Workplace Safety Facts about
Injuries, Deaths & Illnesses.

How Safe are You at Work?

Workplace Safety Facts.

The International Labour Organization's (ILO) world-wide research shows that EACH YEAR...
  • workplace safetygear One worker dies
    every 15 seconds.

  • 6,300 workers
    die daily.

  • Asbestos kills
    100,000 people.

  • Other hazardous chemicals and substances kill another 350,000.

  • Over 2.3 million deaths occur due to occupational accidents or diseases.

  • 160 million workers suffer work related illnesses.

  • Around 337 million workers are injured in workplace accidents.

  • 4% of world GDP is lost through work related death, injury or sickness.

  • The annual cost to the global economy is a staggering $1.25 trillion.

The fact is... more people are killed at work than are killed on the battlefield.

* News Flash: September 12, 2012.

Over 314 factory workers have perished after fires raged through their workplaces in Pakistan.

Over 289 were killed when flames engulfed a garment factory in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city. Only hours earlier some 21 workers perished in a shoe factory in Lahore, near the Indian border.

The tragedies have renewed calls for a rapid overhaul of the country's poor industrial safety standards.

Published on Sep 12, 2012 by AlJazeeraEnglish:

Workplace Safety Facts.

* News Flash: August 27, 2012.

4 painters in a factory in Nancun, China were electrocuted when the 9m mobile scaffold they were pushing touched a 10,000 volt high tension power line overhead... 3 died horribly.

The scaffolding had been used previously by other workers to replace faulty light bulbs nearby. The painters had decided to use the scaffold to help them with their painting, not realising the hazard the overhead high voltage power lines posed.

Published on Oct 9, 2012:

Workplace Safety Facts.

Don't forget to check out these topics when done with Workplace Safety Facts:

Workplace Safety Tips...what you don't know can kill you.
workplace safety tips danger sign Newsflash May 2011: 3 Chinese workers killed & 15 injured in machine shop combustible dust explosion.

Workplace Shootings...You're worst nightmare.
workplace safety guns "as the economy tanks and jobs are scarce, the rates of these killings increase."

Workplace Discrimination... The Ugly Truth, the Deadly Consequences.
workplace discrimination graffiti racist "An estimated 30,000 (British) working women are dismissed, made redundant or forced to leave their jobs every year because they become pregnant".

Workplace Bullying... 72% of bullies are Toxic Bosses.
workplace bullying harassment Submission of the victim to the bully, and bowing down in fear, will only encourage and prolong the aggression.

Workplace Harassment... Crossing The Line.

workplace harassment female Companies that don't address the problem or allow retaliation against a victim risk legal consequences and hefty damages.
EEOC Press Release 6/15/2011: Sonic Drive-In settles Sexual Harassment & Retaliation Suit for $2 million.

More Workplace Safety Facts.

The Most Dangerous Types of Work?

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' September 2012 report (based on 2011 figures) Fatality Rates (per 100,000 employed) were:

  1. Transportation & Warehousing... 16% of all fatalities.

  2. Construction... 15.6% of all fatalities.

    (The ILO found that in 2005 there were more than 60,000 deaths world-wide in construction ... that's 1 fatality every 10 minutes.)

  3. Agriculture, forestry, fishing/hunting... 12% of all fatalities.

  4. workplace safety scaffolding Government...11% of all deaths.

  5. Professional & Business Services... 9% of all fatalities.

  6. Manufacturing... 7%.

  7. Retail Trade... 6%.

  8. Leisure & Hospitality... 5%.

  9. Wholesale Trade... 4%.

  10. Other Services (exc. public admin.)... 4%.

  11. Mining... 3.3%.

  12. Educational& Health services... 3.3%.

The BLS also found... The 4 main causes of work-related death were 1. Transportation Accidents (41%), 2. Homicides/Violence by persons or animals (17%), 3. Struck-by-Object (15%), 4. Falls (14%),... 92% of fatalities were male... the fatality rate was highest for workers aged 45-64 years.... and most accidents occurred on a Wednesday.

