More than 70 per cent of the global workforce is likely to be exposed to climate-change-related health hazards, according to a new report by the International Labour Organisation.
The report, titled ‘Ensuring Safety and Health at Work in a Changing Climate’, noted that existing occupational safety and health protections were struggling to keep up with the resulting risks.
According to the ILO, climate change is already having a serious impact on the safety and health of workers in all regions of the world.
The ILO estimated that more than 2.4 billion workers (out of a global workforce of 3.4 billion) were likely to be exposed to excessive heat at some point during their work.
It noted that, when calculated as a share of the global workforce, the proportion had increased from 65.5 per cent to 70.9 per cent since 2000.
According to the report, 18,970 lives and 2.09 million disability-adjusted life years are lost annually due to the 22.87 million occupational injuries, which are attributable to excessive heat.
“This is not to mention the 26.2 million people worldwide living with chronic kidney disease linked to workplace heat stress (2020 figures).
“However, the impact of climate change on workers goes well beyond exposure to excessive heat, the report says, creating a “cocktail of hazards”, which result in a range of dangerous health conditions,” it stated.
The report noted that numerous health conditions in workers had been linked to climate change, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory illnesses, kidney dysfunction, and mental health conditions.
It highlighted the impact, which included 1.6 billion workers who were exposed to UV radiation, with more than 18,960 work-related deaths annually from nonmelanoma skin cancer, and 1.6 billion likely to be exposed to workplace air pollution, resulting in up to 860,000 work-related deaths among outdoor workers annually.
“Over 870 million workers in agriculture, are likely to be exposed to pesticides, with more than 300,000 deaths attributed to pesticide poisoning annually.
15,000 work-related deaths every year due to exposure to parasitic and vector-borne diseases,” the report said.
According to the World Health Organisation, between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year, from undernutrition, malaria, diarrhoea, and heat stress alone.
The OSH Team Lead at the ILO, Manal Azzi, said, “It is clear that climate change is already creating significant additional health hazards for workers. We must heed these warnings. Occupational safety and health considerations must become part of our climate change responses, both policies and actions.
“Working in safe and healthy environments is recognised as one of the ILO’s fundamental principles and rights at work. We must deliver on that commitment about climate change, just as in every other aspect of work.”
SOURCE: PUNCHNG
