Secretary General of the International Social Security Association since 2005, Mr. Hans-Horst Konkolewsky has promoted the concept of dynamic social security and is a leading advocate of the social dimension of globalization as well as a key driver in promoting a prevention culture. Elected by the members of the ISSA to lead the Association, the Secretary General oversees a programme of worldwide activities in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.
Investments related to the safety and health of workers have in the past often been regarded as a burden for business, impacting negatively on their competitiveness. Unfortunately this negative view still prevails and has been expressed strongly by some employers and politicians in countries and regions affected by the current economic crisis.
Importantly, unique international ISSA research documents that the economic benefits of prevention measures are far more important than their costs and that investments in safe and healthy working conditions can lead to outstanding return rates.
The project called “Calculating the International Return on Prevention for Companies: Costs and Benefits of Investments in Occupational Safety and Health” involved 337 enterprises in 19 countries worldwide. As the micro-economic effects of occupational safety and health can only be measured indirectly, standardized interviews have been chosen as a tried and tested measurement method that is methodologically well-suited to prevention accounting.
Companies were asked to rate the qualitative and quantitative effects, including the costs and monetary benefits, of occupational safety and health. The results of this project show that occupational safety and health spending is an investment that pays off in micro-economic terms and can benefit the company itself.
Investments in safe and healthy working conditions can thus be regarded as a new “prevention pillar”. In the interest of the employees, the companies and society, it should play an important role in future national and international occupational safety and health policy.