Hazardous Work

It is a known fact that certain sectors and occupations are more dangerous than others. Protecting workers in hazardous conditions – in what is often known as the “3D”, dirty, difficult and dangerous, jobs – is therefore a primary focus of the ILO.

Priority is given to workers in the most hazardous sectors and occupations, such as agriculture, construction, mining, or where working relationships or conditions create particular risks, traditional or emerging ones, or in the informal economy or new forms of economy.

Work-related accidents and diseases take a particularly heavy toll in developing countries, where large numbers of workers are concentrated in the primary and extractive activities mentioned above. It often happens that these countries are also those without adequate technical and economic capacities to maintain effective national OSH systems, particularly regulatory and enforcement mechanisms.

The ILO is making use of its extensive experience in promoting standards, codes of practice, technical guides and training materials, as well as developing means of practical action for the protection of workers in hazardous conditions.