A framework to protect workers’ vision and uphold eye health safety in the workplace was outlined in a report by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) in partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The Eye Health and the World of Work report outlined key goals the ILO introduced into its resolutions for fundamental principles and rights at work last year, including the three key strategies: to reduce hazards and risks to eyesight in the workplace itself; to ensure access to eye care services; and to promote good eye health for all workers throughout their working lives, with a system to include workers’ naturally occurring sight loss in risk assessments.
The report was released ahead of World Sight Day on October 12, 2023. This year focused on the importance of eye health in the workplace and calls on employers to assess the health and safety of their employees’ vision, citing an annual global productivity loss from sight loss of approximately $411bn.
Joaquim Pinto Nunes, ILO chief of labour administration, labour inspection and occupational safety and health, said: ‘The ILO stresses the importance of protecting workers’ safety and health, including their eyes. By prioritising eye health awareness and effective implementation, we can make sure workers have access to a safe and healthy environment. This ensures their overall wellbeing, reduces disparities and leads to heightened productivity.
‘It is hoped this report will raise awareness about the magnitude of the burden of sight loss in the workplace for workers, businesses and economies. It will provide recommendations to governments, employers, workers and their representatives on identifying and eliminating the risks in the workplace that can have an impact on eye health, and on promoting a safe and healthy working environment as a fundamental principle and right at work, including through eye health awareness and collaborative, multi-stakeholder, effective interventions,’ she continued.
Occupational Safety and Health programme
In order to achieve its goals, the ILO and IAPB have created the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) programme with eight integral areas of focus to implement in the workplace, including: policy and planning; hazard identification, risk and control; systems in place for emergency prevention, preparedness and response; the role of procurement; training and information; medical surveillance; record-keeping; and regular programme evaluation.
The report said: ‘Robust OSH measures are critical for reducing risks effectively through proper workplace controls. An effective OSH programme should encompass provisions that identify and assess risks to eye health; a control plan; effective communication of risks; an appropriate training and procurement process; and monitoring, inspection and incident-reporting processes to ensure continual improvement.
‘Access to services is important for the promotion and prevention of eye health issues, as well as for treatment and rehabilitative interventions. To promote good eye health in workers throughout their working lives, it is necessary to ensure a strong collaboration with public health players beyond the workplace whose objectives of preventing sight loss overlap.’
Medical surveillance and procurement were highlighted as areas that will heavily rely on the collaboration with eye care professionals and optical equipment providers. ‘An eye health medical monitoring programme covers workers who are subject to age-related vision loss, such as presbyopia and macular degeneration. When ophthalmic services, either from public or private sources, are engaged in an integrated manner in the workplace, substantial benefits can accrue to both workers and the enterprise,’ the report said.
The ILO said that procurement process needed to be integrated into the OSH management system as ‘the success of a programme to protect vision depends in great part on the criteria that the procurement department uses to purchase machinery, engineering controls, PPE and ophthalmic and other services.’
While OSH Conventions have created a framework alongside more than 40 other international labour standards related to OSH, the report emphasised that change will only be achieved through proactive, collaborative efforts across sectors and institutions, including government agencies, medical professions, NGOs, eye health community and international organisations and occupational health professionals.
‘It is through these synergist partnerships that significant improvements to workplace eye health will be realised, benefiting workers and employers, and contributing to advancing social justice,’ the report concluded.