Global Dialogue Forum on Safety in the Supply Chain in Relation to Packing of Containers

Many accidents in the transport sector are attributed to poor practices in relation to packing of containers. This has caused major concern particularly because the victims can be the general public, transport workers, or their employers, who have no control over the packing of containers.

It is against this background that in March 2009 and in November 2010, the Governing Body of ILO approved for the ILO to convene a tripartite Global Dialogue Forum on Safety in the Supply Chain in Relation to Packing of Containers.

The Forum was held in Geneva from 21 to 22 February 2011 and it was attended by 56 representatives of Governments, Employers’ and Workers’ organizations and relevant Intergovernmental Organizations (e.g. UNECE – United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) and Non-governmental Organizations (e.g. International Safety Panel of ICHCA International Limited, IUMI - International Union of Marine Insurance) that participated as observers. Various sectors in the supply chain were represented, including, shipping, ports, road transport, railways, shippers, freight forwarders, and marine insurance.

The Forum took into consideration the background report prepared by the Office: “Safety in the Supply Chain in Relation to Packing of Containers”, published in 2010, and adopted a set of Points of Consensus in relation to the subject matter.

The purpose of the Forum was to reach a common understanding by all stakeholders of the underlining issues pertinent to the packing of containers and a better understanding of the reasons that lead to the application of poor practices in packing of containers that result in industrial accidents as well as to reach consensus on a common approach throughout the supply chain for the correct application and enforcement of the appropriate standards for packing containers.