Brit. J. industr. Med., 1951, 8, 199.

THE WORK OF THE INTERNATIONAL LABOURORGANIZATION IN OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

BY

A. GRUT

From the LL.O., Geneva

The knowledge that certain occupations may leadto disease is probably as old as these occupations,but the first comprehensive effort in occupationalmedicine was made by Ramazzini in 1700, and theactive prevention of occupational diseases beganmuch later.

Activities on an international scale were firstinstituted at the Congress of the InternationalWorking Men's Associations in 1867, and from1890 various congresses dealt with protectiveregulations and legislation.The Permanent International Commission for the

Study of Industrial Diseases, founded in 1906,has organized nine international congresses inEuropean cities. The conception of health protectionthrough the united efforts of several countries was,therefore, not new when the International LabourOrganization, established in accordance with theTreaty of Versailles, subsequently set up an IndustrialHygiene Division.

Activities of the International Labour OrganizationThe International Labour Organization is a

specialized agency in relationship with the UnitedNations, and comprises the International LabourConference, the Governing Body, and the Inter-national Labour Office.The Conference, which meets annually, is com-

posed of national representatives of government,management, and labour. This tripartite represen-tation is an essential feature of the Organization.Its principal function is to formulate internationallabour standards in the form of Conventions andof Recommendations. It may also record its decis-ions in the form of resolutions. In addition to thegeneral sessions, regional conferences are held.The Member States are required to submit

Conventions adopted by the Conference to theircompetent national authorities for possible ratifica-tion. If a country ratifies a Convention it is obligedto see that its own legislation is brought into accord

with the Convention's provisions, and to reportannually on the legislative measures which havebeen taken. Recommendations, on the other hand,are not subject to ratification, but States are obligedto consider them with a view to realizing theirprovisions by legislative or other action. Membersof the Organization are required to report periodic-ally on the position of their law and practice inrelation to unratified Conventions and to Recom-mendations.The Governing Body is also tripartite in its

structure. Its functions include the framing of theConference agenda, and the general supervision ofthe work of the Office, and of the various Committeesof the Organization.The International Labour Office provides the

secretariat of the Conference; it prepares documentsconcerning items on the agenda of the Conferenceand of the Governing Body, collects and distributesinformation, and on request furnishes technicalassistance to governments, conducts such specialinvestigations as may be ordered by the Conferenceor the Governing Body, and provides machineryfor ensuring the effective application of Conventions.A number of committees and panels of expertshave been set up under the Organization. Thereare, for example, eight committees, appointedsince the last war, which deal with specific problemsin different industries. These are called the IndustrialCommittees. Other I.L.O. bodies, which representindustries or occupations, are the Joint MaritimeCommission, the Permanent Agricultural Com-mittee, the Committee on Work on Plantations,and the Advisory Committee on Salaried Employeesand Professional Workers. These committees,established on a tripartite basis, provide the Officewith direct information about the problems in these'various occupations, and at the meetings, practicalmeasures for remedying unsatisfactory conditionscan be discussed.

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Health has been established with the WorldHealth Organization.The International Labour Organization has col-

lected data and documents concerning every aspectof occupational health; this information has beendisseminated directly by correspondence or bypublications; international regulations in the formof Conventions have been established, and Recom-mendations and Resolutions have been made.International meetings of experts on special subjectshave been convened in order to pool the availableknowledge and to promote international research.To assist the Office in these many functions, an

expert advisory committee, called the Correspon-dence Committee on Industrial Hygiene, wasestablished by the Governing Body in pursuance ofa resolution of the First International LabourConference. Subcommittees on Fatigue and onSilicosis have also been set up as the need arose.The members of these Committees are appointedby the Governing Body, and are chosen entirely onthe basis of their technical knowledge. No attempthas been made to give representation to variousinterests on these committees.

