Risks in Modern Society

Risks in a changing and global world are complex and interconnected, even more so in a globalized world consisting of many societies at very different levels of development.

Work life is strongly influenced by all forms of globalization - for example, the growing gap between rich and poor; demographic transition towards ageing or very young societies; growing mobility of people; the rapid diffusion of new technologies and a variety of working and environmental conditions in highly industrialized and developing countries; let alone rapidly changing economic structures including new types of enterprises and occupations.

Good governance for handling occupational safety, population health and environmental quality has become one of the decisive criteria for ensuring competitive business structures, quality performance and high motivation by workers, excellent conditions of public health and societal well-being and functioning of corporate and community policies and services. Furthermore, risk governance is crucial for sustainable development, the preservation of diverse life styles, and social cohesion. Social networks, cultural and religious as well as political and media environments benefit from a system in which threats to safety, health and the environment are well taken care of. Occupational safety and health is an important public good, and a prerequisite for effective and enduring social security systems.

The main goal of this book is to make the reader familiar with the complexity and multi-dimensionality of the subject RISK, focusing on the changing character of work in a globalised economy. The main emphasis is on providing practical guidelines for improved risk governance, i.e., how to find adequate solutions through integrated methods of risk assessment, risk handling and risk communication for the benefit of everyone: employers, workers, other stakeholders as well as shareholders and society at large.

Résumé
The International Section on Machine and System Safety was founded in 1975 to deal with questions on occupational risks in this ?eld at the inter- tional level. It is a member of the Special Commission on Prevention of the International Social Security Association (ISSA). The Special Commission is a body within ISSA that focuses on work-related risks. It has 11 inter- tional Sections as members. ISSA was founded in 1927 with its headquarters in Geneva. It is working worldwide in over 150 countries with nearly 370 member institutions from all ?elds of social security. TheSection on Machine and System Safety, when it was founded, had its focus on machine safety, particularly on the ma- facturing of safe machinery, on assisting developing countries to be able to buy safe used machinery, and on delivering clear operating instructions. Our members and partners are: • institutions for safety and health at work; • insurance companies dealing with work-related risks; • research institutions; and • various enterprises, e.g. manufacturers, importers and users of machines and systems/installations. We thus bring together the experiences of our members and partners. The role of the operators soon grew in importance, and their capability for ha- ling machinery became an important factor for the safety and success of enterprises. The growing importance and complexity of handling different man-machine-environment situations created new challenges and led to - larging the Section's tasks to machine and system safety.

Contenu

Challenges to Global Governance in the Changing World of Work.- Risk Governance: Combining Facts and Values in Risk Management.- Governance of Occupational Safety and Health and Environmental Risks.- New Emerging Risks.- How to Develop a "Safe Society".- Lessons Learnt - Road Ahead: Summary and Proposal for Golden Rules in Health and Safety.