LABOUR: ‘Safety Makes Dollars and Sense’ in Forest Work, Says ILO

By Gustavo Capdevila Reprint | | Print |

Gustavo Capdevila

GENEVA, Sep 24 1997 (IPS) - Thousands of loggers are killed, injured and maimed every year due to inadequate safety measures in one of the world’s most dangerous jobs.

The chainsaw is one of the most dangerous tools ever invented, warns an International Labour Organisation (ILO) report presented to industry experts this week in Geneva.

The study adds that the techniques used by leading exporters of forestry products – began to meet Tuesday to discuss the adoption of a new Code of Practice on Safety and Health in Forest Work.

“Overall the Code oork is one of the most dangerous activities, along with the mining and construction sectors, due in large part to inadequate safety measures, the ILO report underlines.

The accident rate and the percentage of accimple, the probability of loggers getting killed on the job during a 25-yeas.

Safety problems have also been increasing in red, inadequate logging techniques also hurt the envirlling direction, for instance, saves young growth and reduces damage to forest soil and water courses as well as protecting workers.

pread in developed countries, will increase in the developing world as the proportion of timber coming from plantations rises.

The new ILO-d highly standardised work processes. Making this dntries accident insurance premiums are a major cost factor, and losses in direct and indirect cost of accidents far exceed those of prevention programmes. Backed up with research evidence, one of the arguments will be that “safety makes dollars and sense.”