Information ServiceDirect Assistance.-This service has been given

by correspondence in reply to requests from researchworkers, national organizations, and other personsor bodies dealing with occupational health.The variety of these written requests for assistance

received is indicated by the following list of answerssent out during the last two years to variouscountries: comments on industrial hygiene clausesin health codes to Costa Rica and to Turkey; adviceon the text of an Industrial Hygiene Code to Iran;a list of industrial hygiene authorities in variouscountries to Czechoslovakia; information regard-ing the health of workers in various industries toPakistan and to Uruguay; data on health ofworkers engaged in tunnelling to Italy; and thehealth of workers in water-front occupations toNew Zealand; data about the incidence of variousoccupational diseases, such as deafness, to Argen-tina, and cancer, to France; a report on varioushazards, such as those associated with the handlingof cement, to Switzerland; the use of coatedelectrodes to Morocco, and of dangerous radiationsto Italy and to the U.S.A.; answers to questionsabout the toxicity of various chemicals have beensent to Egypt, the Netherlands, Switzerland, andthe United Kingdom; and information aboutoccupational health legislation in various industrieshas gone to Chile, Germany, Iran, Japan, Poland,and the United Kingdom. Data concerning variousindustrial hygiene methods and their application,

such as dust suppression in the hemp industry,were sent to Tanganyika, and data concerning theuse of colour in factories to Switzerland.

Publications.-A number of Office reports havecontained information on occupational health.

Reports to the League of Nations.-Members ofthe Correspondence Committee have regularlycontributed to the Year Book published by theHealth Section of the League of Nations on theprogress effected in occupational health. TheOffice prepared a study on the use of toxic substancesin disinfestation in agriculture and horticulture,which was communicated to the League of Nations.

Reports to the-United Nations-A report to theUnited Nations on the activities of the Office ispublished yearly.

Reports for Conferences and Meetings of theI.L.O.-The contribution to the Director-General'sreport to the International Labour Conferencedescribes the general trends in occupational healthdevelopments in the past year, and mentions specialachievements and legislation.

In reports for Regional Conferences the trendsin the specific region are described.The establishment of the Industrial Committees

facilitated contact with employers and workers inmatters of occupational health. The Office hasprepared studies on health conditions in the building,chemical, iron and steel, and textile industries, andin the metal trades.

Bibliography.-From the outset, all bibliographicalreferences were indexed, and published in theInternational Labour Review until 1923, when theincreasing volume necessitated separate publica-tion in the Bibliography of Industrial Hygiene,which appeared quarterly from March, 1923, toSeptember, 1939. Two additional numbers, pub-lished in 1944 and 1945, covered the publicationsup to 1941. This publication was resumed in 1948under the title of Bibliography of OccupationalMedicine, the first two numbers of which appearedyearly. From 1950 it was again published quarterly.

This publication lists each year about 4,000 titlesof books and articles on occupational health. Thetitles are given in the original language. A transla-tion into English and French is given of thosetitles not in English, French, Spanish, or Italian.The number of pages of each item indicates itsvolume, and a detailed system of headings givesthe context of the articles.A number of national periodicals give annotated

bibliographies, but the number of items is smallcompared with the Bibliography, which is the only

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existing publication giving a comprehensive list ofthe year's publications on occupational health,grouped according to subjects, with cross references,and containing also a detailed subject index.

Technical Monographs: Studies and Reports,Series F.-Several of these publications resulted fromstudies undertaken in connexion with internationalregulations-five publications on the use of white leadin painting, two on anthrax. Four, the result of theinternational conferences on silicosis, includedrecords of the conferences, a bibliography on pneumo-coniosis, and an account of workmen's compensa-tion for silicosis in the Union of South Africa, theUnited Kingdom, and Germany. Some mono-graphs were prepared for meetings attended by theOffice, and included for example, Industrial Hygieneand Safety and the International Labour Organisation;while others were reports of such meetings, forexample, Medical Inspection of Labour, whichreported the meeting of medical inspectors offactories in Duisseldorf in 1926.

The Encyclopedia Occupation and Health.-The International Labour Conference held inWashington in 1919 requested the Office to establish alist of unhealthy industrial processes. In view of theconstantly changing hazards in industry it wasdecided to publish an encyclopedia of occupationalhealth, which was to interpret the words "unhealthyprocesses" on a broad basis, so as to include" toxic, infectious, parasitic, and all other causeslikely to endanger or affect prejudicially the workers'health, life or morals ". The material in thisencyclopedia was to be grouped under (1) the work,(2) the worker, and (3) the place of work; andassistance in the preparation of the encyclopediawas to be sought from members of the Correspon-dence Committee, as well as from 95 externalcollaborators.

