Accidents at work - Focus on health and safety vital
The number of days lost due to work-related injury and illness had been steadily increasing in recent years.
The most alarming aspect of the report is the number of work-related deaths in 2007. They jumped to 67, which was an alarming 31% increase on the 51 people killed in 2006. This is particularly disappointing coming on the back of a 31% decrease previous year.
Ireland has a higher than average rate of fatalities than the EU15. The biggest rise in deaths among the State’s 2.1 million workers occurred in the areas of fishing and construction, while one third of the fatal accidents were in the agricultural sector.
At 8.3 deaths per 100,000 workers, agriculture has the highest fatality rate. It was noteworthy, however, that the 11 fatalities in that sector were down by almost 39% on the 18 deaths in 2006 and 2005.
There have undoubtedly been improvements in some areas, but this should not lead to any sense of complacency. The improvements could turn out as erratic as the drop in fatalities during 2006. Thirty-one workers have already been killed during 2008.
The 7,800 non-fatal accidents reported to the HSA last year was down 2.5% on 8,000 the previous year. The rate of reported non-fatal accidents is actually the second lowest in the EU15.
Other figures released are far from reassuring. Just 70% of employers have provided the safety statement required by the Safety, Health and Work Act of 2005. Is the inaction of the other 30%, who have failed to comply, a measure of their indifference to health and safety? Enforcement action was necessary in 12% of 13,631 workplaces inspected during 2007. There were 31 prosecutions, which resulted in a 97% conviction rate, and fines of more than €750,000.
Labour Affairs Minister Billy Kelleher emphasised that health and safety must be at the top of the workplace agenda. The ethical duty to look after the wellbeing of workers should be the prime concern, from a legal and humanitarian standpoint.
Although very much a secondary consideration, nobody should lose sight of the fact that a strong financial case can also be made. Investment in health and safety pays rich dividends in saving money in the long run.
Most of the workplace accidents are preventable. The majority of reported accidents in 2007 involved manual handling incidents, tripping, slipping and falling, but HSA stresses that it is important employers and workers should realise that illness as a result of work activity is just as serious as physical injury.
Occupational illness has resulted in more lost workdays than accidents in recent years. Hence it is necessary to target occupational illness, because it, too, has vital implications for our competitiveness.
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