Participatory approaches to improving safety, health and working - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Participatory approaches to improving safety, health and working conditions in informal economy workplaces

• Experiences of Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam -

Tsuyoshi Kawakami Senior Specialist in Occupational Safety and Health ILO Subregional Office for East Asia

Structure of the Presentation: Experiences of three countries in improving safety, health and working conditions

1.Cambodia: Networking grassroots initiatives 2.Thailand: Extending occupational health services through Primary Care Units (PCU) 3.Vietnam: Training WIND (Work Improvement in Neighbourhood Development) farmer volunteers

Case 1 Networking grassroots initiatives in improving home workplaces

• Experiences of Cambodia -

Government as a facilitator

Reaching home workers through people’s networks

Workers

Government inspectors

Home workers Home workers Home workers

Employers Achievement workshops Follow-up visits

Start with participatory, action- checklist exercise

• 21. Increase natural ventilation by having more
• penings, windows or open doorways.

Do you propose action ?

• No
• Yes
• Priority

Remarks:……………….………………… ………………………..…………………..

• 22. Provide adequate clothes and personal protective

equipment such as glasses, shoes, and gloves. Do you propose action ?

• No
• Yes
• Priority

Remarks:………….……………………… ……………………..……………………..

• 23. Provide at least two unobstructed exits from rooms

and enough fire extinguishers. Do you propose action ?

• No
• Yes
• Priority

Remarks:……….………………………… …………………..………………………..

WISH (Work Improvement for Safe Home) action checklist with illustrations

Group work for identifying practical actions for improvements

Group discussion Presentation

Follow-up visits to see improvements

Simple changes improve safety, productivity

• Simple seating

arrangement >>> Reduced low- back stress

• Materials located

within easy reach >>> Higher productivity and income (quality products)

Extending WISH training: Training Cambodian trainers to use good example photo sheets

Mobilizing Political Support

WISH Training in Thailand

WISH Training in Mongolia

Case 2 Extending occupational health services through Primary Care Units (PCU)

• Experiences of Thailand -

Public Health Service Structure

Agency for health care Administration level Public Health Office, General Hospital

Province

District Health Office/ Community Hospital

District Subdistrict

PCU

Village

(Primary Care Units) Health Volunteer

Thai Primary Care Units (PCU) provide occupational health services for workers in informal economies

Health consultation services for workers

HIV/AIDS

For migrant workers

Thai Primary Care Units (PCU) provide occupational health services for workers in informal economies

Advisory visit to workplaces

Thai Primary Care Units (PCU) provide occupational health services for workers in informal economies

Training village health volunteers

Achievements and Good Practices in PCU approaches

• 1. Easy and friendly access for people

(located in the community);

• 2. Regular cooperation with provincial and

national level health offices;

• 3. Starting with local workplaces that need

immediate support;

• 4. Combining safety and health issues with
• ther community health issues such as

food hygiene, or HIV/AIDS.

Case 3 Training WIND Farmer Volunteers

• Experiences of Vietnam -

WIND Programme (Work Improvement in Neighbourhood Development) supports farmers in:

• improving safety, health and working

conditions;

• finding practical, low-cost solutions;
• increasing productivity and income;
• promoting family, gender and

neighbourhood cooperation.

WIND Farmer Volunteer

2,810 WIND farmer volunteers in action! Conducting mini WIND workshops

Easy-to-understand illustrations

• Safer ways of carrying products -

Easy-to-understand illustrations

Safer Storage of Hazardous Chemicals Safer Storage of Hazardous Chemicals

Easy-to-understand illustrations

Take frequent short breaks Take frequent short breaks to recover from fatigue to recover from fatigue

Steps to extend WIND training for reaching more farmers

Collecting existing good practices Step 1 Step 2 Training by WIND farmer volunteers Step 3 Developing volunteer networks Step 4 Integrating into national programme Reaching many farmers Step 5

Farmers identify improvement actions using WIND action-checklist

Action checklist

• 9. Adjust the work height so that work is done

at elbow level or slightly lower than elbow level. Do you propose action ? No Yes Priority Remarks:……………….………………… ………………………..…………………..

• 10. Provide stable chairs or benches with

sturdy backrests. Do you propose action ? No Yes Priority Remarks:………………….……………… …………………………..………………..

• 11. Choose work methods to alternate standing

and sitting and to avoid bending and squatting postures as much as possible. Do you propose action ? No Yes Priority Remarks:…………….…………………… ………………………..…………………..

WIND action-checklist with illustrations

WIND farmer volunteers showing local good examples using photo sheets

Improvements implemented by farmers

Label written in Vietnamese Storage box with a lock

Safer pesticide storage

Before After

Improvements were possible at low-cost

• Results of a WIND training workshop -

Improvements/Cost None

<1US$ <10$ <50$ 50$<

To- tal

Kitchen

***** **** ***** ***** * *** *

24 Welfare facilities

***** ***** * **** ***** **** *

• 23

Environment ***** ***

** ****

• 14

Income generation

*

• ***

***** ***** 14

Materials handling

** * **** *** *

11

National support to WIND Farmer Volunteer System to reach more farmers Government Provincial level

Farmer trainers Farmers

National OSH Programme

Technical support (Labour, health, agriculture)

Empowering informal economy workplaces

Neighbourhood cooperation Low-cost improvements National policy support

Participatory tools: checklists, photo sheets

ILO Technical Support

Conclusion

Participatory approaches to informal economy workplaces are effective when: 1) Focusing on local peoples’ immediate needs; 2) Promoting workable, low-cost solutions; 3) Strengthening people’s networks for sharing experiences.