Around the world in 50 days

All of this has been done with the aim of raising the profile of IOSH, its members and occupational safety and health (OSH) professionals. The goal is to drive action from those who can influence OSH standards around the world and so champion a safe and healthy working environment.

This hot streak of key dates kicked off with the first of two events held at London’s Houses of Parliament, on 07 May. It ran to 27 June, when IOSH presented to an informal public hearing run by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) – in the United States.

Our mega-gig

Three of these events were focused on protecting platform workers in the gig economy. They stressed the need for decent work principles and standards and underlined the challenges of digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI) for these workers. IOSH invited MPs, researchers and industry experts to open the debate at its roundtable event on 07 May. The session, in Committee Room 17 at the Palace of Westminster, was chaired by Lee Barron MP, on behalf of Antonia Bance MP.

The theme was then widened out and revisited on 02 June in Westminster in front of an audience of key influencers. Speakers included:

• UK Government Minister for Employment Rights, Justin Madders MP
• Sam Carling MP, the youngest member of Parliament
• IOSH Vice-President, Dr Shaun Lundy
• IOSH Chief Executive Vanessa Harwood-Whitcher.

Leading academics presented their latest research focused on platform work.

On 05 June, IOSH hosted a ‘Gig economy and AI’ breakfast reception during the 113th International Labour Conference, in Geneva. IOSH was represented by Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Ruth Wilkinson, and Senior Policy and Public Affairs Manager, Dr Ivan Williams Jimenez. This side event was attended by a global coalition of panellists and stakeholders. Speakers included the International Social Security Association, the International Commission on Occupational Health, Equidem, IOSH and audience members from Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO), Anti-Slavery International.

IOSH spoke to advocate for a global standard of protection for platform workers at the Committee on Decent Work in the Platform Economy. This measure would guarantee access to essential rights and social security benefits.

“It was an ideal opening to stress the global nature of the challenges relating to platform work. This is especially so when combined with the impact of AI,” said Ruth Wilkinson.

“This rapidly evolving technological landscape, with the rise of algorithmic management systems to automated performance monitoring, is increasingly governing work conditions, which we’re concerned could impact the health, safety and wellbeing of workers,” she added.

Ruth on a roll

Ruth addressed 6,000 delegates at the Conference in Geneva about the ‘silent crisis’ of millions of workers worldwide trapped in unsafe, unfair and exploitative conditions. She referenced exposure to harmful chemicals, dangerous machinery and the impact of long working hours. She highlighted how a silent crisis is being played out every day in hospitals, homes and workplaces, with workers left to navigate a “minefield of risks.”

Her speech at the plenary sitting on 4 June, called for urgent, co-ordinated, well-funded action to make decent work a reality for all. Ruth advocated “a strong, well-resourced and accountable global approach to upholding workers’ rights, human dignity and a future where no-one is left behind.”

Before heading to Geneva, Ruth had addressed the House of Lords Select Committee appointed to consider the effects and future development of home-based working (This meeting took place at exactly the same time as our second Westminster event on the platform work and gig economy.) She drew on IOSH’s submission to the Committee and research by the International Labour Organization (ILO). These pointed out that “when organised and carried out properly” homeworking, remote working and hybrid working can benefit physical and mental health.

Ruth’s emphasis was on the need for this type of flexible working to be well organised and undertaken correctly. This entails robust management systems and risk assessments, for example. She addressed the many benefits of working from home, both for workers and employers. Highlighting the more negative consequences of remote working, she stressed how they need to be managed and supported by a positive culture.

Global spotlight

Ruth did not need to fly to the OSHA headquarters in Washington DC to give a virtual presentation to the OSHA public hearing last week. Nevertheless, it certainly put her in the global spotlight once again. Her focus was on heat injury and illness prevention in outdoor and indoor work settings. This standard could improve protections for millions of workers.

Highlighting the risks to workers arising from climate change and climate action, Ruth pointed to the work of IOSH in this space. She touched on our campaigning work on sun safety and gave a taste of our forthcoming white paper on climate change. Ruth reviewed our input into various consultations and focused on the critical role of occupational safety and health professionals in meeting this growing challenge.

IOSH also welcomed the adoption of the ILO’s Biological Hazards in the Working Environment Convention and Recommendation, which marked an historic step forward in global occupational safety by formally recognising biological risks as a core workplace hazard.

“We now urge governments worldwide to ratify and implement its provisions, embedding prevention-first strategies and robust emergency preparedness into national OSH frameworks”, said Ruth.

Big picture

Ruth put all this work into context. “The Policy and Public Affairs team seeks to advocate to and influence a range of stakeholders around the world who can influence worker health, safety and wellbeing,” she said.

“This is about focusing stakeholders on current OSH challenges and opportunities where we think we can have the most impact for the benefit of all workers and the OSH profession.

“We use various insights, research and our horizon scanning to help us identify these target areas, including findings from our joint IOSH/ARUP report, ‘Towards a safe and healthy future of work’. In doing this, we also aim to raise the profile of IOSH, our members and the wider OSH profession, as well as the importance and benefits of good OSH and decent work. This is all done within our vision of building a safe and healthy world of work.”

During this period, members of the team have also attended other external meetings where IOSH has been able to advocate, influence and network with others.

So – busy times for Ruth and the IOSH Policy and Public Affairs team. But now they’ll be working to consolidate the impact they’ve made over these last 50 days.