GENEVA, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- The International Labor Organization (ILO) and partners on Thursday released a joint report here, saying that the world need to pay more attention to the unsafe and undignified working conditions of sanitation workers in a number of developing countries.
The report, released by ILO, the World Bank, the World Health Organization and WaterAid to mark the World Toilet Day which will fall on Nov. 19, is based on a study of sanitation workers in Bangladesh, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Haiti, India, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda.
Most sanitation workers, the report says, are in the informal economy and only limited efforts have been made to understand their challenges or to develop and document good practices, approaches, policies, standards and regulations, in order to help improve their working conditions.
According to the report, sanitation workers involved in cleaning toilets, emptying pits and septic tanks, cleaning sewers and manholes, and operating pumping stations and treatment plants, are typically at high risk from faecal pathogens in their daily work.
They may also be exposed to chemical and physical risks, the report said.
