In early September 2016, researchers from Canada and the U.S. convened a workshop in Montreal to analyze current and emerging issues in the economics of worker safety and health, and to formulate potential collaborative research aiming to improve and standardize economic metrics of worker injury and illness, including metrics of the under-recognized burden for workers and their families, employers, and society.
About $1,250 billion -- or 4% of annual worldwide GDP -- is absorbed by the direct and indirect costs of work accidents and occupational diseases, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO).
