BD5.5

Report of WG on Participatory Approaches in Occupational

ICOH Mid-Term Meeting February 8-10, 2014 Helsinki, Finland Progress report of the activities of the Working Group on Participatory approaches in Occupational health period 2012 – 2013

I. Producing guidelines on participatory approaches in occupational health practice.

1. Participatory training manual to improve OSH for waste collection and waste recycling workers (WARM 2001 and WARM II/2003).

Municipal waste collectors and recyclers occupy a central role in the shift towards greener, low-carbon economies. The safe and environmentally sound management of waste contribute to the conservation of resources and raw materials while reducing the harmful impacts of pollution on human health and the natural environment. At the same time, waste management and recycling provide vital income opportunities for large numbers of people, in particular the urban poor, who often operate under sub-standard conditions. Due to the nature of their work, these workers themselves often face very serious and health risks, including exposure to hazardous materials, and physical dangers associated with the handling of the waste. These risks are commonly attributed to a lack of awareness about the importance of safer work practices and methods, including addressing safety and health in the contracts issued by municipalities and other authorities. For these reasons, the development and application of the participatory approaches on Work Adjustment for Recycling and Managing Waste such as WARM and WARM II hold great potential in transforming informal waste collection, transport and recycling into green and decent work.

JICA is currently implementing a Project for Promotion of Regional Initiative on Solid Waste Management in Pacific Island Countries (“J-PRISM”) covering 11 Project Member countries. During the years 2009 to 2011, the ILO in collaboration with J-PRISM Project, developed the WARM approach, using the participatory action-oriented training approach (PAOT). Currently, a companion manual on OSH in waste management particularly focusing on waste collection, waste segregation and landfill operations, of which a major part is undertaken through informal employment.

The WARM/WARM II approaches focuses on low-cost and easy improvements in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within the waste management sector. The approach aims in part to improve safety, health and working/living conditions and in part to support achievement of other business goals in terms of productivity, quality and competitiveness. The approach also encourages the use of improvements that are already implemented in the area or community. Moreover, it is participatory and offers the participants a learning-by- doing experience. The new manual WARM II offers a with 40 checkpoints classifying into three main chapters (1) Household waste collection and transport; (2) Waste segregation, sorting and recycling at the local treatment facility and (3) Waste management at the dumpsite.

2. Action manual for craft producing homeworkers applying participatory approach for the promotion of socially responsible businesses - WISH programme (2013).

This action manual was developed under the Joint Programme (JP) on “Green Production and Trade to Increase Income and Employment Opportunities for the Rural Poor” in Vietnam with the collaboration of the ILO and other UN agencies including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Trade Centre (ITC), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The JP aims to achieve environmentally and economically sustainable and increases in incomes of crafts producing and trading enterprises in 25 target communes in 14 districts of four Northern provinces in Vietnam (Phu Tho, Hoa Binh, Thanh Hoa and Nghe An). The programme strategy follows the value chain approach focusing on five value chains (Bamboo/Rattan, Sericulture, Sea grass, Lacquer ware, Handmade Paper) at different levels from raw material supply to production of handicrafts and international trade or national consumption.

Within the JP, one of the specific responsibilities of the ILO is to introduce interventions for improving working conditions, productivity as well as the promotion of corporate social responsibility among the crafts’ producers, small-scale household growers and collectors. Participatory ergonomics approach seems appropriate to the needs in which the promotion of voluntary participation of suppliers and workers plays a vital role toward the joint improvements in both productivity and working conditions.

The WISH (Work Improvement for Safe Home) training programme was designed to assist home-based workers who manufacture goods in their homes. These workers belong to the informal economy and seldom receive government Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) services to improve the working conditions. The WISH programme was developed during the ILO’s Informal Economy and Poverty Reduction project which covered Cambodia, Mongolia and Thailand. In line with this initiative, an intervention programme to improve capacities of local stakeholders in occupational safety and health based on WISH programme had been developed within the framework of JP project. In the beginning of the year 2011, a network of facilitators fully aware on the PAOT methodology has created in four target provinces. During the period from March to July 2011, the PAOT trainers have conducted 16 training courses on WISH (Work Improvement for Safe Home) to 320 entrepreneurs and local producers. The follow-up activity conducted last October 2011 to assess the improvement actions of local partners participated into WISH programme revealed the need of creating a local network of homeworkers’ volunteers to promote the mainstream of WISH programme and to sustain the improvement actions in the rural workplace level. In line with this principle, several training workshops to the homeworkers’ volunteers mainly focused on the Mini-WISH programme have been conducted in four target provinces under the guidance of the local potential PAOT facilitators. The aim of these training workshops was transferring this practical and simple method to the local producers and homeworkers and facilitating their improvement actions in OSH. A photos book of WISH programme showing good practices in five value chains and a follow-up WISH poster were also developed and distributed to the homeworkers during the Mini-WISH training activity.

