SSC: One work injury occurred every 34 minutes in 2014

AMMAN — One work injury occurred every 34 minutes in Jordan in 2014 and one work-related death was registered every three days, the Social Security Corporation (SSC) said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a press conference to announce the findings of the 2013-2014 report on labour injuries in Jordan, SSC Director General Nadia Rawabdeh said most of these injuries are due to the lack of staff training and awareness of health and safety standards of their professions.

"The construction sector registered the highest rate of injuries, standing at 44.7 incidents for each 1,000 SSC subscribers," Rawabdeh told reporters, highlighting that such a situation necessitates a revision of safety and health standards followed in the sector.

Direct cumulative expenses from labour injuries the SSC incurred since its establishment in 1977 have reached JD212 million, of which JD16.2 million was spent in 2014 alone, she said.

Injury leaves in 2014 totalled 97,693 days off, down from 138,541 days registered in 2013, Rawabdeh said, noting that such a decline in injury leaves lowers SSC's injury expenses, increases institutions' productivity and contribute to guaranteeing full wages for employees.

She also highlighted that the number of labour accidents the corporation registered decreased by 3 per cent from 15,879 accidents the SSC spotted in 2013 to 15,395 accidents in 2014.

The corporation labelled 12,756 accidents as labour injuries out of the 15,395 accidents it registered in 2014, with a coverage percentage of 82.9 per cent, while in 2013 the corporation tagged 12,819 accidents as labour injuries out of 15,879 accidents, amounting for 80.7 per cent of the total figure.

The director general added that the SSC will urge institutions to pay more attention to safety and health standards and adopt clear and written policies in this regard with the participation of their workers.

"The general rate for injuries in 2014 declined to 12.2 per 1,000 SSC subscribers, compared to 13 per 1,000 subscribers in 2013," Rawabdeh noted.

Some 77.5 per cent of the injured workers in 2014 have recovered, while permanent injuries and deaths constituted 15.1 per cent of the labour injuries, according to an SSC statement, which highlighted that female injuries stood at 7.4 per cent of the total injuries in 2014.

The agency registered a total of 150 injury deaths in 2014, of which 145 cases were among male workers, compared to 105 deaths in 2013, including 98 fatalities among males, the statement noted.

SSC Spokesperson Musa Sbeihi referred to the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) statistics which showed that a total of 317 million labour injuries occur annually around the world, where 2.3 million workers lose their lives.

“Lack of training, awareness and supervision are main causes for labour injuries,” Sbeihi said, noting that the international cost of these injuries amounts to $3 trillion, which equals 4 per cent of the international GDP.