Provisional figures for fatalities resulting
from accidents or incidents at work have been
released by the HSE
The 2007/08 fatality at work
figures show a decrease on the previous year of 19
to 228 but the improvement trend is slowing -
4th July 2008
The 2007/08 provisional
figures for
workplace accident/incident fatalities in Great
Britain have been released by the
Health and Safety Executive (HSE), showing a
slight decrease of 19 to 228 compared with the
2006/07 figures.
Although there is a decrease in the
incident/accident at work fatality statistics, the
rate of decrease has slowed over the last fifteen
years, with the average rate at 230 fatalities over
the past five years showing very little improvement.
The main industrial sectors showing the highest
fatality rates per workers from these
accidents at
work statistics are still construction with 72 (3.4
per 100,000) and agriculture with 39 (9.1 per
100,000).
The Chair for the HSE Judith Hackitt in response to
the release of the figures said: "Whilst we welcome
the headline decrease in overall numbers of
fatalities, there is absolutely no room for
complacency as the report suggests a plateau in the
overall five year trend. Great Britain’s position
amongst major European Union countries is in
relative terms a creditable one, but none can find
it acceptable that 228 people died directly as a
cause of their work. After many years of
improvement, it is disappointing that we are on a
performance plateau. This stresses the need for
everyone, employers and employees alike to make a
further effort to reduce this total of human misery.
"Evidence shows that where employers and employees
work closely together to agree the agenda and set
targets to tackle real issues, they have made
significant improvements. We want this to continue
and we also want to see employers taking more
ownership and leadership to embed
health and safety
in their organisational culture and boardrooms.
"The high levels of fatalities in the agriculture
and construction sectors continue to be of
particular concern to us and will be a major focus
of HSE’s work priorities over the coming year."
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