ICFTU ONLINE...
082/990428/LD
| Women primary victims of safety negligence at work, says global labour group |  Lighting the candle to commemorate dead and injured workers April 1999 |
Brussels, April 28 1999 (ICFTU OnLine): Although invisible in official statistics on work-related accidents and illnesses, women are more likely to be victims of negligence of safety standards at work, says the Brussels-based International Confederation of Trade Unions (ICFTU).
The ICFTU, which is, today, April 28, dedicating this year's union-proclaimed International Day of Mourning for Workers Killed at Work to women workers, estimates that at least 60% of work-related accidents and illnesses world-wide affect women.
According to the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO), over one million work-related deaths occur annually while hundreds of millions of workers suffer from workplace accidents and occupational exposure to hazardous substances world-wide.
Although these statistics remain silent on the victims' gender, the ICFTU stresses that women now account for approximately half of the working population in most countries, but often work in badly-paid, hazardous conditions and constitute the bulk of workers in temporary and precarious jobs which, by nature, are particularly prone to accidents. In Europe alone, women represent 76 to 90 percent of part-time jobs.
In agriculture, where the official annual death toll is over 170,000 workers, women nearly constitute half of the workforce - but while men have largely benefited from new technology, women remain confined to the most unrewarding and most dangerous jobs, the ICFTU emphasises. Exposures to pesticides, which kills 40,000 a year, is a particular concern for the ICFTU. Women, for instance, form a majority of the 200,000 seasonal workers hired without contract to work for three to six months for the fruit harvest in Chile, putting in 10 to 12 hours a day for just seven dollars.
Information compiled by the ICFTU shows an average of three accidents per day in Vietnam's textile factories where the workforce is essentially made up of women.
Jobs in the health sector, a sector traditionally reserved for women, are also considered among the most dangerous. Quoting an ILO report, the ICFTU says that "Women workers are badly paid, and have difficult working conditions. They are also directly exposed to occupational diseases". Frequent exposure to radio-active substances in x-rays can cause genetic mutations, including cancer.
In addition, says the ICFTU, most protective tools at the workplace are designed according to essentially male criteria and tolerance thresholds for chemical substances are still calculated on the basis of tests carried out on men.
The ICFTU, which has called on its affiliated organisations world-wide to initiate action on April 28, says that one of the best means of preventing work-related accidents and illnesses is the presence of strong, active trade unions, to enforce health and safety legislation and press for preventive measures.
April 28 will be marked by trade unions world-wide. In Spain where the government has just officially recognised April 28, there will be an international conference, plus other events. There will be a candle-lighting ceremony at the ICFTU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on April 29. In Brazil, in Nepal and South Africa, unions are organising events for the first time. The United Kingdom's TUC is planning a large evening meeting in London, plus the production of health and safety guides. "The Global Mariner", owned by the International Transport Federation, will have a flag-lowering ceremony as it sails through Arctic waters. In the Caribbean the West Indies' Waterfront and Allied Workers Union in is organising an event.
The ceremonies will finish in Thailand on May 10, the anniversary of the Kader Toy Factory Fire, when trade unions and NGOs are planning a number of public events in Bangkok.
The Brussels-based ICFTU groups 213 national trade union centres in 143 countries representing 124 million workers world-wide.
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU)
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please contact: Luc Demaret on: 00 322 224 0212 - press@icftu.org