Concern at rise in fatal workplace accidents; Rush to save money or finish jobs ‘placing people’s lives in peril’
More people died last year as a result of accidents in the workplace than in the year before.
And, says the Health and Safety Authority’s CEO, more people could die in work accidents this year than in 2019.
Dr Sharon McGuinness says that of the 46 people who died in 2019 from workplace accidents, 17 were trapped or crushed, nine were struck by a vehicle, and seven fell.
The latest HSA figures also show Cork to be one of the worst places for workplace deaths in the country.
They also show that construction workplace deaths have more than doubled in the last year from five in 2018 to 12 in 2019.
Agriculture remains the most dangerous sector in which to work, with 18 deaths. Of these some 13 of them were over the age of 60, with some aged in their 80s or 90s. That agriculture is still the deadliest place to work tallies with comments made in 2018, when the Government said then that no matter what it was doing, it wasn’t having enough impact on farmers.
Wexford had the highest number of workplace fatalities with seven deaths in 2019, followed by Dublin which had six, and Cork which had five. Cavan, Longford, Leitrim, Laois, Meath, Offaly, Sligo, and Westmeath had no workplace deaths.
The figures also show that April was the most dangerous month with six deaths, while no workplace fatalities were reported in November.
But Dr McGuinness believes more people will die in workplace accidents “until there is a change of mindset”. She said: “Most deaths are preventable. Generally, incidents occur when safety shortcuts are taken. But the mentality of placing people’s lives in peril in the race to finish a job — or save money — needs to stop. Lives depend on it.”
She expressed concern that construction deaths increased in 2019, with 75% of all fatal injuries taking place in the last six months.
With falls from heights the leading cause of all construction-worker deaths last year, she highlighted the HSA’s concern that many fatalities involved small companies and self-employed tradespeople. The figures show that the number of construction deaths have increased to levels not seen since 2015, when falls from a height were also the biggest cause of fatal injuries.
“This is a worrying trend and shows that without proper risk assessments and health and safety considerations, ultimately a worker may pay the price with their life,” said Dr McGuinness.
She said the HSA’s provisional statistics show that the rate of construction fatalities has increased considerably in the last year from 3.5 per 100,000 people employed to round 8.2 per 100,000.
“Construction workers engage in many activities that may expose them to hazards, such as falling from a height, unguarded machinery, or being struck by construction equipment,” she said.
“Our provisional data also shows that 940 non-fatal incidents and dangerous occurrences were reported to the HSA from the construction sector in 2019.
“We plan to target working at heights throughout our construction safety campaigns this year, and will also engage directly with the sector to increase knowledge and application of risk assessment tools to be used on all sites.”
