FORUM: GA 2 (Economic & Financial)

QUESTION OF: Working conditions and standards of safety in factories

SUBMITTED BY: Senegal

CO-SUBMITTER(S): Angola, Botswana, Chad,  Côte d'Ivoire, DR Congo, El Salvador, Gambia, Liberia, Namibia, South Africa, Timor-Leste, World Bank

THE ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL COMMITTEE,

Recognizes the International Labour Organization (ILO), and most notably Conventions No.87 (1948) and No.98 (1949), on Protection of the Right to Organise,

Acknowledges greener technology would mean safer and healthier working environments that are less harmful to the surroundings and contribute towards long-term financial sustainability,

Recalling the resolution 2007/2 of 17 July 2007 which states that ‘The role of the United Nations system in promoting full and productive employment and decent work for all’,

Aware that incidents such as Rana Plaza and the like illustrate the calamity of deficient safety standards, which bring forth a huge number of fatalities while calling for immediate action,

Noting remembrance of the historical improvements in labor reform, such as the 40-hour work week, which were achieved with the agitation of laborers who braved whatever conditions put before them in the Industrial Revolution,

1. Calls for all Member States to arrange a worker training and education program which the UN will support by:

1. offering free workshops and collaboration with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and other international organizations to:

1. provide the necessary education and training
2. train workers on safety, improve education levels, and address factory-specific risks that are critical due to inherent dangers and lower average education levels in industrial environments

2. implementing safety training programs, factories can provide workers with practical, role-specific knowledge that enables them to effectively manage workplace hazards and contribute in ways such as, but not limited to:

1. a safer and more efficient workplace leading to fewer accidents that could be prevented, with increased productivity in the factory;

1. Encourages all Member States to set stronger and more effective management regulations in ways such as, but not limited to:

1.  establishing compulsory certifications requirements for factory managers to:

1. ensure factory managers have sufficient knowledge about occupational health
2. set understanding of safety protocols and worker rights

2. enforcing liability measures for manufacturing and management to:

1. develop an evaluation system for the performance of safety standards
2. impose penalties such as fines or suspension for negligence on the part of management

3. asking that the UN create a regulatory group to oversee reviews of countries’ health and safety policies, and encouraging ‘spot checks’ to see if these policies are being administered;

2. Supports the integrations of green technology into factory industrial operations by:

1. providing incentives such as tax benefits, establishing funding programs, award programs, collaboration with private investors, government organizations, etc.
2. establishing international standards for green manufacturing procedures to:

1. ensure a consistent approach to sustainability and worker safety globally
2. promote the adoption of green technologies and methods that minimize environmental effects while improving workplace safety

3. setting priorities for embracing green technology that improve workers' health and safety and overall working conditions by replacing machinery using fossil fuel sources by making them energy-efficient systems, reducing toxic emissions, and enhancing heat-related hazards
4. encourages the use of AI in new industrial operations to improve efficiency;

3. Requests every Member State to enhance the protection of labor rights and workplace safety by:

1. implementing all relevant ILO protocols concerning occupational safety and health to ensure compliance with international standards
2. expecting factories to be open 7 days a week, but workers are maximized to work 6 days a week at the factory workers to have a maximum of 12 hours days, and the employers should cover travel costs to and from the factory
3. improving awareness and implementation of ILO labor rights standards, facilitating international cooperation such as workshops, seminars, and funding initiatives, and establishing border-wide collaborations to enforce ILO labor rights standards in individual regions effectively;

4. Calls upon the creation of a sub-body to the International Labour Organisation- Getting Children Out Of Factories (GCOOF), funded by the World Bank, to enforce ideas stated in Resolution 73/327, Elimination of Child Labour, and action requests in the following categories:

1. encourages factory owners to refuse to give jobs to children under the age of 16 by:

1. urging national governments to impose laws to ban employers from employing under-16-year-olds in factories, with strict state-administrated punishments if an employer is seen to be employing under-16-year-olds
2. calling for the UN to facilitate a bi-annual review of factories across the world- ensuring that children are not being employed in factories as a means of work, if reviewers of factories find children working in factories, encouraging national governments to complete a more thorough review of factories, and work with the UN regarding a review of child labor.