No room for complacency after drop in workplace deaths

Thursday 2 September 1999

A 30 percent fall in the number of work related fatalities has been welcomed by both the Occupational Safety and Health Service (OSH) and the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC).

Both organisations warned however that there is no room for complacency in the drive to lower the number of workplace deaths.

They were commenting on the findings of research released today into work related deaths in New Zealand between 1985 and 1994. The research builds on a previous project and makes it possible to track trends in New Zealand occupational fatalities over the 20 years from 1975 to 1994.

Over the decade 1985 to 1994 work-related deaths have fallen from 5.7 deaths per 100,000 employees to 3.9, a decrease of over 30%. In the 20 years since 1975 the decrease has been 51%.

The results are part of a larger project being undertaken by the NZ Environmental and Occupational Health Research Centre and the Injury Prevention Research Unit, University of Otago.

ACC and OSH commissioned the research to enhance their respective injury prevention strategies.

"Research such as this plays an important role in the design and implementation of strategies to reduce work-related fatalities," according to OSH spokesperson, Graeme Cahalane.

"It also provides an excellent base for further research into workplace fatalities" he said

ACC spokesperson Craig Dowling said that "the researchers are to be commended for producing a robust and important report that builds on the platform laid by the original research."

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"The findings will enable ACC and other preventative agencies to more accurately target our preventative strategies at the same time as raising awareness of the issues surrounding safety in particular work environments."

The extent of improvement varied significantly across occupations and industries.

This was highlighted by Anne-Marie Feyer, head of the research team. "The construction sector has had a substantial 30% reduction in deaths, however other high-risk areas such as agriculture, forestry and fishing showed more modest reductions of 10%," she said.

The study will enable better targeting of preventive strategies. However, it should be viewed as a first step as further research is needed into the specific areas of Maori deaths, fatalities on the roads (which were not included in this study), and overseas comparisons.

A review of Maori work-related fatalities is currently underway and two other studies are planned.

The study into work-related road fatalities is important as these may increase the work toll by around 35%.

"Once this is done a comparative study of New Zealand’s work toll and other countries can be implemented. This study is critical if New Zealand industry and preventative agencies are to benchmark against international rates," she concluded.