Online Consultation for PSI affiliates on Protection against Biological Hazards

PSI is reaching out to follow up on the work done on the ILO Biological Hazards convention-setting Commission in 2023 and 2024.

We propose two opportunities on different time zones to consult on the ILO Brown Paper with PSI affiliates and staff with an interest and expertise in Occupational Health and Safety (OSH) from all Sectors and Regions seeking to maximise outreach and inclusion on this important topic. These are:

• Monday 4 November, 5-7pm CET (Europe/Africa/Interamericas) - Find your local time here. REGISTER HERE

• Tuesday 5 November, 10-12 am CET (Europe/Africa/A-Pacific) Find your local time here.REGISTER HERE

These consultations will be held in English only. We will send a link to register and relevant resources to registrees to prepare.

Background

Here are some background and resources to the work done so far: PSI background to the discussion; PSI’s position; reports from the PSI delegation at the 2024 ILC here and here, and the outcome document of the 2024 discussion at the International Labour Conference (ILC).

Biological Hazards will be discussed again at the 113th International Labour Conference (ILC) in June 2025, and the outcome will be an ILO Convention and an ILO Recommendation texts.

Opportunity for providing important feedback to the ILO

The ILO Office has now published a Brown Paper (only in English), where they seek to help streamline and improve the technical language of the outcome text of the 2024 discussion and provide recommendations to social partners. The ILO also requests feedback from social partners and governments on the Report by 14 November 2024.

The ITUC sent guidelines for unions to respond to the ILO request for feedback: PSI affiliates can respond individually but also seek to work with their governments to provide expertise so that their views are reflected in the replies.

Online consultation of PSI affiliates

We therefore propose two opportunities on different time zones to consult on the ILO Brown Paper with PSI affiliates and staff with an interest and expertise in Occupational Health and Safety (OSH) from all Sectors and Regions seeking to maximise outreach and inclusion on this important topic.

Contents of the consultations

During the consultations we will:

• Take a quick stock of the achievements for public service workers and labour of last year’s process

• Review they key contents of the ILO Brown paper and the ITUC guidelines

• Review the PSI position and prepare our coordinated submissions (PSI will also make a submission as global union but the more the better)

• Update the PSI position and collect input to provide a template reply for PSI affiliates to send to the office and use with governments

• Identify what to improve compared to last year and how to get organised for the 2025 ILC