North-East tops work injury list

 According to recent figures, the North-East of England has the highest rate of work-related illness in the UK. With over 6,060 work-related illnesses per 100,000 workers, the area recorded higher figures than Scotland and London. It did however, record the lowest numbers of work-related deaths at just 5.
The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) also said the region had the highest rate of work-related injuries over the past 12 months with 1,380 per 100,000 workers. The South-East of England recorded the highest number of work-related deaths at 35. According to the report, throughout the whole of the UK, 36 million days were lost during 2006/2007, due to ill health or injury.

Legal action against employers

Officials have pledged to pursue legal action against employers who continually flout safety laws and risk the lives of workers. Judith Hackitt, chair of the HSC, said:-´Never mind banning conkers or Christmas decorations, look at these figures. This is what health and safety is about. The figures released show real risks to real people, every day of their working lives, and the suffering which follows when health and safety processes fail. Employers have a legal duty to protect their employees and visible leadership from the top of the organisation can truly influence health and safety culture in our changing work environments.´
David Snowball, North-East regional director of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) added:- ´We know that health and safety processes are stubborn matters to address, even though precautions are often simple to implement and so that is where we focus our preventive effort with employers, who have a legal duty to protect their employees. We will continue to take enforcement action against those who fail to meet their legal responsibilities to provide healthy and safe work places.´

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