Workplace fatalities double in first six months of the year

There were six fatal accidents occurring at the workplace between January and June 2021, double the three reported in the corresponding period of 2020.

The data emerges from the Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA), published by the National Statistics Office, and also shows that there were 1,131 persons involved in a non-fatal accident at work in the first six months of 2021.

The majority of these non-fatal accidents occurred in the construction sector (17.2 per cent).

Another 188 or 16.6 per cent of the accidents occurred in the manufacturing sector followed by the transportation and storage sector (146 or 12.9 per cent).

The largest share of accidents at work during the reference period involved persons working in elementary occupations followed by craft and related trades workers.

Almost half (44 per cent) of the injuries at work affected the upper extremities of the body, such as the fingers and hands.

Wounds and superficial injuries, and dislocations, sprains and strains were the most common types of injuries, amounting to 685 and 233 cases respectively.

In the first half of 2021, 27.7 per cent of the accidents at work took place in enterprises with 50-249 employees.

In 2020, 892 non-fatal accidents per 100,000 employed persons were reported.

The highest standardised incidence rate of non-fatal accidents at work was recorded in construction followed by manufacturing and transportation and storage.