According to the director general of the Labor Inspectorate, Kaire Saarepi, 3,685 workers were injured at work last year, roughly the same number of people in the city of Põltsamaa. The main reasons were falls, slips and trips. Saarep explained that the main reason why people fall at work is not the slipperiness of winter, but people’s carelessness and ignorance of how to avoid accidents. “If before the situation in companies was better, last year there were many more falls, trips and slips in the work environment – an average of 3 people per day – regardless of the sector. Unfortunately, this year too the number of falls, whether at the same level or from above, continues to be high and no significant decrease is noticeable,” Saarep said. According to him, the main concern is that these are simply preventative incidents, which both employers and workers themselves can do a lot to prevent. “I would like to remind employers that taking care of your employees is the best Christmas gift for both you and your employees,” Saarep added.
Most workplace accidents can be prevented if employees comply with safety requirements and risks are mitigated in the workplace. For example, there was an accident at work where the employee washed their work uniform. When he finished the job, he didn’t wrap the hose for cleaning and when he went to get the next mold, he tripped over a floating hose in the hallway. The result of the trip was a concussion of the right big toe and first finger of the left hand and a contusion on the inside of the right leg.
Of the 3,685 workplace accidents that occurred last year, 1,071 resulted in serious damage to health, 35% of serious workplace accidents were caused by employee slips, trips or falls and in most cases they were due to distraction or negligence. Work accidents occurred on walkways, stairs of the company or institution, or movement was hindered by floating work equipment: cables, boxes, furniture, stored materials, finished products, etc. According to data from the Labor Inspectorate, this year the majority of cases occurred in manufacturing, transport, storage, trade and construction.
2023-12-15 18:04:00
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