ILO records shows that women in the
world’s labour force were
31.3% in 1950
35% in 1975
44.5% in 2000
Employers of
women
Civil service
Health sector
Female
occupations
Teachers,
cleaners, cooks and agricultural work
Women have
multiple roles
paid work
house work
child bearing,
child rearing
Work about
80 hours / week
In Africa,
women work about 16-18 hours a day.
last to retire
first to rise
Work condition of women
•
Low pay –
a problem for female breadwinner
•
Low
status
•
Respond
to others with little decision making component. i.e high job demands and low
work control.
•
Sexual
discrimination. Need to work twice as hard to prove themselves
•
Ergonomic hazards
- Most tools in the workplace are designed
for the average man.
- Women do repititive work such as typing,
cashier (using cash register) telephone exchange e.t.c
- Wear and tear on the joints
risk of tenosynovitis
PIPE in men’s sizes. E.g gloves,
boots, respirators
Pregnancy and work
1st
trimester - Increase in
-blood volume
- H.R
-BMR
-G.F.R -
freq of micturition
Sensitivity
to heat and humid places
Fatigue
2nd
trimester
-
Excessive standing can predispose to varicose
veins
-
Prolonged standing foetal loss and premature delivery
3rd
trimester
pedal oedema
weight gain
Reproductive hazard in the workplace
Genotoxic –
can cause mutation, benzeme, ionizing radiation, vinyl chloride
Harmful during pregnancy
Chemical
- halothene
- CO
- Organic solvents
- Hg
Biological
- viruses –
Hep B, Herpes, CMV, Rabella, Varicella, HIV
- Bacteria -
toxoplasmosis
Physical
- ionizing
radiation
Solutions
ILO
resolution on equal opportunities and treatment for man and women 1985.
Right of pregnant worker
- same
salary during maternity leave
- should not
lose her job because of pregnancy and delivery.
Flexible
work arrangements for female workers
Restriction
from jobs with reproductive hazards
MIGRANTS
•
Article 10 ILO 143 – 1975 deals with the rights
of a legitimate migrant to have equal opportunity for employment within the
host territory.
Who are
migrants
•
Persons who move from their home base to other
location seeking greener pastures
•
Others seek political asylum
•
The migrant drift is from Africa, Asia and Latin
America to Europe, USA and Australia. It si difficult to obtain data on
migrants because many are illegal.
PROBLEMS
•
Desperation to work
–
Migrants take the least attractive and poorest
paid jobs
–
They fill in jobs where labour is lacking
–
They are keen to work and even break law to do
so.
–
They face new hazards especially with new
technologies
–
This results in accidents at work
•
Nutritional Status
–
Nutritional status may be poor
–
Infections like TB may come to light during
stressful periods
•
Health Care
–
Health problems are mainly communicable diseases
and STDs.
–
Migrant does not know how to survive health-wise
in the new country
PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS
•
May not speak host’s language fluently
•
Cultural confusion and shock
•
Racial discrimination
•
Harsh social factors may lead to depression,
mental breakdown, psychosomatic problems and even suicide
REMEDIES
•
Equal opportunity for minority groups
•
Provision of Occupational Health and safety
services
Ideally,
migrants should have:
•
Information, Counselling and Language training
before travelling
•
Medical and psychological screening
•
Families should not be separated
•
Prepare local population to avoid hostility
•
Information and advice on accommodation
•
Rights to social benefits
•
Safety instructions in migrant’s language
•
Encourage them to preserve their culture
•
Encourage children to speak parent’s language
THE DISABLED - Care of the disabled
•
Identify cause of disability
•
Work related e.g. occupational injury
•
Non work related e.g. polio, RTA, stroke
•
Make a medical diagnosis
•
Determine severity of disability
•
Determine the impact of the impairment on
person’s ability to work
•
Job description
•
Assess physical and psychological demands of the
job
•
Assess work station
Plan
return to work
•
Reorganization of work station
•
Installation of facilities e.g for wheelchair
access
•
Return to alternate jobs
•
Psychological rehabilitation
•
Fear of re- occurrence of injury
•
Loss of self esteem