Deaths fall but workplace safety failures continue

THE drop in workplace deaths and serious injuries last year was in spite of continued failures by both employers and staff to take personal responsibility for health and safety, according to the Health and Safety Authority (HSA).

In its annual report for 2008, the HSA said there were 57 workplace deaths for the year, a drop of 10 compared to 2007.

There were six non-worker fatalities in workplaces, of which four were children. Three of the children were killed on farms.

One in 10 of those killed were foreign nationals. The number of people injured at work dropped 9% to 7,658.

However, HSA chairman Jim Lyons said the reduced number of incidents, while welcomed, was still not acceptable.

“Almost all were easily preventable and almost all were caused by failures of managers or workers to take personal responsibility for health and safety. While 10 fewer people died at work in 2008 than died in 2007, yet again high numbers of farmers and construction workers died at work,” he said.

Employment in the agriculture sector appeared to be particularly dangerous.

The sector employed just 6% of the total workforce in 2008 yet, at 22, also accounted for more than a third of workplace deaths.

Deaths in construction also remained high. There were 15 people killed in the sector in 2008 and the HSA pointed out that this was in spite of the downturn in the industry and resultant reduction in employment.

“This contracting of the workforce in general may have had an impact on the number of incidents reported to the authority,” it said.

“Seven construction sites were voluntarily closed because of the poor overall standards of safety and health observed at the sites.”

Despite the reduction in the number of incidents reported to the HSA, the rate of reportable injuries increased. Reportable injuries are those where the person is absent from work as a result for four or more days.

The rate of such injuries rose from 11.6 to 13.5 per 1,000 workers in the year.

The most common accident triggers remained manual handling and falls.

The HSA carried out 16,009 workplace inspections in 2008, the highest number in any year to date.

It also pursued 27 prosecutions, which amassed fines totalling €2,524,600.