11,789 workplace accidents registered in 2014

AMMAN — There is no database for work-related accidents in Jordan, except for statistics issued by the Social Security Corporation (SSC) which only cover institutions registered with it, a research centre said Saturday.

However, institutions registered with the SSC employ only 62 per cent of the total workforce in Jordan, the Phenix Centre for Economic and Informatics Studies said in a statement released on the occasion of World Day for Safety and Health at Work, annually observed on April 28.

The centre’s director, Ahmad Awad, said national laws related to workplace safety are compatible with international laws, but the implementation of safety standards varies in small and large companies.

Awad noted that large firms are more committed to applying safety standards than small- and medium-sized businesses.

The weak implementation of safety standards in some workplaces is related to “ineffective inspection campaigns by authorities”, he said, and employees themselves are sometimes unaware of their rights when it comes to safety.

SSC statistics showed that there were 11,789 workplace-related accidents among subscribers in 2014. Of those, 19 per cent were among migrant workers and 6.3 per cent among working women.

Injuries in the transformative industries sector topped the list with 38.2 per cent, followed by retail (14 per cent), while the hospitability sector came third with 13 per cent among hotel employees and 12 per cent among restaurant workers.

Since the establishment of the SSC in 1978 and until last year, total work related injuries stood at 447,000 with 2,400 deaths.

Phenix Centre called on the government to ratify the International Labour Organisation’s resolutions related to work safety to ensure a better and safer work environment.

World Day for Safety and Health at Work is an annual international campaign to promote safe, healthy and decent work. It is held on April 28 and has been observed by the ILO since 2003.

April 28 has also long been associated with the global trade union movement’s commemoration of the victims of occupational accidents and diseases, according to the UN website.

The UN said every year some 2 million men and women lose their lives through accidents and diseases linked to their work. 

In addition, there are 270 million occupational accidents and 160 million occupational diseases each year, costing $2.8 trillion in lost working time and expenses for treatment, compensation and rehabilitation.