Hyderabad: The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has proposed guidelines on Friday seeking the companies to implement a 'human-centric' approach for the workers returning to their jobs during or post COVID-19 pandemic.
For the reactivation of economies to be sustainable, workers need to feel safe at their workplaces and reassured that they will not be exposed to unnecessary risks directly related to the new coronavirus.
Deborah Greenfield, ILO's Deputy Director-General for Policy said, "Before returning to work, workers must be confident that they will not be exposed to undue risks... To help enterprises and economies get going as soon as possible, workers will need to cooperate with these new measures."
It also suggests that the worker having severe illness should be taken into account. It includes older workers, pregnant workers, those with pre-existing medical conditions, refugees, migrants and those in the informal sector.
"Special attention will be needed to ensure that return to work policies do not create discrimination related to gender, health status, or other factors," the guidelines read.
In order to recover the country's economy in a balanced way, ILO's Deputy Director-General said, "Workers will need to cooperate with the new measures taken to spread the deadly virus. This means that social dialogue will be particularly important because it is the most effective way to feed information and views into policies and actions."
It recommends companies to adhere to the work from home policy. It also asks the companies to promote virtual meetings over the physical meeting as it proves more contagious.
"The specific measures to implement are specific to each workplace, but may consist of installing physical barriers such as clear plastic sneeze guards, improving ventilation, or adopting flexible working hours, in addition to cleaning and hygiene practices", the guidelines read.
It suggests the five-step approach to workplace risk assessment:
(A) Identify the hazards
(B) Identify who might be harmed and how
(C) Evaluate the risk, and identify and decide on the safety and health risk control measures
(D) Record who is responsible for implementing which risk control measures and the time frame
(E) Record the findings, monitor and review the risk assessment and update when necessary.
