News Release

Vision of the XVIIth World Congress on Safety and Health at Work

Prevention: Today’s value for tomorrow’s world

Occupational safety and health professionals, employers and workers in both the public and private sector, social security representatives, policymakers and administrators, representing over 110 countries, gathered in Orlando, Florida, USA from 18 to 22 September 2005 for the XVIIth World Congress on Safety and Health at Work, jointly organized by the International Labour Office (ILO), the International Social Security Association (ISSA) and the National Safety Council (NSC).

The Congress emphasizes the critical importance of safety and health at work in a globalized world.

1. Globalization must go hand in hand with preventive measures to ensure the continuing health and well-being of individuals at work.
2. The right to the highest achievable standard of safety and health at work is fundamental. Work can only be decent if it is safe and healthy.
3. Safety and health at work should be an integral part of doing business in both large and small enterprises and in the informal economy. It should be aligned with other organizational objectives, as attention to safety and health at work has extensive benefits in social and economic terms.
4. Furthermore, safety and health at work needs to be placed high on national agendas, promoting national safety and health programmes and generating a preventive safety and health culture in both the public and private sectors.
5. Prevention systems, laws, regulations and means of enforcement should be put in place at all levels, with a management cycle calling for continuous monitoring and improvement.
6. Once safety and health policies are developed, strategies towards success must be put in place. Leadership is essential to implementing successful prevention strategies. These policies and strategies need to be supported by effective information, training and education.
7. Everyone involved in and responsible for safety and health at work needs to collaborate to put the prevention of accidents and diseases in the forefront of societal concerns.

The The National Safety Council is a nonprofit, nongovernmental, international public service organization dedicated to protecting life and promoting health. Members of NSC include more than 45,000 businesses, labor organizations, schools, public agencies, private groups and individuals. Founded in 1913, and chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1953, the primary focus of the NSC is preventing injuries on highways and in homes, workplaces and communities.