Basic awareness of safety and health at work is still absent among most workers and employers in the region. The number of accidents at work is very high. In 1995 in Thailand 216,000 work accidents were reported, and in Malaysia 114,000. In China in the same year 20,000 fatal accidents were reported at work. Many major industrial accidents have killed dozens of workers.
Thousands die from diseases caused by industrial pollutants and processes, e.g. pneumoconiosis.
A safe and healthy working environment will not only benefit workers but will contribute to increased enterprise efficiency and competitiveness.