Programme

ISSA @ XIX World Congress on Safety and Health at Work
Programme and stand highlights
[ 2-world-congress-issa.pdf 2,91 MB ]

Main topics

Comprehensive, proactive and preventative approaches to safety and health at work

The identification and improvement of proactive and preventive measures, including early interventions to tackle risks in specific sectors, are essential for a comprehensive approach to the prevention and control of occupational accidents and diseases and for the protection of workers' safety and health. Coordination and cooperation among national authorities, occupational safety and health practitioners, employers' and workers' organizations and social security organizations are a requisite for the design of public policies and improved efforts for a healthy and safe future.

Systems approach for occupational safety and health

The fundamental pillars of a global OSH strategy include the building and maintaining of a national preventative safety and health culture and the introduction of a systems approach to OSH management. Key elements in the implementation of a management systems approach at the national level include the design of a national policy on occupational safety and health, the consolidation of the national OSH system and the design of a national OSH programme. At the workplace level, it is of utmost importance that occupational health services have a multidisciplinary approach and become an integral element of the organization's management system on OSH.

Social dialogue, partnerships and innovation on occupational safety and health

Recent globalization trends have increased the need to address occupational safety and health as a shared responsibility of all those involved. Through social dialogue, governments, employers' and workers' organizations, social security institutions, associations of professionals and other stakeholders can develop mutually beneficial partnerships to improve workplace safety, health and well-being by reducing work-related fatalities, accidents and diseases and promoting a global preventive culture.

New challenges in a changing world of work and the global economy

The current global challenges determine the new context for occupational safety and health practice. New preventative approaches are required in the face of new and emerging workplace risks related to technological change, shifts in employment patterns and working conditions and the increased vulnerability of the global workforce. Applied research, the measuring of progress and of gaps and the sharing of good practices on OSH are key elements for the development of new preventive strategies. The design and development of innovative national and regional strategies and programmes are essential for a sustainable improvement of safety and health at work.