By The number of workplace injuries in the country has fallen in the first six months of this year, most probably due to suspension of selected workplace activities from April to June caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was reported that the amount of workplace injuries dropped by nearly a quarter from 6,630 between January and June last year to only 4,996 in the first six months of this year.
The figures were released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council on Monday (28 September).
However, the statistics also revealed that there were 16 workplace fatalities this year, a number that is similar to the figure recorded in the same period last year and the year before.
This year’s figure on workplace fatalities remain similar with previous years despite the suspension of certain workplace activities due to the pandemic.
As to the reason to the fatal injuries, MOM said that the leading caused remained to be falls from height and vehicular-related incidents.
The authorities noted that falling from heights is a “key concern” as four such fatalities were recorded in first half of 2020, the same as last year’s figures.
Separately, vehicular-related fatalities dipped from four cases in the first six months of 2019 to three cases in the same period this year.
The main causes for major and minor injuries remained to be the same, which include slips, trips and falls, followed by machinery-related incidents, MOM noted. However, it added that the number of cases “fell significantly”.
A total of 58 major injuries in the first half of the year were related to slips, trips and falls. This year’s figure is a reduction from 90 in the same period last year.
On the other hand, minor injuries related to these reduced from 1,772 in the first half of 2019 to 1,450 in the first half of 2020.
As for machinery-related major injuries in the first half of 2020, 29 cases were recorded. This is a drop as 44 cases were recorded in the same period last year.
Meanwhile, machinery-related minor injuries dropped to 780 in the first half of the year, down from 1,075 in the same period last year.