Occupational health indicators: Exploring the social and decent work dimensions of green jobs in Portugal

Background: Green jobs, being in line with the goals of sustainable development, promote "smart, sustainable and inclusive growth", ensure a healthy functioning of Earth's ecosystems and guarantee decent work for all workers and high levels of workers' health. Objective: Assessing whether green jobs protect and promote the health of workers and, at the same time, contribute to a reduction of occupational diseases and health damage resulting from accidents at work. Methods: A core-set of Occupational Health indicators were selected to analyze the "sustainable work" in green employment, based on Annual Report. The indicators were applied to 281,124 establishments and 2,780,686 workers in Portugal. Results: In the green job there is a lower level of organization as regards Occupational Health and Safety Services with a lower coverage of working population, and the incidence and severity of accidents at work is higher, as well as the percentage of workers with a lower level of professional qualification. Conclusions: Green job is not necessarily translated into safe, healthy and decent work. There is need and urgency to ensure a proper monitoring of green jobs in the context of Occupational Health, a requirement that should not be underestimated, if sustainable development is to be achieved.