We contribute to improving the quality of working life

Transcription

1 We contribute to improving the quality of working life March 2013

2 Table of Contents ESTONIAN WORK ENVIRONMENT IN HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK... 5 INSPECTION OF HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK... 5 WORK ACCIDENTS OCCUPATIONAL AND WORK-RELATED DISEASES LABOUR RELATIONS INSPECTION OF LABOUR RELATIONS APPLICATIONS FOR CONSENT OF A LABOUR INSPECTOR INSPECTION OF WORKING AND REST TIME OF DRIVERS OF MOTOR VEHICLES MISDEMEANOUR PROCEDURES, FINES ADVISORY WORK NATIONAL INFORMATION AND TRAINING ACTIVITIES

3 Estonian Work Environment in 2012 The inspection activities in the field of health and safety at work are directly influenced both by the number of employed people and the number of enterprises in different fields of activity. Based on the number of employed people the year 2012 was characterized by an on-going upward trend. Compared to 2010, employees are back on the labour market. Figure1 Increase in the number of employed people is also confirmed by the data of the Statistics Estonia by fields of activities, on the basis of which compared to the previous year the number of employed people aged has increased by 3% or ~ by employees. There were no major changes in the number of employees in larger fields of activity compared to 2011, only perhaps the processing industry can be brought out, where the number of employed decreased by 3500 people. The increase was more prominent in administrative and support activities and in the education sector where 5500 employees were accrued. Figure2 2

4 Improvement in the economic environment shows the number of new companies. As it can be seen in the chart below the number of companies operating was the smallest in the second quarter of 2010 and we can see a positive upward trend since the second quarter of 2011.The number of companies with more than 5 employees was the largest in August By December the number of companies had slightly decreased but here it may be explained by the fact that these companies operated only during the summer period and they do not have staff in autumn and winter. Figure3 In addition to the changes in numbers of employed and enterprises we monitor changes in the work environment via changes in unemployment/employment rates, the working age population and the change in the proportion of young workers. We also monitor changes in the financial soundness index, which to a greater or lesser extent, gives an idea of possible changes in the number of labour disputes. The higher the level of confidence in the economy, the less problems there are in the workplace between employees and employers.the more complicated the situation is in the economy in general, the more complicated are the relationships, the resolution of which will increase the need for recourse to labour dispute committees. The absolute number of accidents at work, the main indicator of work environment, increased by nearly 11% compared to 2011 i.e. by 404 accidents at work. The proportion of work accidents per employees has also increased by 8% i.e. 664 work accidents (in ). However, the number of serious accidents remained stable compared to last year and there were 14 fatal work accidentsin 2012, i.e. five fewer than the year before. The causes of accidents at work result primarily from the increased intensity of work and recruitment of new employees with limited work experience or who have not been sufficiently instructed and trained on safety measures. Each year reporting of accidents at work improves, which contributes to the decrease of the number of hidden work accidents. THE NUMBER OF LABOUR DISPUTES has remained the same as in In 2012 the number of applications submitted to the Labour Dispute Committees was 2983, out of which 335 from employers and 2648 from employees applications in all were submitted in 2011, 281 by employers and 2628 by employees. Based on the objective of the Labour Inspectorate to ensure more efficient and effective supervision, somewhat less inspection visits of enterprises were carried out in 2012 than in the previous years, but all the more thoroughly. The number of enterprises inspected has decreased mainly due to the decrease in the number of inspectors carrying out surveillance. 3

