Improving occupational safety and health for Thailand’s homeworkers will be the focus of a two-day national workshop to be held in Bangkok from 23-24 November 2004.

There are some 590,000 homewokers in Thailand according to the National Statistics Office, including garment workers, handicraft artists and OTOP (One Tambon One Product) producers. Working at home they face safety and health hazards through lack of knowledge or poor working conditions. Some get ill from toxic chemicals, dust particles, or from sitting or working in inappropriate positions for long periods.

The workshop will focus on the ILO’s WISH (Work Improvement for Safe Home) training programme. WISH uses participatory, action-oriented and low-cost training methods to improve the safety and health of those who work at home.

WISH has been used in Thailand since 2000, when a pilot scheme was organized for bronze-ware homeworkers. Since then the techniques have been successfully applied to many home workplaces in Thailand and trained homeworkers have made practical improvements in material handling, work stations, machine safety, physical environment and welfare facilities.

The national workshop on “Improving Occupational Safety and Health among Homeworkers” will focus on reviewing the impact and achievements of the WISH programme. Delegates will review Thailand’s national policy on safety and health for homeworkers and discuss lessons learned from field training activities. Strengthening cooperation and collaboration among the relevant agencies will also be explored, so that more homeworkers can receive help and advice.

Some 60 people, representing the government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), employers, workers and academics will take part in the workshop, which will be held at the S.D. Avenue Hotel, Boromratchachonanee Road, Bangkok .

The national workshop is part of an ILO project funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) aimed at improving conditions of informal economy workers.

For more information please contact:
Rakawin Leechanavanichpan
National Project Coordinator
Informal Economy, Poverty and Employment
Tel: + 02 288 2629
Email

Krisdaporn Singhaseni
Information Officer
Tel: + 02 288 1664
Email