New SCORE partnership to benefit more workers and enterprises in China

BEIJING (ILO News) – The ILO and the Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM) have established a decade-long tradition of organizing joint commemoration events on the World Day of Safety and Health at Work to promote the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases and foster a culture of safety and health. This year, the tripartite constituents witnessed the launch of the new SCORE programme during the SafeDay event held on 25 April in Beijing.

China is the first country to implement the ILO SCORE progamme in 2009. Since 2014, the ILO has collaborated with the State Administration of Safety and Health, the predecessor organization of Ministry of Emergency Management, on the SCORE project which was funded by the Swiss and Norwegian governments. Throughout this collaboration, the State Administration of Safety and Health and the later Ministry of Emergency Management have been deeply committed to improving the work safety management capacity of enterprises through promoting the SCORE methodology, resulting in rapid and successful development of this programme. 

The International Exchange and Cooperation Center of MEM is embarking on a new partnership with the ILO as an implementation partner for the ILO SCORE global program. This exemplifies the remarkable sustainability of ILO projects, which persist through the proactive efforts of national partners long after the project’s conclusion. 

Chang-Hee Lee, Director of ILO Country Office for China and Mongolia, expressed his hope that through this collaboration SCORE will find broader adoption among enterprises, fostering safe and healthy working environments—particularly for MSMEs, which often face capacity constraints and limited motivation to invest in workplace safety. The ILO is ready to work with MEM and the Chinese tripartite constituents in providing innovative solutions for improving work safety governance not only in China but also beyond.

Song Yuanming, Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Emergency Management, underscored the importance of integrating the SCORE methodology into China’s work safety management system and standards for Micro, small and medium enterprises. He further proposed innovating a new approach to work safety inspection through piloting SCORE services.

State Secretary Boris Zürcher, Head of the Labour Directorate, led a Swiss tripartite delegation to attend the event and addressed participants, expressing expectations for the future success of the SCORE project in China.

“Together, we are dedicated to advancing the SCORE Programme, thereby fostering enterprise performance, decent work, and better OSH for more MSMEs and their employees.”

Rie Vejs-Kjeldgaard, Director of ILO ENTERPRISES Department

Approximately 100 participants, including representatives of ILO constituents, relevant line ministries, enterprises, trade associations, insurance companies, academics, Swiss and Norwegian embassies, and international experts, attended the event.