Chile ratifies ILO Convention 187 on the promotional framework for Occupational Safety and Health

The Government of Chile has delivered to the International Labour Organization the instrument of ratification of ILO Convention No. 187 concerning the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health.

Noticia | 27 de abril de 2011

GENEVA (ILO News) – The Government of Chile has delivered to the International Labour Organization the instrument of ratification of ILO Convention No. 187 concerning the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health.

Ambassador Pedro Oyarce, Permanent Representative of Chile to the United Nations Office in Geneva, delivered the instrument bearing the signature of the President of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, to ILO Director-General Juan Somavia.

In ratifying this Convention, Chile commits itself to the continuous promotion of occupational safety and health through national policies, systems and programmes aimed at the prevention of occupational injuries, diseases and deaths.

“Chile has incorporated the main elements and regulations needed to put in place a national safety and health system and will take the necessary steps to establish a national programme, as called for by Convention No. 187”, said Ambassador Oyarce. “We would like to thank the ILO for its continued support and promotion of international labour standards which contribute to generate safer and healthier workplaces through tripartite cooperation and dialogue”.

On signing the bill launching the legislative process for the ratification of Convention 187 during the ILO’s American Regional Meeting held in Santiago, Chile in December 2010, President Piñera observed that the rescue operation of the 33 miners trapped in the San José mine last year underscored the fundamental importance of health and safety issues in the world of work. The Chilean government has set 2011-2012 as the deadline for implementing a national policy on safety and health at work.

The deposit of the instrument of ratification coincides with World Day for Safety and Health at Work, which this year focuses on the implementation of an Occupational Safety and Health Management System (OSHMS) as a tool for securing continual improvement in the prevention of workplace incidents and accidents.

The ILO estimates that 337 million workplace accidents and 2.3 million deaths occur every year, with some 6,300 deaths per day.

“The tragedy is that so many accidents, illnesses and deaths could be prevented with appropriate managerial measures. It is a matter of respecting the dignity of the human being through the dignity of work; of shaping policies that reflect the central role of work in people’s lives, in peaceful communities, in stable societies and in resilient economies.” said Mr. Somavia in a statement marking the World Day.

As a promotional framework convention, Convention No. 187 provides for coherent and systematic treatment of occupational safety and health and promotes recognition and application of other ILO conventions on occupational safety and health.

Convention 187 was adopted at the 95th Session of the International Labour Conference held in June 2006.

The International Labour Office is the permanent secretariat of the International Labour Organization.