E/C.12/GC/23 B. Article 7 (b): safe and healthy working conditions 25. Preventing occupational accidents and disease is a fundamental aspect of the right to just and favourable conditions of work, and is closely related to other Covenant rights, in particular the right to the highest attainable level of physical and mental health. 19 States parties should adopt a national policy for the prevention of accidents and work-related health injury by minimizing hazards in the working environment 20 and ensuring broad participation in the formulation, implementation and review of such a policy, in particular of workers, employers and their representative organizations. 21 While full prevention of occupational accidents and diseases might not be possible, the human and other costs of not taking action far outweigh the financial burden on States parties for taking immediate preventative steps that should be increased over time.22 26. The national policy should cover all branches of economic activity, including the formal and informal sectors, and all categories of workers,23 including non-standard workers, apprentices and interns. It should take into account specific risks to the safety and health of female workers in the event of pregnancy, as well as of workers with disabilities, without any form of discrimination against these workers. Workers should be able to monitor working conditions without fear of reprisal. 27. The policy should address at least the following areas:24 design, testing, choice, substitution, installation, arrangement, use and maintenance of the material elements of work (workplaces, working environment, work processes, tools, machinery and equipment, as well as chemical, physical and biological substances and agents); the relationship between the main elements of work and the physical and mental capacities of workers, including their ergonomic requirements; training of relevant personnel; and protection of workers and representative organizations from disciplinary measures when they have acted in conformity with the national policy, such as in response to imminent and serious danger. 28. In particular, the policy should indicate specific actions required of employers in areas such as prevention and response to accidents and disease, as well as recording and providing notification about relevant data, given the fundamental responsibility of the employer to protect the health and safety of workers. It should also include a mechanism, which might be a central body, for coordination of policy implementation and support programmes and with the authority to undertake periodic reviews. To assist with the review, the policy should promote the collection and dissemination of reliable and valid data on the fullest possible range of occupational accidents and disease, including accidents involving workers while commuting to and from work. 25 Data collection should respect human rights principles, including confidentiality of personal and medical data,26 as well as the need for disaggregation of data by sex and other relevant grounds. 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 See art. 12 (2) (b) and (c) of the Covenant. See ILO Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155), art. 4 (1). Ibid. See Craven, The International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, chap. 6, sect. III.C. See ILO Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155), arts. 1 (1) and 2 (1). In particular, policies should include protection of domestic workers, as well as temporary workers, parttime workers, apprentices, self-employed persons, migrant workers and workers in the informal sector. See ILO Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155), arts. 5 (a), (b), (c) and (e). See Protocol of 2002 to the ILO Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155), art. 1 (d). Ibid., art. 3 (d). 7