The Government has called on Irish firms to redouble their efforts to drive down the levels of accidents and absenteeism at work.
It is estimated sick days cost the economy €1.6 billion every year.
Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment Michael Ahern today told a Siptu conference in Cork city that there had been a 25 per cent reduction in work-related deaths since 1989.
However, a total of 63 people have already died in work-related accidents this year. Mr Ahern said most workplace deaths were preventable.
"We have achieved much since 1989 but we need to redouble our efforts to drive down the level and the costs of accidents and ill-health at work," he said.
"We must all recognise, as individuals, the part that each one of us can and must play to ensure safety in the workplace."
Mr Ahern said that the new Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005, would bring in new occupational health and safety standards for the State's two million employees.
He said the legislation has increased fines and penalties to deter the minority who flout health and safety laws. It also includes on-the-spot fines, and directors and managers can be held liable if complicit in deaths and accidents.
"The Act is a serious wake-up call for employers and for workers who ignore safety and health and sends a direct signal to employers and employees alike that they need to act together on safety and health if the national record is to be improved," he said.
The most common causes of accidents at work include slips, trips and falls - but bad lifting habits can also result in back injury.
Research has shown that half of small companies do little or nothing to prevent accidents at work and make no investment in preventing accidents.
The new Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act updates and amends the provisions of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989.
The Act, which was signed into law by the President on June 22nd, 2005, and which came into force on September 1st, is the first major review of occupational health and safety since the report of Mr Justice Barrington in 1983, which led to the 1989 Act and the setting-up of the Health and Safety Authority.
The Minister said today that he will soon sign into law the Construction Regulations and the General Application Regulations - which will bring the building industry into line with requirements under the Act.
PA