Justicia Shipena
The adoption of the Convention and Recommendations on Biological Hazards will contribute to strengthening Namibia’s legal framework on workplace safety.
This is according to minister of justice and labour relations, Fillemon Wise Immanuel, who delivered the country’s position during the 113th International Labour Conference held in Geneva, Switzerland.
The two-week conference, which ran from 2 to 13 June 2025, ended on Friday.
He commended the committee on Biological Hazards for successfully concluding the second round of standard-setting discussions.
“The successful conclusion of the work of this committee exemplifies the principles of tripartism and social dialogue. It demonstrates that when all parties collaborate respectfully to reach a consensus, it can result in successful and mutually beneficial outcomes for everyone,” Immanuel said.
He said Namibia, like many countries, faces serious workplace risks.
These include environmental factors and public health emergencies. He pointed to the COVID-19 pandemic as a key example.
“It has had a profound impact on the physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being of Namibian workers, particularly those in the healthcare sector,” he said.
Immanuel said Namibia supports the adoption of the convention to ensure safe and healthy working conditions for all.
“Therefore, Namibia welcomes the adoption of the Biological Hazard Convention covering all workers in all sectors, ensuring an inclusive right to a safe and healthy working environment,” he said.
He said the convention gives countries a legal framework to protect workers and strengthen national safety systems.
He said this comes at the right time, as Namibia is finalising its own national law on occupational safety and health.
The new laws include measures to address mental health and biological hazards at work.
“In 2022, Namibia updated its list of occupational diseases to align with ILO guidelines. This list is inclusive of diseases caused by biological hazards,” Immanuel said.
“Namibia affirms its full commitment to ensuring a healthy and safe working environment and strongly supports the adoption of the Biological Hazards Convention in the Working Environment and its supplementing Recommendations,” he added.
At the same conference, Namibia delivered a second statement on behalf of the African continent.
Speaking for Africa, deputy executive director in the ministry of justice and labour relations, Aune Mudjanima, supported the adoption of a resolution to place “Decent Work in the Platform Economy” on the agenda for the next session of the conference.
Mudjanima thanked the committee chairperson and participants for their work over the past two weeks.
She said digital labour platforms are changing the world of work and bringing both opportunity and risk.
“It opens new pathways for employment, but it also raises urgent questions about the quality, security and fairness of this work,” she said.
“Africa strongly believes that as we embrace innovation, we must ensure the digital economy does not become a space for exclusion or exploitation,” she added.
Africa, she said, has a population of over 1.4 billion people and cannot allow the digital shift to increase inequality.
“It is our moral responsibility to ensure that the digital revolution does not worsen inequality or leave millions trapped in invisible work with no protection,” she said.
She welcomed efforts by the International Labour Organisation to develop a convention and recommendation to protect digital platform workers.
“Africa reaffirms its full commitment to further discussions in good faith as the committee resumes in 2026 and calls for more engagement and consultative meetings before the second session in 2026 to enrich our understanding as we envision standards that are principled, protective, practical, and enforceable,” she said.
Africa confirmed its support for the resolution and looks forward to the adoption of a global standard at next year’s conference.
