Promoting a safe and healthy working environment in Thailand and Cambodia

Overall objective of project

According to the latest ILO estimates for 2019, globally, nearly 3 million people die of work-related accidents and diseases, an increase of more than 5 per cent compared to 2015. Most of these work-related fatalities, totalling 2.6 million deaths, stem from work-related diseases. The Asia and the Pacific region has the highest work-related mortality (63 per cent of the global total) because of the size of the region’s workforce.

Taking a detailed look at the attributable occupational risk factors and their health and safety outcomes for workers, psychosocial elements is emerging. ILO, jointly with World Health Organization (WHO), estimated that the exposure to long working hours linked to approximately 750,000 deaths in 2016 at the global level. WHO further estimates that 12 billion working days are lost every year due to depression and anxiety, costing the global economy nearly one trillion US Dollars. While the available data on mental health at work is limited in the region, according to the survey conducted by the Ministry of Public Health of Thailand, in 2023, of the 720,000 working age population surveyed, 13.8 per cent felt high-level of stress and 16.1 per cent faced the risk of depression. This demonstrates, together with the fact that an increasing number of working age individuals seek services for stress, anxiety and unhappiness at work to mental health hotline in Thailand, the seriousness of the issue and an urgent need to take preventive actions. 

Aiming to ensure and promote safe and healthy working environment, both physically and mentally, for all workers, this project funded by the Japanese government  under the global ILO’s flagship programme Safety + Health for All, will address emerging risks, in particular, mental health at work in Thailand and Cambodia.

Project strategy

• Consolidate knowledge and raise awareness on the promotion of safe and healthy working environment at the sub-regional level
• Support continuous improvement of national occupational and safety systems in Thailand and Cambodia
• Support workplace level actions through enhanced capacity of workers and employers and strengthened workplace cooperation in Thailand and Cambodia

For further information please contact:

Mr Phattaraset Ardchawuthikulawong
National Project Coordinator
Email: ardchawuthikulawong@ilo.org