Fatal accidents at workplaces have been rising, though there has been a decline in deaths due to such mishaps, according to a latest report of International Labour Organisation.
The estimated fatal accidents at workplaces rose from 351,000 in to 358,000 between 2001 to 2003 while the non-fatal category showed an increase from 268 million to 337 million in the same period, largely due to increase in workers globally, it said.
The report, 'Beyond deaths and injuries: The ILOs' role in promoting safe and healthy jobs', will be released at the 18th World Congress on Safety and Health at Work scheduled to be held on Wednesday at South Korea's Seoul.
However, the overall deaths due to work-related diseases declined slightly from 2.03 million to 1.95 million and the total estimated number of deaths due to accidents and diseases too decreased slightly from 2.38 mn to 2.31 mn.
Though the industrialised countries have seen a steady decline in work-related accidents and diseases, this is not the case with countries undergoing rapid industrialisation and under-developed nations where a national Occupational Safety and Health system has often not been properly enforced, the report said.
The World Congress is the largest global event on Occupational Safety and Health with some 4,000 representatives from more than 100 countries attending the meet.
According to the ILO report, efforts to tackle Occupational Safety and Health issues are often disintegrated and fragmented and fail to achieve a progressive reduction of work-related fatalities, accidents and diseases.
"The plateau in efforts to turn the objective of decent, safe and healthy working conditions into a reality must be overcome," said Assane Diop, executive director of the ILO Social Protection Sector.
"We must do what we can, enforce or enact the laws we need and take the actions we must to make our workplaces safe and decent. It's our common responsibility," he added.
During the World Congress, the organisation will urge its members to ratify and apply the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention adopted by them at an International Labour Conference in 2006, the report said.
The World Congress on Safety and Health at Work is co-organised by the ILO and the International Social Security Association and hosted by the Korean Occupational Safety and Health Agency.
The Congress will address the current state of safety in working environments across the world and provide a major platform for development of knowledge and strategies to improve them.
An International Film and Multimedia Festival, with dozens of short films and multimedia presentations on occupational safety and health, will be held as part of the Congress.
An International Safety and Health Exhibition is also running in parallel to the Congress, showcasing safety technologies and products from over 600 companies globally.
