08.07.13
Workplace deaths fall – but more in waste and recycling sector
There has been a fall in the number of people fatally injured at work, new statistics show – but the British Safety Council has insisted that more must be done because ‘one life lost at work is one too many’.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) data shows that 148 workers were fatally injured from April 2012 to March 2013, compared with 172 in the previous year.
Britain has had one of the lowest rates of fatal injuries to workers in leading industrial nations in Europe consistently for the last eight years, the HSE says.
Although deaths in the construction and agricultural sectors were down compared to the average over the last five years, the figure went up in the waste and recycling sector. Ten fatal injuries to waste and recycling workers were recorded, a rate of 8.2 deaths per 100,000 workers, compared to an average of six deaths in the past five years and an increase from the five deaths recorded in 2011/12.
Judith Hackitt, who chairs the organisation, said: “These figures are being published in the same week as the 25th anniversary of the Piper Alpha disaster, and are a reminder to us all of why health and safety is so important. Although the number of people killed at work has dropped significantly, last year 148 people failed to return home to their loved ones.
“The fact that Britain continues to have one of the lowest levels of workplace fatalities in Europe will be of little consolation to those who lose family members, friends and work colleagues.
“HSE is striving to make health and safety simpler and clearer for people to understand so that more people do what is required to manage the real risks that cause death and serious injury.
“We all have a part to play to ensure people come home safe at the end of the working day and good leadership, employee engagement and effective risk-management are key to achieving this.”
British Safety Council CEO Alex Botha said: “Every worker killed is unacceptable. Reductions are positive but look more closely and it is clear that more can be done.
“The last four years has seen a levelling-off in the rate of fatal injury (which links fatalities to numbers of workers) and this can surely be improved when you look at the predictable causes of deaths; so many falls, being hit by a moving vehicle, caught up in machinery and struck by objects. If we want a growing economy, rising employment and reductions in fatalities then we have to get to grips with the events that lie behind these common causes.
“The moral case to do so is unequivocal, the business case to do so is strong. What we need to see is even better shared understanding of what makes for good health and safety; leadership, workforce engagement, competent advice and training. The HSE and others have great resources and businesses up and down the country have knowledge and experience to share. We need to pull together and make sure that every worker returns home safe and well.”
Tell us what you think – have your say below or email [email protected]