5 The number of infringements detected decreased, however, the number of infringements per enterprise visit increased. The proportion of enterprises where infringments had been detected increased. The level of elimination of infringements detected on time has considerably improved. Or in other words, supervision of enterprises has become more effective and it can be concluded that employers correctly comply with safety requirements. In the frames of communication and information activity and with the assistance of the European Social Fund information days on work environment and labour relations and training of work environment specialists and managers of SMEs were carried out in 2012 all over Estonia. The electronic Newsletter of the Labour Inspectorate was regularly issued and delivered to subscribers and information on labour relations and work environment was regularly published in local press and city websites. Collection and recognition of best practices is an ongoing activity, more information is available on the website of the Labour Inspectorate. THE EUROPEAN AGENCYFOR SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK CAMPAIGN ON WORKING TOGETHER FOR RISK PREVENTION The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) launched the campaign on healthy work places Working together for risk prevention for , the aim of which is to encourage managers, workers, representatives and other stakeholders to work together to manage risks in the workplace. In Estonia the campaign is coordinated by the Focal Point in the administrative area of the Labour Inspectorate of Estonia. The campaign of focuses on prevention and management of risks; encouraging managers to actvively participate in reducing risks, encouraging workers, their representatives and other stakeholders to collaborate with employers in reducing risks. To achieve the goals, the main focus of the campaign was on such information materials as reports, practical instructions and guidelines, leaflets, posters and DVD-s. More than ten useful materials meant both for employers and for employees have been translated into Estonian, which are available electronically and on paper. The website of the campaign in the Estonian language is available here: In the frames of the campaign a press conference, partnership workshops twice, roundtables for journalists twice, a good practice workshop and XIV World Day for Safety and Health at Work and the European Week for Safety and Health in October 2012 were organized in Estonia. The leitmotif of all the campaign events was managing risks together and more than 300 people in all participated in the events. Information on EU-OSHA events in Estonia is available in the Working Life website (OSH and labour relations) 4

6 Health and Safety at Work Inspection of Health and Safety at Work In 2012 during inspection visits on health and safety at work 2843 enterprises were visited in all, covering 19% of enterprises with 5 or more employees in Estonia. Figure 4 Compared to previous years, the number of enterprises, visited with the aim of inspection of work environment, has somewhat decreased, but in the light of results, inspection visits have become more comprehensive. Infringements detected are dealt with more thoroughly, timely compliance with requirements is observed and in case of noncompliance with requirements substantially more sanctions are imposed. In addition to inspection of work environment, also 1537 target inspection visits were conducted, the aim of which was to find out more problematic fields of activity in the work environment and to make employees and employers aware of them. It is a good sign that the relative importance of such topical target inspection visits has increased. In 2012 the topics of national target inspections were: Target inspection on psychosocial risk factors; Target inspection on management of health and safety at work; Target inspection of construction sites; Labour relations and compliance with OSH requirements in corporate chains. The topics of target inspections of local inspectorates were: IN THE WORK AREA OF THE PÕHJA (NORTH ESTONIAN) INSPECTORATE: Target inspection of accidents at work; Target inspection of risk factors; IN THE WORK AREA OF THE LÕUNA (SOUTH ESTONIAN) INSPECTORATE: Safety atadjustment, repair and maintenance of work equipment; Biological risks at waste management andresidential care; Ergonomics at sewing companies; 5

7 Action plan developed by employers and implementation of measures for mitigation of risks of work accidents. IN THE WORK AREA OF THE IDA (EAST ESTONIAN) INSPECTORATE: Lifting equipment andtechnical aids; Physiological risk factors and organization of health examination at enterprises; Target inspection of work equipment; IN THE WORK AREA OF THE LÄÄNE (WEST ESTONIAN) INSPECTORATE: Safety of lifting; Physiological risk factors in offices. Conclusions of target inspection results can be found in the Annex to the Annual Report in the Estonian language. Inspection of new premises and market control of PPE s are also the responsibility of the Labour Inspectorate, and were performed at 224 and 32 enterprises respectively. Based on complaints enterprises were visited in 94 cases, due to cases of occupational diseases or investigation of accidents at work 377 times in all. Inspection results of work environment When planning inspection activities in 2012 risk rates of enterprises were introduced for the first time, which change in time and is formed from several factors. Risk rates depend on the risk level of the activity of the enterprise, the last visit of the enterprise, inspection results, number of employees and the number of work accidents, cases of occupational diseases and work-related diseases in the enterprise. Based on the figures risk rate is formed for each enterprise. The higher the risk rate is, the sooner it gets in the list of enterprises to be inspected. Work environment inspections together with assessment of the work environment and employer`s activity were performed at 1380 enterprises, i.e. 9% of enterprises with more than 5 employees 1 (in i.e. 12%). In 2012 enterprises of the following fields of activity were inspected most: wholesale and retail trade enterprises (8% of enterprises in the field of activity); construction (9%); education (23%); transport and storage (9%); public administration and national defense (32%); agriculture and hunting - 77 (21%); metal industry - 74 (9%); accommodation and catering - 74 (10%); wood industry - 59 (16%). 1 No of enterprises with more than 5 employees (14 622) based on the data of the information system of the Labour Inspectorate (ITI) 6