This encyclopedia of hygiene, pathology, andsocial welfare, entitled Occupation and Health, intwo volumes totalling 2,300 pages, and comprising410 articles, was published from 1930-34 in Englishand French.The articles give technical descriptions of industrial

processes, references to industrial uses, the causesof risks, pathology, clinical data, prophylaxis,statistics, and current legislation. Other articlesdeal with occupational diseases of the specialsystems, infections, etc., and finally there arecomprehensive articles on environmental conditions,such as ventilation, heating, lighting, dust elimination,sanitation, etc. Supplements, published from1938-40, contain articles on new processes -orproducts, and revisions of earlier articles.

This publication describes industrial processes,whereas the usual textbooks are confined to descrip-tions of the diseases, or in the case of toxicologies,to descriptions of the toxic products. It gives theinternational aspect of the problem, thereby fur-nishing information which cannot easily be obtainedelsewhere. It seems safe to say that the encyclopediahas been widely employed and, in spite of its age,is still used when the fundamental aspects of aproblem are studied. It is now out of print, but anew edition is envisaged.

International Meetings of ExpertsMeetings of Correspondence Committee.-Before

the war, the Correspondence Committee on IndustrialHygiene held regular meetings to discuss reports oncurrent problems prepared by the Office. Themeetings passed resolutions which were eitherbrought before the Governing Body, or werereferred to the Office, or to special committees forfurther study. Questions to be treated by theInternational Labour Conference with a view tothe establishment of international regulations (e.g.,on workmen's compensation) were always discussedpreviously at one or more sessions of the Committee.To give an idea of the functions of this Committee,some of the subjects with which it has dealt arelisted: medical inspection of factories (1924 and1934); colour vision tests (1924); anthrax (1922-301934); colour vision tests (1924); anthrax(1922-30); industrial physiology (fatigue) (1926);injuries due to x-rays and radio-active substances(1926); frequency of periodical medical examina-tions (1926); hydrocyanic acid (1928, 1936);rationalization (1931); poisoning by solvents (1931and 1933); nutrition in industry (1932 onwards);standard code of industrial hygiene (1928, 1933);employment of older workers (1933); manganesepoisoning (1934); medical service in industry(1934); ocular service in industry (1934); stan-dardization of radiographic methods in silicosis(1934); asbestosis (1935); infection from dust inthe marketing and sorting of rags (1935); occupa-tional dermatitis (1935); work in caissons (1935);labelling of containers of toxic substances (1934and 1936); compensation for various occupationaldiseases (1926-36); miner's nystagmus (1936);ankylostomiasis (1936); disinfestation in agricultureand horticulture (1936); code for office work(1936); training in industrial medicine (1936);and statistics of occupational diseases (1936).

International Conferences of Experts.-ThreeInternational Conferences of Experts on Pneumo-coniosis have been held, in Johannesburg (1930), inGeneva (1938), and in Sydney (1950). The two first

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conferences dealt mainly with silicosis. TheseConferences have been of international importancein pooling the available information on the patho-genesis, clinical aspects, and diagnosis of pneumo-coniosis and on the various preventive measures.The Conferences have also furthered national legis-lation on compensation for disability caused bypneumoconiosis.The inscription of silicosis in the international

schedule of compensatable diseases was a directresult of the Johannesburg Conference. The SydneyConference discussed the incidence of pneumocon-iosis in various countries, especially of coal miners'pneumoconiosis; the value of routine tests indetermining disability; the diagnostic methods,especially in radiology, where a project for inter-national classification of radiographs in somepneumoconioses was established; measures oftreatment and rehabilitation, etc. The record of theConference is now being prepared.

International RegulationsSeveral decisions of the International Labour

Conference relate to aspects of occupational health:Recommendation on white phosphorus (1919);Convention on the use of white lead in painting(1921); Conventions on workmen's compensation(1925 and 1934); Recommendation on medicalcare (1944); Conventions on sickness insurance inindustry and agriculture (1927); a number ofConventions, Recommendations, and Resolutions onthe protection of women and young workers; anda Convention and a Recommendation on labourinspection (1947).

In addition, the many Resolutions of the Corres-pondence Committee, approved by the GoverningBody, dealt with such subjects as duties of thefactory doctor (1924); periodicity of medical exam-ination (1926); medical inspection in factories(1934); protection against anthrax (1930) ;. regula-tion of work in caissons (1935); compensation forvarious occupational diseases (1935); and thelabelling of toxic substances (1935).The protection of the health of workers in places

of employment is on the agenda of the 1952 Sessionof the International Labour Conference, and maybe the object of international regulations.

