Karachi, [05/03/2025] – Grow Safe (Pvt) Ltd., one of Pakistan’s leading health, safety and environment (HSE) companies recently conducted a daylong workshop at the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology (FUUAST), Gulshan campus.
The workshop revolved around the idea of Safe Work Program by International Labour Organization (ILO) and the legal and social framework related to HSE.
Director & CEO Grow Safe, Saad Abdul Wahab Khan and HoD Corporate Sales, Talha Shahid apprised the students about the need for health, safety, environment and the impact of H&S incidents in the country every year.
In his session, Mr. Saad highlighted the significant global impact of health and safety accidents, which account for 4% of global GDP annually. He pointed out that worldwide, there are 340 million accidents, 160 million work-related diseases, and 2.3 million fatalities each year—equating to 6,300 deaths per day.
Additionally, he revealed that health and safety accidents in Pakistan result in an estimated loss of 4.32 billion man-hours per year. These incidents also contribute to a notable loss of experience due to years of life lost. With life expectancy in Pakistan being six years lower than the global average, the country’s labor force is also 9% smaller than the global workforce.
At the conclusion of the program, Mr. Saad and Registrar FUUAST, Dr. Sadia Khalil exchanged commemoratory shields.
Dean Faculty of Science, Professor Dr. M. Zahid, Student Advisor Mr. Murshid, Lead Event Organizer Mr. Zeeshan Ahmed, Head of Environment Department, Dr. Haq Nawaz Abbasi, Asst. Prof. Dr. Waqar Ahmad, Head of Chemistry Department, Dr. Aneela Wahab, Asst. Prof. Dr. Atya Hassan of the Chemistry Department and a large number of students attended the event.
Grow Safe provides comprehensive training, consultancy and compliance solutions, fulling the country’s needs in the HSE domain.
In Pakistan, the situation is particularly dire for the 67.25m employed workforce, according to a report by Dawn. The ILO has confirmed that occupational safety and health (OSH) conditions in both formal and informal sectors are alarmingly poor. While official statistics are unavailable, media reports paint a grim picture.
Explosions in mines, factory boiler accidents, and other workplace mishaps are frequent, causing significant fatalities and injuries. According to ILO estimates, approximately 1,136 workers in Pakistan suffer occupational injuries per 100,000 workers annually, though this figure is likely underreported due to the lack of a robust data collection and monitoring system.
Hazardous working conditions persist due to weak enforcement of existing regulations and the absence of a national preventive safety culture. This has also contributed to lower labour productivity, with Pakistan ranking 110th out of 140 countries on the productivity index.