Consider earning a masters in human resources management to stay on top of the latest workplace safety guidelines and the best ways to implement them, so that these staggering statistics have a lesser chance of applying to your company's employees.

More Workplace Safety Facts.

Most Dangerous Countries to Work In?

The more under-developed countries don't always have stringent Workplace Health and Safety Laws in place or adequate enforcement practices.

In 2005 the International Labour Organization estimated that 50% of miners over 50 years of age in Latin America suffered from Silicosis (a fatal lung disease resulting from silica dust inhalation).

Tens of millions more miners around the globe were also affected by Silicosis, as were 50% of slate pencil workers and 36% of stone-cutters in India.

workplace safety spraying fields

In 2005 the ILO complained that "reporting systems and coverage of occupational safety and health in many developing countries are poor and deteriorating"... "only a fraction of the real toll of work-related death and disease is covered".

They pointed to India where only 222 fatal accidents were reported that year, when the ILO had estimated the true figure was closer to 40,000 deaths.

Another example was China which in 2005 reported 6,000 official mining deaths, whereas the true number was believed to be closer to 15,000 fatalities.

In 2000 the ILO stated "Agriculture is one of the most hazardous occupations worldwide... An estimated 1.3 billion workers are engaged in agricultural production worldwide... half of the total world labour force".

workplace safety ox plough

60% of these worked in developing countries, so here again it is not always possible to gain an accurate count of deaths and illnesses resulting from all sorts of associated hazards such as toxic or allergenic chemicals & pesticides... transmissible animal diseases like brucellosis, bovine T.B., hydatids, rabies... injuries from wild animals, spiders, snakes... extreme temperatures or deadly weather conditions, etc.

We hope these few Workplace Safety Facts help to increase awareness of possible dangers and risks in your workplace... whether you work in an office, a laboratory, a construction site, a paddock, wherever... Cheers, the Crazy Team.




Workplace Safety Facts...
This is so wrong...

Shame! Shame! Shame!

The powerful & moving video above "Workers in India Die Young of Silicosis" has been restricted!
We're told "This video is not available in your country"...
Was the plight and fate of the young gemstone grinders too unpalatable for squeamish stomaches and guilty minds?
The Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights
(formerly National Labor Committee).

Anyhow... we've replaced it with another video below. The quality is not as good, but will serve to give some idea of a problem (Silicosis) that is estimated to affect the health of millions of people around the world, and kill many tens of thousands each year.

An old WHO report on workplace safety facts estimated Silicosis was killing 30,000 each year in India alone.


Recycling computer parts in India.
NEWSFLASH: May 10, 2013.

Bangladesh Building Collapse Claims Over 1,0000 Lives: ...

An eight-storey garment factory complex which collapsed April 24th has claimed 1,038 lives to date. Another 2,500 workers were rescued from the industrial area 30 kms out of Dhaka, many suffering serious injuries.

The tragedy was apparently caused when generators were started up during a blackout. The owners have been accused of using shoddy building materials, safety and building violations, and not obtaining necessary clearances. It seems cracks had appeared in the building the day before.

The architect who designed the building said it had not been designed to house factories using heavy machinery and that "We designed a six-storey building... There was no way the building was designed to be extended to 9 or 10 floors".

Bangladesh earns 80 percent of its income from its 5,000 garment factories and is the second largest apparel exporter after China.

The tragedy is the world's worst industrial accident since the Bhopal (India) toxic-gas leak in 1984 which killed up to 3,787 according to eventual official estimates, but which others claim ended up causing up to 16,000 gas-related deaths (ref: Wikipedia).

Published May 10th 2013 by IBTimesUK:
Workplace Safety Facts.


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The Internet Revolution, Globalization, and the Global Financial Crisis created the perfect storm... Old Business models are being destroyed and jobs are disappearing offshore at an astonishing rate. Analysts warn that "China and India are poised to out-think us and out-compete us by their sheer numbers" and that "there is no job security now".

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