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The HSE has released figures today (5 July), revealing how many work-related deaths occurred in the UK last year.

The provisional data for the period April 2011 to March 2012 show that 173 workers were fatally injured – two fewer than the previous year’s confirmed total of 175. The rate of fatal injury remains the same, at 0.6 per 100,000 workers.

The construction industry recorded the most deaths, with 49 – this is down from 50 last year, and below the five-year average of 59. It represents a fatal-injury rate of 2.3 per 100,000 – the same as last year.

In the agriculture sector, 33 people lost their lives – three more than in 2010/11, and just below the five-year average of 35. The fatal-injury rate also went up, from 8.7 per 100,000 in 2010/11 to 9.7 per 100,000 last year.

Emphasising that the UK continues to have one of the lowest levels of workplace fatal injury in Europe, HSE chair Judith Hackitt acknowledged that “every single one of these deaths will have caused terrible grief and anguish for family and friends, as well as workmates and colleagues”.

She called on employers to continue to focus on “real risks”, saying the regulator is “working very hard to make it easier for people to understand what they need to do and to focus on the real priorities”.

IOSH described the lack of real improvement in the figures as “disappointing”. Added the Institution’s executive director of policy, Dr Luise Vassie: “Alarmingly, these figures aren’t representative of the real picture, as they don’t include the thousands of people who have died from work-related illnesses and driving for work.


“There is still much work to be done in getting the message through to employers that good health and safety makes good business sense – and bolsters a struggling economy. It’s so important that worker protection is given its proper attention, especially during times of austerity, when staffing levels can be squeezed and workloads increase. It can play an important part in driving efficiencies, reducing lost time, and sustaining a thriving business.”

The TUC said it is worrying that, unlike in previous recessions, when the rate of work-related fatalities went down significantly, this is not the case this time. General secretary Brendan Barber went on: “During the past two years we have seen a considerable fall in the number of routine safety inspections and, at the same time, both the HSE and local authorities have had their funding cut. Yet still we see the Government continuing to attack what they claim is an unnecessary health and safety culture – a view that is unlikely to be shared by the families of the 173 people who died last year as a result of their jobs.
 


“The responsibility for these deaths may lie with the employers who break safety laws but ministers also have a duty to ensure that the rules are enforced and that the protection of workers is seen not as a ‘burden’ on employers but as a duty.”

For more detail on the statistics, visit www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/fatals.htm