Health, Safety and Environment - International Labour Organization

Manual 4:HEALTH, SAFETY & ENVIRONMENT FACT SHEETSFact Sheet 20: Welfare and accommodation BackgroundWelfare facilities and accommodation are particularly important foragricultural workers. In addition, many agricultural workers live where theywork, on plantations and on farms. Consequently, their workingenvironment is not separated from their living conditions. Equally, workers’families often live close to or on the farms and plantations. They may beexposed to similar risks to workers without even realising it, and maybecome ill as a result.It is important under these circumstances, for trade unions to be interestedin: the conditions under which their members and members’ families live the impact of the working environment and welfare facilities uponworkers and their familiesUnions should make sure that employers extend HS&E issues beyond theconfines of work to the living places of these categories of workers andtheir families/communities. InformationHealth andsafety lawAgreementsThere is a wide diversity of approaches in national legislation. Check thesummaries provided by your union educator of applicable laws in yourcountry.Your union may have made agreements with your employer about welfareand accommodation. Check if there are any applicable agreements.ILO Convention No. 184 on Safety and Health in AgricultureArticle 19National laws and regulations or the competent authority shall prescribe,after consultation with the representative organisations of employers andworkers concerned:(a) the provision of adequate welfare facilities at no cost to the worker; and(b) the minimum accommodation standards for workers who arerequired by the nature of the work to live temporarily or permanently in theundertaking.195 Health, Safety and EnvironmentA Series of Trade Union EducationManuals for Agricultural Workers