The Imperative of Reforming the HSE Management System and Workforce Protection: Global Warnings and National Strategies

Following the release of the latest International Labour Organization (ILO) report indicating that nearly 3 million workers lose their lives annually due to occupational accidents and work-related diseases globally, HSE experts and national regulatory bodies in Iran emphasized the vital need to promote a safety culture, standardize industrial processes, and ensure comprehensive employer compliance with Articles 85 and 91 of the Labor Law of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Report Body

1. Scope of the Global Safety Crisis and Economic-Human Impacts

According to comprehensive assessments by the International Labour Organization (ILO), over 2.93 million workers worldwide lose their lives each year as a result of occupational accidents and chronic work-related illnesses. Additionally, the occurrence of 395 million non-fatal occupational injuries annually leads to permanent and temporary disabilities, imposes substantial healthcare expenditures on insurance systems, and causes significant losses in national productivity.

The report highlights that since 2022, the right to a “safe and healthy working environment” has been formally adopted as the fifth fundamental principle of work on an international scale. Investing in HSE management systems is no longer a dispensable operational cost, but a fundamental prerequisite for sustainable development and human dignity.

2. Alignment with Legal Requirements and Workforce Protection in Iran

Within the framework of Iranian legislation, safeguarding occupational health and safety is explicitly mandated by upstream statutory regulations:

• Article 85 of the Labor Law: Mandates compliance with all safety and health directives issued by the Supreme Council of Technical Protection and the Ministry of Health and Medical Education for all workshops, employers, and employees.
• Article 91 of the Labor Law: Obligates employers to procure standard Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), provide it free of charge to workers, and maintain continuous oversight of its correct application.
• Article 95 of the Labor Law: Designates the employer as directly liable for the implementation of technical and occupational health regulations, with legal and penal ramifications in cases of negligence.

An analysis of industrial incidents across the country reveals that the construction sector, civil engineering projects, mining industries, and small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) record the highest rates of fatal and disabling accidents—underscoring the urgent necessity of deploying standardized safety management systems such as ISO 45001.

3. Emerging Risks: Climate Change, Thermal Stress, and Advanced Technologies

The ILO report stresses that more than 2.41 billion workers globally are exposed to excessive heat stress and climate-induced risks. This hazard is particularly acute across Iran’s southern regions and central plateau, where severe heatwaves during peak seasons threaten workers in the oil and gas sector, petrochemical complexes, agriculture, and outdoor operations.

Engineering and administrative thermal stress controls include:

• Work-shift restructuring (reallocating high-intensity tasks to cooler hours),
• Continuous monitoring of the Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) index,
• Installing shaded rest shelters and dedicated hydration stations,
• Conducting periodic medical screenings for vulnerable personnel,

All of which effectively prevent cardiac arrest, acute heatstroke, and cognitive-impairment-induced accidents.

4. Systematic HSE Frameworks to Reduce the Frequency-Severity Rate (FSR)

Occupational safety engineers emphasize the mandatory execution of key procedural pillars across industrial enterprises:

1. Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA / JSA): Systematically evaluating process risks prior to commencing operations and applying the hierarchy of controls.
2. Operationalizing Technical Protection and Health Committees: Holding regular statutory meetings in accordance with Article 93 of the Labor Law with the active engagement of qualified HSE officers.
3. Preventive Competency Training: Conducting continuous Toolbox Talks (TBM), specialized training for Working at Height, Electrical Safety, Confined Space Entry, and Emergency Response Planning (ERP).
4. Near-Miss Incident Reporting Systems: Rigorously documenting and analyzing non-loss events to proactively mitigate potential catastrophic incidents.

Conclusion & Concluding Statement

The realization of genuine “Decent Work” is unattainable without standard safety infrastructures and an institutionalized HSE culture. Even a single occupational fatality serves as a grave warning to regulatory and operational systems. Protecting the nation’s human capital demands robust tripartite collaboration among the government (labor inspection and regulatory agencies), employers (infrastructure and resource provision), and labor organizations (participatory safety monitoring) to ensure that every worker returns home safely and in good health.