More work-related deaths than people realise

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) said official figures on work fatalities from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) "disguised" the true extent of work-related deaths in the UK.

HSE figures put the number of notifiable deaths due to accidents to workers at 241 last year. However, RoSPA said that over 100 members of the public were killed annually in accidents connected with work activity, and that such incidents were under-reported.

In addition, around 1,000 people died in work-related road accidents and many thousands suffered early death due to work-related health issues - with estimates varying from 6,000 to 24,000 cases.

Roger Bibbings, occupational safety adviser for RoSPA, said: “Because workers rarely die in high-profile disasters, their plight and the silent suffering of their families tends to go unnoticed.

"But if one jumbo jet crashed every two weeks killing all 400 people on board there would be a national outcry - and that is the rate at which workers are dying."

Memorial day

His comments were made on Workers' Memorial Day, an international event which commemorates those killed at work.

However, Mr Bibbings said it was important that officials and businesses did not lose sight of those injured or made unwell by their work.

"By focusing only on accident deaths at the top of the casualty iceberg, there is a danger of losing sight of figures for the overall injury and ill-health toll which tend to remain below the water line,” he said.

"There are more than 1.1 million work-related injuries annually – excluding road injuries – and about 2.2 million cases of ill health caused or made worse by work. In all, this is estimated to contribute to about 36 million lost working days. This is equivalent to more than 20 jumbos landing every day in the UK loaded with sick and injured people."

Unions leaders marked the day by claiming that the UK was facing an "epidemic" of occupational ill health, with the TUC publishing a new guide to occupational health for union reps.

Britain's biggest private sector union, called for inspection rights for union health and safety representatives , particularly in the construction industry where around 6 workers were killed every month in Britain.