The Department of Labor, Unions, and contractors have recently touted fewer deaths and reduced accidents in the work force as evidence of effective accident prevention. However, it is misleading and self aggrandizing to attribute these statistics to contractor’s safety awareness. OSHA accurately reported the reason for the downturn in accidents.
The devil is in the details.
The truth is that the work place has become an even more dangerous place to be in the past 5 years.
Construction projects are down. Contractors have shut their doors. The construction industry is down along with the economy. Home sales are down. Construction work hours are down.
OSHA documents daily deaths in the work place. Even with the industry down turn, serious injuries and being in mangled on the job have not slowed according to construction safety magazines.
So, what is this dichotomy of work accidents and deaths declining but reported deaths, accidents, and OSHA Citations still showing an increase?
The number one concern for workers in the United States is not wages. It is not work hours or even benefits.
THE NUMBER ONE CONCERN for American Workers is safety.
Why is their concern safety if work deaths and accidents are down significantly? Aren’t American Workers getting what they wanted in reduced accidents and a safer work place? No. Workers continue to be concerned about work safety because they know that it is not getting safer but more dangerous in the work place.
Work accidents and deaths are down because man hours are down with this recession. As a percentage of work hours, work accidents have increased. Economists and business statisticians tell us that in a recession when workers are laid off, businesses become more efficient and production increases. This may be true in some instances but what is clear is that in a recession the first thing to go is safety programs and safety concerns. The work place becomes more dangerous.
Do not let your eagerness to work and earn blind you to safety. Safety is and should continue to be your NUMBER ONE concern.