Ever since I can remember as one working on occupational safety and health, October has been associated as the month where the big OSH activities take place. There are OSH Congresses, conventions, and awarding activities galore. But why October? How about other months? To me, safety should be all year-round. So, I looked at the origins of the safety month.
My research brought me to a document way back in 1966, Proclamation 115-a in fact. It is intended to propagate safety consciousness every day of the year. As such, it has designated each month of the year to certain safety aspects as follows:
January - General Orientation
February - Air Transportation
March - Fire Prevention
April - Vacation Hazards
May - Land Transportation
June - Sea Transportation
July - School Safety
August - Farms
September - Health and Sanitation
October - Industry and Commerce
November - Home
December - Holiday Hazards
The said edict also asked the Department of Labor and Employment to encourage activities related to each topic of the month.
But there have been a lot of developments from 1966 to the present. More OSH hazards have been identified especially in the field of occupational health. Thus, we can find the Department of Health (DOH) with its own Health calendar focused on health issues some of which parallel workplace health issues as the following:
January - Zero waste
February - Phil. Heart Month
March - World TB Day
April - World Health Workers’ Week
May - Road Safety Month/World No Tobacco Day
June - National No Smoking Month
July - National Disaster resilience Month
August - National TB Day (August 19)
September - World Environment Health Day (Sept. 26)
October - World Mental Health Day (Oct. 10)
November - Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Week (3rd week)
December - Firecracker Injury Prevention Month, World AIDS Day (Dec. 1)
Interestingly, April is significant for both departments. April 7 for the OH is World Health Day while April 28 is World Day for Safety and Health, under Department Order 44-03, by the DOLE. It encourages establishments to hold activities on OSH specifically on this day.
A brief background on the April 28 celebration. Said date in the past, was when workers’ groups around the world hold candlelight ceremonies to commemorate the deaths due to work accidents. Today, OSH authorities instead wish to be more positive and proactive, to prevent such deaths and other disabilities from happening, thus the new name, turning it into a celebration instead of a commemoration.
What do these celebrations signify- that some OSH issues need better public awareness. But as an OSH professional, every moment is an opportunity to keep safe and be healthy, and encourage others to do as well! Happy and blessed safety month to all!
