PRESS RELEASE
LAUNCH OF THE MONTRÉAL MANIFESTO ON PRECARIOUS WORK, WORKFORCE DIVERSITY, INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION AND VULNERABILITY IN OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
Montréal, 13 June 2024 – A team of researchers from universities in Canada and internationally has just launched the Montréal Manifesto on precarious work, workforce diversity, international migration and vulnerability in occupational health and safety.
This Manifesto, the result of an ongoing collaboration between researchers, social workers and occupational health and safety consultants, is the outcome of a workshop held as part of the Immigration, Workforce Diversity, Precarious Work, and Vulnerabilities in Occupational Safety and Health (IDIVOSH) International Conference in Montreal on 13-14 June 2022.
The purpose of the Montreal Manifesto is to draw attention to the challenges and issues related to precarious work and workforce diversity from an occupational health and safety (OHS) perspective, including the rehabilitation and return to work of people who have suffered an occupational injury or illness. The Montreal Manifesto highlights the crucial importance of taking into account the needs and realities of workers in precarious situations when designing and implementing OSH prevention and rehabilitation policies and programmes, including the realities of immigrants or migrants and aboriginal people.
The experts who contributed to the development of the Montreal Manifesto formulated a series of recommendations to improve the protection of workers in vulnerable situations. The knowledge and experience of these experts were essential in identifying the main issues and formulating concrete recommendations to improve the protection of workers.
- The need to adopt an inclusive approach adapted to the different realities of workers in precarious situations, with particular attention to immigrant workers, temporary migrant workers and indigenous workers
- The importance of increasing awareness and training on occupational safety and health in the workplace, focusing on the specific needs and realities of these workers
- The call for greater cooperation between the different actors and stakeholders (governments, public health authorities, social services, third-party payers, employers, trade unions and community organizations), to develop and implement more effective prevention and rehabilitation policies and programmes
The Montreal Manifesto will be launched in Montreal on June 13 2024 at 5pm at the Centre de services communautaires du Monastère, 4450 rue St-Hubert (Mont-Royal metro station). A website is currently under construction to permanently host the manifesto in several languages and to provide additional resources for researchers, professionals, and decisionmakers. This website will also be presented at the event. https://manifestemontrealsst.net/