Key ILO Findings on Climate Change and Occupational Safety and Health

ACV-CSCIASIA.ORG, Jakarta – 2023 is the hottest year ever recorded in human history. Climate change changes everything, Climate Change causes deaths, injuries and occupational diseases wherever they are. Climate change is causing excessive heat, extreme weather, ultraviolet radiation, air pollution and an alarming increase in certain diseases. And that is a danger that can threaten Occupational Health and Safety and endanger their jobs.

More than 2.4 billion workers are exposed to excessive heat in their workplaces every year, and worse, the total number has increased by more than 35% over the past two decades.

The latest ILO data shows that more than 26.2 million people suffer from chronic kidney disease caused by heat stress at work. Excessive heat killed about 19,000 workers
and injures around 23 million workers every year. Not to mention that Ultra Violet radiation impacts more than 1.6 billion workers and kills 19,000 per year due to skin cancer.

Additionally, these 1.6 billion outdoor workers may also be exposed to air pollution resulting in an estimated 860,000 work-related deaths. Outdoor workers are also vulnerable to vector-borne diseases, which kill approximately 15,000 workers each year.

Climate change is causing increased use of agricultural chemicals, putting more than 900 million agricultural workers at risk
around the world who are at risk of exposure. Every year, 300,000 people die from pesticide poisoning.

Each of these dangers from climate change is a threat outside and within itself, but they are also uniquely interrelated and can result in various dangers. Their cumulative impacts may pose an unprecedented threat to humanity, and we do not yet have a complete picture of their true impact.

This creates a multidimensional challenge that is before us. Climate change is a health problem. This is a workplace issue. This is also a social justice issue. But most importantly, this is a human rights issue. This tops the list of global priorities.

Going forward, workers and workplaces must be at the center of climate change action. Heat action plans must prioritize worker safety and health, and legislation on occupational safety and health needs to mainstream the dangers of climate change as a matter of urgency.

This condition requires us to run to save our lives, and now is the time for all of us to take action.