Lead Poisoning.-A Recommendation was adoptedin 1919 whereby women and young persons shouldbe excluded from various occupations involvingexposure to lead, and that where employment ofwomen and young persons was permitted, suchemployment should be subject to certain conditionsdealing, inter alia, with ventilation, cleanliness ofworkrooms, notification of cases of poisoning,

periodical medical examination, washing facilities,and special protective clothing.The Convention on white lead adopted by the

International Labour Conference in 1921 prohibitedthe use of white lead or sulphate of lead in internalpainting, making its use subject to regulations.The employment of women and young persons inany painting work of an industrial character involv-ing the use of these pigments was prohibited.To facilitate the ratification of the Convention,

the Office, in 1927, published a comprehensiveaccount of the medical and technical aspects oflead poisoning and its prevention with gratifyingresults as to ratification. Twenty-seven countrieshave now ratified this Convention.

Phosphorus Poisoning.-In 1919 the Conferenceadopted the Recommendation that each MemberState which had not already done so, should adhereto the International Labour Convention adoptedat Berne in 1906 on the prohibition of the manu-facture, importation, and sale of matches containingwhite phosphorus. At the present time, thisConvention is in force in 34 States.

Anthrax.-The question of anthrax illustrates thedifficulty of reaching international agreement onthe practical application of preventive measures.An international commission had studied the

disinfection of hides and skins as early as 1908, andin 1919 the International Labour Conference adopteda Recommendation on disinfection of wool affectedwith anthrax spores. At that time this last questionwas being studied by a Committee appointed bythe British Government, and a method was workedout, and put into operation on a commercialscale. However, when the question was discussedat the International Labour Conference in 1921,with a view to the adoption of a Convention, furtherstudy was considered necessary, and the questionwas referred to an Advisory Committee. ThisCommittee was of the opinion that in most countriesthe principal danger of anthrax arose from themanipulation of hides and skins. A Mixed Sub-committee with the League of Nations was estab-lished, which directed research designed to discovereffective methods of disinfection which would notinjure the materials being handled.

In 1924 the International Labour Conference sawno prospect of arriving at an international agreementconcerning the question of disinfection of wooland hair, and referred the other questions to theCorrespondence Committee. As the researchinstigated by the Mixed Subcommittee had not, in1928, reached a stage at which the results could beapplied industrially, and large-scale experiments in

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tanneries were impossible to effect with the meansavailable, the Correspondence Committee proceededto formulate Draft Regulations for Protectionagainst Infection of Anthrax in the Hides andSkins Industry. These regulations, dealing withthe hygiene of work places, personal hygiene of theworkers, and notification of cases of anthrax, wereapproved by the Governing Body in 1931.

In addition to the drafting of these regulations,progress was made by the publication of statisticson anthrax, by the furthering of veterinary controlof infected flocks, and by contact with appropriatenational organisations.

Medical Inspection of Factories.-The FactoryInspection Recommendation in 1919 advocated theestablishment of a system of factory inspectionincluding a service for safeguarding the health ofthe workers. The scope of inspection, the natureof the functions and powers of inspectors, and theorganization of inspection, were elaborated in aRecommendation in 1923.The Correspondence Committee in 1924 adopted

a resolution defining the rights of medical inspectors;in 1926 a resolution on the periodicity of inspectionsin various dangerous occupations; and, finally,in 1934, a resolution on the duties and requirementsof the medical inspectors of factories.The Convention in 1947 calls for measures to

ensure that duly qualified technical experts andspecialists, including specialists in medicine, areassociated in the work of inspection. A Recommen-dation, also adopted in 1947, deals with labourinspection in mining and transport undertakings,and with the preventive duties of labour inspec-torates in general to ensure protection againstunhealthy or dangerous conditions.

Notification and Statistics.-The notification ofoccupational diseases is ensured by workmen'scompensation laws. The Labour Inspection Con-vention, 1947, contains a provision concerningnotification to the labour inspectorate of occupa-tional diseases. It does not, however, establish anobligation on governments to require such notifi-cation, but states that the labour inspectorateshall be notified of cases of occupational diseases" in such cases and in such manner" as may beprescribed by national legislation. The sameConvention requires the publication of statistics ofoccupational diseases in the annual report of thefactory inspectorate as far as the matter is underthe control of that authority. The Labour InspectionRecommendation, 1947, specifies details of suchstatistics, i.e., the number of cases and a classificationaccording to cause and to industry.

