Safety report reveals hazardous trades

Agriculture, fishing and mining were the worst offenders for breaching health and safety guidelines, regular inspections carried out last year found.

More than 20 per cent of visits by health and safety officers to practitioners in the three industries resulted in enforcement notices being served.

This compared to 13 per cent in manufacturing and hotels and restaurants, and 12 per cent in a range of industries, including construction and the retail trade.

The findings are contained in the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) annual report for 2002, published today, which shows complaints investigations increased by 17 per cent to 1,691, and injury investigations by 24 per cent to 1,043.

In parallel with the rise in enforcement is a decrease in the number of serious injuries. Last year, 7,746 workers suffered a serious injury - defined as that resulting in three or more days' absence from work - a decrease of 14 per cent since 1998.

In contrast, the rate of injury to women in the workplace has doubled between 1998 and 2002. The HSA attributes the trend to the significantly increased number of women in the workforce, together with a possible increase in the number of women working in riskier industries.

Some 32 per cent of all serious injuries were sustained when workers were handling, lifting and carrying. Slips, trips and falls accounted for 19 per cent of serious injuries, while 11 per cent were caused by falling objects or hand tools.

The HSA's chief executive, Mr Tom Beegan, said the drop in serious injury reflected "the improved commitment to health and safety from both employers and workers".

He noted the HSA secured a "landmark conviction" earlier this year, when a Galway retail outlet was fined for breach of manual handling legislation. "The message must go out loud and clear that all companies have a duty to protect their staff by providing proper risk assessments, equipment and training," he said.