Employers and workers now have a checklist to guide them in identifying actions needed to prevent and mitigate against the spread of COVID-19 within the workplace, thanks to the International Labour Organization’s (ILO).
Chief Labour Officer (CLO) (Ag), Claudette Hope-Greenidge revealed this on Sunday night as she participated in the CBC TV programme The People’s Business.
The programme addressed COVID-19 and Its Impact on Safety and Health in the workplace, reflecting the ILO’s slogan for World Day for Safety and Health at work, April 28 “Stop the pandemic: Safety and Health at Work can save ives”.
The Acting CLO noted that the ILO, in looking to promote and recognise the World Day, issued a checklist with over 20 areas that together workers and employers can examine and make decisions “on how to apply these in their case”, determine if they need to take action and plan when and how such action would be taken.
“That check list is a predetermined checklist and is quite comprehensive,” Mrs. Hope-Greenidge said while endorsing the document that is to be found on the ILO’s website.
Referred to as the Prevention and Mitigation of COVID-19 at Work Action Checklist, it is considered a management tool to implement practical actions to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 pandemic at the workplace.
Its successful implementation relies on the cooperation between and among employers, supervisors and workers to make positive changes in the workplace that would improve response to and preparedness for COVID-19.
Furthermore, it requires employers to involve workplace safety and health committees or safety delegates in the process and it emphasises the need for the team to be briefed and trained on the steps to implement the checklist.
Among the many expectations of the plan is that the team would continue to seek clarification from Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) authorities, labour inspectorates, national safety organisations or national OSH professional associations, employers’ and workers’ organisations.
A defining characteristic of the ILO checklist is its emphasis on the need for compliance with national legal obligations in establishing a workplace COVID-19 prevention and control plan.