22.8 million work suffer occupational injuries, 18,970 die every year globally due to excessive heat wave: ILO

Excessive heat results in an estimated 22.85 million occupational injuries, 18,970 deaths and 2.09 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) every year with large numbers of workers in Americas, Africa, the Middle East and India suffering from irreversible kidney failure due to high temperatures, the International Labour Organisation said. Nations need to create climate change-specific occupational safety and health (OSH) policies and integrate them with public health campaigns, ILO said in its global report on safety and health at work in a changing climate, released on Monday. As per the report, more than 3 lakh people die globally every year from pesticide poisoning, 8,60,000 from workplace air pollution, more than 18,960 from solar UV radiations leading to non-melanoma skin cancer and over 15,170 from parasitic and vector borne diseases. Talking about the impact of heat waves on workers in India and other countries, the ILO said epidemics of chronic kidney disease of unknown aetiology (CKDu) are affecting large numbers of workers conducting heavy manual labour in hot temperatures and rural regions of the Americas, Africa, the Middle East and India, resulting in abnormally high number of deaths among agricultural workers due to irreversible kidney failure.

According to the report, strong evidence demonstrates that numerous health conditions in workers have been linked to climate change, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory illnesses, kidney dysfunction and mental health conditions, among many others.

“Global occupational safety and health (OSH) protections have struggled to keep up with the evolving risks from climate change, resulting in worker mortality and morbidity,” the ILO said, calling for collaborative efforts to develop and implement effective mitigation and adaptation measures to protect workers across the globe.“As climate change hazards evolve and intensify, it will be necessary to re-evaluate existing legislation or create new regulations and guidance,” ILO added.The report further suggests that OSH considerations should be mainstreamed into climate-related policies, and climate concerns should be integrated into OSH practice.

“However, the current lack of monitoring and evaluation of policies and strategies may make it difficult for policymakers to determine the best course of action,” it concluded.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has adopted more than 40 standards specifically related to OSH, which provide policy solutions for dealing with the effects of climate change on communities, workers and enterprises.