The Seventh International Conference of LabourStatisticians, 1949, considered that the state ofdevelopment of statistics on industrial injuries andoccupational diseases did not justify the drafting ofa Convention on the subject which will, however,be discussed at the 1952 session of the Conference.

Medical Training and Health Education.-TheCorrespondence Committee in 1934 adopted aresolution concerning the training of the personnelof medical inspection services.

In 1939, in a report on training the Office embodiedall available data obtained by means of a question-naire addressed to Member Governments.The Joint Committee of the I.L.O. and the

W.H.O. on Occupational Health, at its meeting in.1950, drew up recommendations on the training ofmedical students, doctors, nurses, industrial hygien-ists, and other persons responsible for the healthof workers.

Medical Examination.-A Convention was adoptedin 1922 concerning compulsory examination ofchildren and young persons employed at sea. In1946 two Conventions and a Recommendationwere adopted concerning medical examination ofyoung persons in industrial and non-industrialoccupations, and a Convention on the medicalexamination of seafarers. The Conventions relatingto industry require pre-employment medical exam-inations to determine physical fitness for employ-ment, and provide for re-examinations until the ageof 18 years or, in the case of occupations involvinghigh health risks, until the age of 21.The Recommendation contains provisions for the

treatment of persons found by examination to besuffering from disease.

Vocational Guidance.-A comprehensive Recom-mendation on vocational guidance was adopted bythe Conference in 1949, advocating that appropriatetests of capacity and aptitude, and where so desired,other psychological tests, should be made availablefor use in vocational guidance as appropriate to theneeds of individual cases. It also advocated thedevelopment, in cooperation with the appropriaterehabilitation services, of adequate and appropriatearrangements for the vocational guidance of youngpersons with physical or mental handicaps or limi-tations, or who manifest personality disorders ofsuch a nature as to prevent, or make particularlydifficult, their vocational adjustment.

Industrial Hygiene.-A Standard Code of HygieneRegulations drafted by the Office was discussed atvarious meetings of the Correspondence Committeefrom 1928 onwards, and finally published in 1934.

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It contained minimum standards regarding factoryconstruction, cubic space, ventilation, lighting,heating, underground premises, etc., and wasintended for the guidance of countries revising ordrafting for the first time their Labour or HygieneCode.A guide for factory inspectors in their work,

Industrial Environment and Health, issued in 1936,described industrial hygiene methods.A Model Code of Safety Regulations for Industrial

Establishments, published 1949, contains regulationsfor dangerous and obnoxious substances, dangerousradiations, health protection, personal protectiveequipment, selection of workers and medical service.

Workmen's Compensation.-Two Conventions(1925 and 1934), and a Recommendation (1928)deal with workmen's compensation. The 1925Convention contained the first international schedulecomprising anthrax and poisoning by lead and bymercury; the second schedule increased the listconsiderably to a total of 10 diseases or hazards.These Conventions have been ratified by 32 and22 countries, respectively. Since 1934, schedules innational legislation have superseded the internationalschedule considerably and a revision of this scheduleis envisaged.

Rehabilitation.-Rehabilitation has been thesubject of several Office publications, such asTraining and Employment of Disabled Persons,Placement of Disabled Persons, Rehabilitation ofDisabled Persons in the Mining Industry, andRehabilitation of the Tuberculous.Three Recommendations (1948, 1949, 1950) deal

with employment service organization, vocationalguidance, and vocational training of the disabled,respectively.

Collaboration with Other InternationalAgenciesCollaboration with the Health Section of the

League of Nations comprised the exchange ofinformation on venereal diseases, prevention ofanthrax, occupational cancer, toxic substances indisinfestation in agriculture and horticulture, inter-change of medical inspectors of factories, study ofactivities of medical services of insurance institutions,rural hygiene, and workers' nutrition.

Since 1948 close inter-secretariat collaborationhas existed between the Office and the WorldHealth Organization which has recently establisheda section on Social and Occupational Health. Thejoint Committee of the I.L.O. and W.H.O. onOccupational Health which has made recommenda-tions on the training of persons responsible for thehealth of workers has also considered the col-

laboration between industrial medical and publichealth services.The Office has collaborated with the United

Nations, the International Refugee Organisation,and the World Health Organization in planningthe rehabilitation of disabled displaced persons, anda comprehensive scheme is now being developed forthe rehabilitation of the disabled. Collaborationhas been initiated with the F.A.O. in the planningof surveys of nutrition of workers in Latin America.

