The International Labour Confederation (ILC) reaffirmed its commitment to a rights-based, preventive, and labour-centred approach to occupational health and safety (OHS) at the international seminar titled “Occupational Health and Safety in the Workplace,” held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 25 January 2026.

The seminar brought together trade union leaders, experts, and institutional representatives to discuss emerging challenges in workplace health and safety in the context of technological change, global inequalities, and evolving labour markets.

The ILC Secretary General Hamza Öksüz conveyed the Confederation’s perspective on the future of occupational health and safety.

In his address, the ILC Secretary General highlighted the global scale of occupational accidents and diseases, the concentration of risks in specific sectors, and the significant disparities in OHS standards and enforcement across countries. He stressed that occupational health and safety should no longer be approached primarily as a post-accident response mechanism.

Instead, Öksüz underlined the need for a preventive and proactive OHS framework, centred on early risk identification, systemic prevention, and active worker participation.

“Occupational health and safety must be understood as a forward-looking approach that aims to identify risks in advance and prevent accidents before they occur,” Öksüz stated.

In this context, the ILC emphasized that occupational health and safety is not merely a technical or regulatory issue, but a core component of social justice, decent work, and labour rights.

Addressing the growing role of digital technologies and artificial intelligence in OHS, Öksüz acknowledged their potential to improve safety outcomes, while cautioning against their use as tools of surveillance or control that may undermine workers’ rights, dignity, and privacy.

“The ILC supports technology only insofar as it serves human beings and workers. People should not be forced to adapt to technology; rather, technology must work to protect human health and safety,” he noted.

Öksüz stressed that human-centred digitalization must remain the guiding principle in all technology-driven OHS initiatives.

He further reiterated the indispensable role of trade unions in shaping occupational health and safety policies, particularly with regard to predictive safety systems and digital OHS applications. He emphasized that decisions concerning the design, implementation, and governance of digital OHS systems cannot be taken without the meaningful participation of trade unions.

Through its participation in the Riyadh seminar, the International Labour Confederation once again affirmed its commitment to a rights-based, labour-centred, and participatory approach to occupational health and safety, advocating for strong trade union involvement and human-centred governance in OHS policies at both national and international levels.