7 August 2019 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal
New Health and Safety Executive (HSE) figures show the number of workplace fatalities is increasing. Provisional data indicates that 147 workers were fatally injured between April 2018 and March 2019.
While the number of fatal injuries to construction workers is the lowest on record (30), these latest figures show the rate of fatal workplace injuries (fatalities per 100,000 workers) at almost three times the average across all sectors.
The three most common causes of fatal injuries continue to be workers falling from height (40), being struck by a moving vehicle (30) and being struck by a moving object (16), accounting for nearly 60 per cent of fatal injuries in 2018/19.
The figures also showed that 25 per cent of fatal injuries during the year were to workers aged 60 or over, even though they made up only around 10 per cent of the workforce.
Mesothelioma, which is contracted through past exposure to asbestos, killed 2,523 in the UK in 2017, a broadly similar number to the previous five years. The figures are largely because of occupational asbestos exposure before 1980, and annual deaths are expected to remain similar for some years to come.
With this in mind, and with fire safety in particular a hot button topic of late, our latest Think Tank poll is about your approach to this critical compliance concern. What is informing your organisation's approach to health and safety in the workplace? Has your strategy changed significantly over the last 10 years and, if so, in what ways? What health and safety issues have you found/do you find to be most challenging?
We're keen to hear from you about the issues and events that you and your organisation have had to grapple with. You can vote on one particular question and make comments here.
If you have any other comments related to the questions above, please email news editor, Herpreet Kaur Grewal, here: [email protected]