Occupational Safety and Health and Working Environment Branch

Achieving decent, safe and healthy working conditions has been central to the mission of the International Labour Organization since its creation in 1919 and an objective that has been reaffirmed in the 1944 Declaration of Philadelphia and the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for Fair Globalization. Almost half of all ILO Conventions and Recommendations, either wholly or in part, address issues related to occupational safety and health. 

At its 110th Session in June 2022, the International Labour Conference decided to include “a safe and healthy working environment” in the ILO's framework of fundamental principles and rights at work and to designate the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155) and the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006 (No. 187) as fundamental Conventions. 

The OSHE Branch is in charge of promoting the realization of the fundamental right to a safe and  healthy working environment and of a global culture of occupational safety and health (OSH) prevention, by developing and strengthening national OSH frameworks, enhancing national capacities, including to address specific hazards and risks, promoting the ratification and implementation of ILO OSH standards, strengthening the knowledge base, and leading global advocacy and awareness raising efforts on OSH.