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Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
The number of workers dying on the job is not falling and should be a call for action, the
American Society of Safety Engineers said this week.
The
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in August 2011, that 4,547 workers died during 2010. That wasn't much of a change from 2009's count of 4,551 on-the-job deaths.
“A statistical plateau of worker fatalities is not an achievement,” ASSE president Terrie S. Norris said in a press release. “But evidence that this nation's effort to protect workers is stalled. These statistics call for nothing less than a new paradigm in the way this nation protects workers”
Cutting occupational safety and health efforts can lead to increased health care costs, production delays and reputation damage.
Curtailing safety because of tough economic times is also not advised, ASSE said.
“When a robust economy returns those companies that have not sustained a safety and health program may be faced with increased work injuries, illnesses, along with increased health and workers compensation costs and the added cost of re-establishing a culture for safety and health,” the press release states.
True, you don't want to be left behind when demand takes off again.