International Labour Organization (ILO) kickstarts Development of a Comprehensive National Policy for Occupational Safety and Health and Social Security for the Agriculture Sector in the Republic of Iraq

In cooperation with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and with broad national participation of various ministries, workers’ and employers’ organizations, and cooperative agricultural associations in the Republic of Iraq. The International Labour Organization ILO held a workshop to support Iraq’s efforts in developing a comprehensive national policy for occupational safety and health, and social security.

Erbil-Iraq: 17 July 2024 (News from ILO)

ILO, in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, held a national sectoral workshop from 15-17 July 2024 to discuss ways to support Iraq's efforts in developing a comprehensive national policy for occupational safety and health and social security for the agricultural sector, with the participation of a wide spectrum of Iraqi ministries at both the federal level and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, as well as worker organizations, employer organizations, and the Union of Agricultural Associations.

In the opening session of the workshop, Mr. Khalid Amjad, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, emphasized that the workshop laid the foundation for enhancing occupational safety and health and social security in the agriculture sector by proposing the establishment of a national legal framework, occupational health and safety systems and a robust inspection system. In addition, he highlighted the importance of social security benefits for worker in the agriculture sector – an important step towards formalisation of the agricultural sector.

Participants of the workshop reviewed international labour standards related to social security, particularly the Social Security (Minimum Standards) ILO Convention No. 102 of 1952, which Iraq ratified in 2022 and which came into force in March 2023. They also reviewed the Safety and Health in Agriculture ILO Convention No. 184 of 2001, which Iraq ratified as the first Arab country in 2020 and which came into force in May 2022.

Dr. Maha Kattaa, the ILO Country Coordinator in Iraq, highlighted the importance of having a national policy for occupational safety and health and social security for the agriculture sector, as this sector is classified among the three sectors with the highest occupational hazards and work-related injuries globally and among the least covered by social security. Dr. Kattaa stressed that enhancing protections against occupational risks and extending social security benefits to workers in the agricultural sector is one of the most important measures to address decent work gaps within this sector.

The workshop included an initial analysis of the national legislative frameworks for occupational safety and health as outlined in labour legislation and examined the extent of coverage of social security in Iraq for agricultural workers, especially following the issuance of Law No. 18 of 2023 on Retirement and Social Security, which expanded the benefits covered by the law's provisions, particularly the self-employed and workers in the informal economy. The workshop revealed the need for developing this policy, updating existing legislation, and enhancing sectoral coordination between ministries, agencies, worker organizations, employer organizations, and farmers' cooperative associations in Iraq to draft and adopt the policy and implement it through feasible national programmes. These programmes will aim to boost the implementation of occupational safety and health standards in the sector, monitor and analyze work-related injuries and occupational diseases, ensure that workers are covered by social security benefits, and establish a referral system for injured and sick workers to social security, including them in the health guarantees provided by the law. This, in turn, will increase coverage rates of agricultural workers under the social security system in Iraq.

This workshop is part of a broader ILO initiative to support national efforts to improve social protection for workers in Iraq within the context of a joint social protection program in Iraq including ILO, UNICEF, and the World Food Programme: " Leveraging Effective Response and Accelerating Reform," funded by the European Union.