking to guarantee life and physical and moral integrity at work.

In particular, the UN Sustainable Development Goal, number 8, refers to the promotion of “inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for everyone”, and target 8.8 looks to “protect working rights and promote a safe and protected working environment for all workers, including migrant workers, in particular female migrants and people with precarious employment.”

In Peru, the workplace accident statistics show that there is plenty room for improvement, despite the efforts carried out by private initiatives as well as public institutions, such as OSINERGMIN and, SUNAFIL. In the following tables and graphs, the distribution of workplace accidents can be observed according to the different industries of Peru’s economic activity:

Additionally, the notifications can be observed, according to the type of accident:

Whichever activity sector it is, the challenge is the same: to achieve an adequate level of preventative culture in the whole business structure, from the CEO to the workers with the most recent contracts. This is not just about reiterating the old slogan safety comes first. It is about showing day by day that it is possible to always be safe at work, whatever the circumstances may be, without impairing businesses’ profitability.

A business without safety…is a bad business

We must be sufficiently intelligent to make safety and health at work an element of productivity, by reducing important costs associated with occupational accidents, increasing the physical wellbeing of workers and improving the working environment in organisations, minimising reputational risks and the premiums of insured companies.

In Peru we have witnessed a painful experience caused by natural disasters during which the associated damages have sadly put on display historically deficient risk management, softened, of course, by an immense display of solidarity.

Our reflection is that we must incorporate basic training in schools into the fundamental guidelines so that safety does not become a list of obligations but a way of life for our society.

It therefore seems to us that MINTRA’s venture in their National Plan for Occupational Safety and Health 2017-2021 is of vital importance. They argue for a line of action oriented towards establishing the minimum preventative content of occupational risks, for its incorporation in the curriculums of early, primary, secondary and higher education. Furthermore, we must be aware that different tools exist that can be employed by working groups to professionally prevent OSH risks.

INERCO Consulting Peru has more than thirty years of experience in the Industrial Safety field and Occupational Safety and Health , and has contributed to significant achievements in many companies, reducing the rate of accidents and identifying strategic measures for avoiding unsafe actions or conditions.

Methodologies such as Human Hazop, that allow for risk analysis from the human factor perspective, the Bow Tie, which by means of a simple diagram, describes and analyses the risk scenario route from the causes to the consequences, are making their way nowadays to being the most suitable management tools.

On the World Day for Safety and Health at Work, our desire that respect is achieved for the right to enjoy a safe and healthy working environment at all levels of society and our collaboration with our daily work to achieve this aim.