With over six million people dying due to COVID-19 in the last two years, safety and health have become central to every local, national, and international discussion. As accidents, injuries, and diseases are prevalent in many industries, all of which directly and indirectly affect workers' and their families' well-being, it makes ensuring a preventative safety and health culture a critical component of any workplace. Globally, an estimated 2.9 million deaths and 402 million non-fatal injuries are attributed to occupational accidents and diseases. For the world of work to build forward from the pandemic in a more human-centred and resilient way, occupational safety and health (OSH) mechanisms need to be strengthened to establish workplaces that are not hazardous for workers.
Since 2003, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has commemorated April 28 as World Day for Safety and Health at Work to stress the prevention of accidents and diseases at work by capitalising on our strength of tripartism and social dialogue. Our new publication, "Enhancing social dialogue towards a culture of safety and health," and this year's theme, "Act together to build a positive safety and health culture", explores the role of social dialogue in creating a positive safety and health culture at workplaces, which will be made possible by cooperation and discussions between employers and workers.
