Employers have to respect the right to health of their employees by preventing and controlling diseases and accidents and by eliminating occupational factors and conditions hazardous to health and safety at work. This includes: limiting exposure to hazardous substances; providing proper protective equipment where necessary; ensuring that equipment is safe to use, and; ensuring that operatives are adequately trained to prevent injury. Moreover, business is at risk of complicity if it places certain vulnerable groups like children, women and disabled employees in positions where they are at particular risk of safety failings. Although governments are required to adopt a national occupational health and safety policy to ensure the right to health and safety in the workplace, in some countries this policy may be incipient or poorly enforced. Where that occurs business, especially those in high risk sectors, may need to go beyond compliance with local laws, and align practice with international standards. Special attention should also be granted to health and safety issues in places where diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria are prevalent. Companies that present higher pollution risk may face higher scrutiny in regards to its management measures to control pollution and avoid harming the health of people in surrounding areas.

The following examples were identified through background research:

• In February 2009, the South African Department of Minerals and Energy released its mine safety audit report, based on health and safety audits at 355 mines. It indicated that industry-wide compliance with occupational health and safety, health risk management and public health and safety provisions in the Mine Health and Safety Act was 59%, 56% and 65%, respectively.
• The Centre for Social and Labour Rights estimates that approximately 33% of employees in Russia work in unsafe conditions, mainly due to poor enforcement of OHS standards. The ILO recorded 1,345 occupational fatalities in the first eleven months of 2008, more than twice the average rate in the EU. Around 15% of accidents occur in the construction sector.
• In India, the enforcement of health and safety standards is poor, especially in the informal sector. The ILO reports that there were 40,133 fatalities in work-related accidents in India in 2007. There were 30,627,865 accidents that resulted in more than three days absence from work, and 325,350 deaths from work-related disease. Industrial accidents occurred frequently. Chemical industries had the most accidents.

How can a company ensure respect for the right to a safe work environment for employees in its supply chain when most small and medium sized enterprises in a country from which it sources do not meet minimal safety requirements?

The following have been identified as possible components of this dilemma:

• Supply-chain management
• Enforcement of labour standards
• National legislation not in-line with international standards
• Training
• Excessive demands on suppliers