In continuation with these interventions, a strong request of developing a comprehensive OSH training guideline to sustain WISH approach through the network of homeworkers’ volunteers was revealed among WISH facilitators. Based on this opinion, the WISH training manual is built upon existing WISH manual and the ILO tools that focus on improving working conditions for craft producing homeworkers in five value chains. It provides general guidance on as well as specific recommendation to support the improvement of safety, health and working conditions of homeworkers engaged in the handicraft producing in line with the JP project.

3. Participatory training manual to improve OSH in the quarrying and stone-processing sector (2013-2014).

Quarrying is one of the most dangerous industries to work. Quarrying workers are twice as likely to be killed in an accident at work as construction workers. Workers at quarries are exposed to the most common risks and such as working on the faces, vehicle operations, machinery-related accidents associated with moving conveyor belts, falling objects, hand-arm vibration generated by pneumatic drills. Furthermore, dust containing crystalline silica can cause is present at all quarries. Quarrying is a noisy industry; sources of noise include stone crushers, conveyor belts, explosions and engine noise from heavy vehicles. Workers at quarries are exposed to adverse weather conditions such as extremes of temperature, humidity, rain and UV radiation. In short, the use of large vehicles and machines, the handling of explosives and heavy loads, the presence of airborne dust, and working on dangerous sites are all aspects of quarrying that increase the risk of both accidents and occupational diseases.

In order to support the national efforts to prevent the accidents and injuries at work especially in the quarrying and stone processing industry, the development of a simple and easy-to-apply self-assessment tool is necessary to assist the managers and workers in quarrying and stone processing industry identifying their own problems and taking necessary actions for improving without rely much on the support of outsiders. In line with the ILO/Japan project, the participatory action-oriented training programme for improving the working conditions in quarrying and stone processing industry has been developed and tested in different provinces of Vietnam The training programme follows the design of the ILO ergonomics checkpoints which includes 40 checkpoints classifying into 5 technical sessions (1) Mining design and layout; (2) Exploitation, loading and transportation; (3) Safety in explosives and shot firing; (4) Electrical safety and safety in the stone processing; (5) Health, welfare and hygiene of mineworkers. The manual is now on the progress of developing 120 illustrations and it will complete in the beginning of 2014. II. Collecting training programmes applying participatory approaches in the field of occupational health and safety.

1. Training of trainers’ Workshop on Occupational Safety and Health in Waste Management for Pacific Island Countries (Apia, Samoa 4-12 July 2013)

Waste collectors and waste recycling workers/wastes pickers are playing an increasingly important role in recycling, managing waste and protecting our environment. These workers however, face many safety and health risks associated with their collection and segregation work such as handling heavy and dangerous waste, exposure to hot and cold working environment, or traffic accidents. Their safety, health and working conditions are very much affected by the way how the community provides their waste to the waste collectors. The community cooperation is essential in reducing many of these safety and health risks.

Based on the JICA-ILO agreement, a comprehensive TOT course was conducted to the potential members from selected Pacific Island Countries mainly addressing on the WARM and WARM II approaches. This would allow for testing the adjustment of WARM and WARM II approach into the waste management chain in the Pacific Island Countries. There were 32 participants from 7 Pacific Island Countries (Fiji, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu) consisting of the government officials from the Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) in charge of the planning, administration of labour, waste management and inspectors as well as the supervisors and managers of the Waste collection and Landfill operation participated in this TOT training. The action plans to follow-up the continuation of WARM and WARM II programme within short-term plan and long-term plan were developed with the commitments of representatives from the West Pacific Countries, Fiji, Government of Samoa and Companies of Samoa. An achievement workshop will be envisaging in the year 2014 to share the implementation actions and good practices among target Pacific Island Countries concerning OSH in waste management under WARM approach.

2. Training of trainers’ Workshop on Work Improvement in Small Construction Sites (WISCON programme) (27 February to 2 March 2012, Vientiane, LAO PDR and 1-5 October 2012, Hai Phong, Vietnam).