Present and Future ActivitiesThe subject of the objectives and minimum

standards of social security, including medical care,was on the agenda of the 1951 Conference, andwill possibly be embodied in a Convention.

Revision of the Maternity Protection Conventionis envisaged, and the steps to be taken to protectwomen workers, in view of their roles as mothersand home workers, are being studied by the Office.Underground work of young persons in mines,

which was dealt with in the Safety Code for Under-ground Work in Coal Mines, is being studied withthe view to the drafting of international regulations.The possibility of establishing international regu-

lations for extending to agriculture the medicalexamination of young persons under 18 years isunder consideration. The Office is also dealing withthe following problems.

Recommendations of the Third International Con-ference of Experts on Pneumoconiosis.-A classifica-tion of radiographs in certain forms of pneumo-coniosis was established at the Conference, andwork on an international basis is progressing. Thisinvolves comparisons between the classification ofidentical radiographs examined by experts in variouscountries.The Conference drew attention to the problem

of preventing pneumoconiosis in civil engineeringundertakings such as tunnelling, etc., and in thehandling of grain cargoes, and the Office is studyingmeasures against these hazards.A directory of specialists in pneumoconiosis is in

preparation. The Conference recommended that afuture I.L.O. Conference should be held to dealwith the prevention of pneumoconiosis mainly fromthe point of view of the engineer, the physicist, andthe chemist.

Protection against Other Health Risks.-Theagenda of the 1952 Conference contains the item:protection of the health of the workers in theirplaces of employment.The Office has prepared a report on the law and

practice in various countries including notification,statistics, medical examination, inspection services,

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THE I.L.O. AND OCCUPATIONAL HEALTHand engineering methods of protection. This reportcontains a questionnaire which will be circulated tothe Member States, and a report based on thereplies to this questionnaire will be discussed at the1953 Conference, and may possibly form the basisof international regulations.A revision of the international schedule for work-

men's compensation is envisaged, as the 1934schedule is outdated.-

Studies on statistical information on the causesof diseases in the chemical industries, on thepossibility of classifying chemical substances asdangerous, obnoxious and toxic, on the elaborationof a text on labels of containers of such substances,and finally, on the health of shift workers in thechemical industries, are in preparation for the nextsession of the Chemical Industries Committee.The publication of the Bibliography ofOccupational

Medicine which was resumed in 1948 will becontinued.

In addition to these activities of disseminatinginformation and establishing international regula-tions, the Office provides direct advice and assistance,especially under the " Technical Assistance Pro-gramme for Under-developed Countries

General Trends

The scope of occupational health has changedduring the time in which the I.L.O. has been active.The activities are at present not limited to preventionof hazards by prohibition or the drawing up oflists of such hazards, nor to payment of compensa-tion for disablement. Occupational health aims atthe promotion and maintenance of the highestdegree of physical, mental, and social well-being ofworkers in all occupations.The achievement of this aim needs action on a

large scale: medical supervision of the workersby industrial health centres, provided with thenecessary technical equipment, in collaborationwith doctors familiar with local conditions. Atpresent, the supervision of small work places, and ofrural workers is grossly inadequate.

Legislative measures will probably be necessary,since voluntary health promotion is generally tooslow and erratic.An improvement of the training in occupational

health of all those persons responsible for thehealth of the workers, will require a concertedaction by universities, by government health services,and by employers and workers on a national andinternational scale.

There is still much to be learnt about adaptationto work through job analysis and medical ex-amination of both the healthy and disabled.Industrial psychology has an important applicationin all relations between the worker and his job, hissupervisor, his doctor and his manager, but theworker's greatest need is still a safe working environ-ment.

Health surveys are easy to undertake in industrialpopulations, but should be undertaken only wherea reasonable chance of positive results justifies theexpenditure in time and money. All efforts shouldbe mobilized in the pooling of knowledge, and awhole-hearted collaboration between individuals,groups, and nations should be achieved to maintainthe productivity and well-being of the worker, forhis well-being is one of the chief weapons againstunrest and war. In this task the I.L.O. will continueas in the past, to collect and disseminate informationon what is being done in the various countries,and to further the adoption of national, and whereappropriate, international, measures to promote thehealth of all workers.

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