ABSTRACT
The industrial revolution brought together large numbers of workers under supervision in a single worksite for prolonged periods of time to conduct mechanized work for the first time in history. Since then, occupational health and safety (OHS) has been an important concern of organized labor and social-justice activists. Globalization is now an established phenomenon. The term refers to the opening up of nation state borders, the dropping of some international trading regulations, the concept of "free trade," deregulation of markets, and the exploitation of cheaper labor from developing countries. There are also other international developments that assist with protection of OHS, such as the Social and Economic Council of the U. N. that promotes a consistent world-wide system for Classification and Labelling of Chemicals. New "at-risk" groups of workers are being identified as employment patterns shift. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