The construction sector in Lao PDR and Vietnam consists mostly of small construction sites. The occupational safety and health record of the construction sector is very worrying although significant progress has been made. Workers in the construction sector are twice as likely to be victims of non-fatal injuries as the average worker in other sectors. Slipping, stumbling and falling on the same level and loss of control of hand-held tools and objects are the most recurrent deviations leading to non-fatal accidents. The human and financial costs are considerable, both for society and for the economy. The training programme based on the Participatory Action Oriented Training (PAOT) methodology seems appropriate with the local situation. This programme presents a systematic approach to the simultaneous improvements in working conditions and productivity in SMEs which are faced with various difficulties in competing with the market. This approach was designed to encourage and assist SMEs taking low-cost, voluntary measures to improve the working conditions and at the same time increase the productivity. The WISCON programme (Work Improvement in Small Construction Sites) is a typical example of the PAOT. This programme has been applying in Vietnam and Lao PDR under the support of the ILO/Korea programme since 2009. Based on the success of many pilot WISCON training courses, Lao PDR and Vietnam have fostered the necessity of developing a network of WISCON trainers fully understanding the Participatory approach to extend OSH training in the small construction sites. This network, consisting of the representatives from the Government, Employers and Workers organizations, is able to conduct WISCON programme and to promote the improvement of the working conditions in the construction sector. In line with the ILO/Japan project and the ILO/Korea Partnership Programme, two training of trainer courses on PAOT methodology focusing on WISCON programme have conducted in Hai Phong city, Vietnam and Vientiane, LAO PRD in collaboration with the Ministries of Labour.

3. Participatory training programme to improve OSH for small enterprises and informal economy workplace – (03-06 June 2013, Bac Kan, Vietnam and 11-15 November 2013, Sihanoukville, Cambodia).

Since 2004, Cambodia and Vietnam have been conducted many participatory action- oriented training courses including WISE (Work Improvement in Small Enterprises) programme with the technical support of the ILO. The success of these training courses has fostered the necessity of developing a network of WISE trainers to extend OSH protection to SMEs and Informal Economy workplace. This network, consisting of the representatives from the Government, Employers and Workers organizations, was able to conduct WISE workshop and to promote the improvement of the working conditions and the creation of the productivity in SMEs.

III. Examining the needs for improving and supporting participatory approaches in occupational health.

1. Dissemination workshop on productivity, skill and labour standard among handicraft value chains. (10-11 June 2013, Thanh Hoa city, Vietnam)

Extending OSH protection to the informal economy workplace through Local Economic Development to Increase Income and Employment Opportunities for the Rural Poor in 25 target communes in 14 districts of four Northern provinces in Vietnam is the main target of the Joint Programme between the ILO and other UN agencies. Among these are crafts’ producers, small-scale household growers, collectors and producers and Small and Medium scale enterprises (SMEs).

An intervention programme to improve capacities of local stakeholders in occupational safety and health based on participatory approaches had been developed to promote the voluntary participation of employers and workers toward the joint improvements in both productivity and working conditions. Within this Joint Programme, a series of activities have been conducted to raise awareness and improve knowledges for grassroot handicraft producers in four target provinces. In order to strengthen the achievements on productivity, skill and labour standard work, a dissemination workshop was conducted in Thanh Hoa province of Vietnam to increase understanding of relevant stakeholders/beneficiaries of Joint program on the impacts of its interventions regarding the improvement of working conditions among handicraft value chain to increase productivity. 2. Mekong Delta Training programme on WINDY (Work Improvement in Neighbourhood Development for Youth) in Can Tho, Vietnam, August 2013.

Mekong Delta 2013 was the thirteen programme of the serial Mekong Delta international training programmes held annually in Vietnam. Participatory methods are now used widely in facilitating practical improvements in small enterprises, construction sites, informal workplaces and agriculture. Mekong Delta 2013 offered good opportunity to review the features of the participatory methodology commonly effective into different work situations. The participants of Mekong Delta 2013 from Cambodia, Japan, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam jointly learned how to prepare participatory training sessions and conducted a two- day workshop for young pupils in the junior high school entitled “Work Improvement in Neighbourhood Development for Youth” (WINDY programme). As the focus of the 20113 programme was on green environment in rural areas, it proved that the participatory methodology was applicable to training of trainers in a new topic area by voluntary initiative of the participants with different backgrounds.

30 November 2013