Occupational Safety and Health in the Caribbean

Occupational Safety and Health in the Caribbean lecture notes
Dr. A. Bailey
BBA Unit 1

Course objectives
On completion of this module the student should have mastered the following : * Overview of OHS in LAC * Gender issues * High risk occupations * Common occupational hazards * The impact of OHS in LAC * Main policy issues and challenges * Policy recommendations
People spend more than one-third of each day at work. For this reason alone it should be clear that working conditions can have a major and direct impact on the health and well being of the approximately 210 million workers of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and their families.
Furthermore, concerns with Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) extend well beyond the obvious health consequences of work-generated illnesses, accidents and death.The World Health Organization estimates that only between 1% and 4% of all occupational diseases are reported in the developing world.Every year more than 2 million people die from occupational accidents or work-related diseases. By conservative estimates, there are 270 million occupational accidents and 160 million cases of occupational disease. The safety of work varies enormously between countries, economic sectors and social groups .
There are 20-27 million work-related accidents in Latin America and the Caribbean annually.. In the Caribbean in particular, there has been a general increase in the number of occupational accidents and diseases reported.The most frequently reported occupational diseases in the Caribbean are pesticide and heavy metal poisoning. Skin, respiratory diseases and occupational hearing loss are also common.
There are currently more than 50 conventions by the ILO that deals with OSH. This is indicative of the concerns raised by Labor of the seriousness of this problem. This issue affects not just workers but also their families, which ultimately affects the economy of the country.
OSH issues are

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