8 Figure5 Compared to the previous years the choice of fields of activity in 2012 has been influenced to a great extent by the number of enterprises that had not been inspected in the field, e.g. in the sector of public administration and education. As these secors have not been included as high-risk activities like industrial enterprises, then in 2012 the proportion of inspection of enterprises in this sector has considerably increased just because inspectors have not visited them for several years. For instance in the field of education there were 130 employers who had not been inspected in the millenium. However, when comparing occurrence of work accidents in these sectors, then e.g. in the sector of public administration and national defence the number of work accidents is large and it seems to be a growing trend. So the increase in inspections of these enterprises can be considered as a reasonable activity. The construction sector has been inspected during the last few years rather in the course of target inspection visits, which means that the overall inspection of construction enterprises has been replaced by specific inspection of construction sites, enabling better to identify infringements that may directly cause work accidents. Assessments given on risk factors of work environment at enterprises and employer`s activity Taking into account all factors, labour inspectors assessed work environment of enterprises as follows: Table 1. Assessments given at inspection of work environment Good 34% 39% 53% 59% 58% Rather good 48% 43% 26% 22% 23% Rather bad 13% 12% 13% 11% 9% Bad 5% 6% 8% 7% 10% Thus, on an average in 81% of enterprises positive assessment was given to management of risk factors and work environment activities (in % and in %). When comparing the results with the ones of four years back, we can say that the number of enterprises with good work environment has considerably increased. 7

9 Estimates show that in nearly 80% of enterprises there are no major problems related to work environment and employers themselves have a concern in good work environment. Unfortunately, in nearly 20% of enterprises not much attention is paid to work environment activities before a labour inspector`s visit. Follow-up inspection activity reveals that the majority of them, however, improve their work environment so that it is in line with requirements. But as it turned out from the results of assessment conducted during follow-up inspection visits, in 7% of enterprises work environment activity was still assessed as bad or rather bad. To illustrate the changes in assessments given during the last five years, assessment on risk factors of enterprises have been brought out in the Figure below (Figure6) and on employers` activities (Figure Figure7). The %-s brought out in the Figures are given on the basis of enterprises where the risk factor occurred or the activity was required. As it can be seen in Figure Figure6, assessments on risk factors in the work environment are relatively similar as compared to previous years. However, such risk factors as paths, mobile work equipment, dangerous exposures to moving parts of work equipment and danger of falling from height have got worse year after year. On the one hand these estimates show the situation of enterprises but on the other, also labour inspectors have started to draw more and more attention to these risk factors. Figure6 8

10 Estimates on employers`activities (Figure7) show that also similarly to previous years problematic aspects and activities have remained the same. Training and instruction of employees was most frequently assessed as bad or rather bad, even in 52% of enterprises assessed in 2012 (in %). Such a result is the worst of the last five years. One of the reasons of such results is doubtless more attention drawn by labour inspectors themselves to the circumstances. Which in its turn means that training and instruction of employees is one of the most essential activities for the employer to be inspected by labour inspectors. Unfortunately, insufficient training and instruction of employees is one of the main causes of work accidents. Nomination of work environment representatives and existance of work environment specialists is still a problem in many enterprises or their activity was not in compliance with requirements, but the situation is slowly improving in this area. Assessments on the presence and use of personal protective equipment, employers are obliged to provide, have also deteriorated. Figure7 In more than 90% enterprises arrangement of working time, mitigation of explosion hazards (in enterprises where this risk factor is present), management of psycho-social risk factors, indoor climate, availability of welfare premises and arrangement of investigation of accidents at work and occupational diseases, reduction of the influence of vibration and lighting to health were assessed as good or rather good. Assessments on arrangement of working time were predominantly very good because compliance with requirements of working and rest time are checked in the course of work environment inspections in general, because the labour inspectors`main focus is rather on safety at work. A thorough inspection of working and rest time at enterprises is conducted by labour inspectors-lawyers, who as a rule identify more infringements. Compared to assessments of previous years it is a good sign that the biggest changes for the better have taken place in those activities that mostly affect the health of a human being activities related to mitigation of biological and psychological risk factors, prevention of explosion hazard, dangerous chemicals, manual handling of loads and better arrangement of health examination. 9

11 FOLLOW-UP INSPECTIONS were carried out in 388 enterprises during the year, i.e. 14% of inspected enterprises. The relative importance of follow-up inspections of all enterprise visits has been decreasing year by year, which is caused by the fact that the submitted requirements are met increasingly better by employers. The percentage of requirements complied with in time has increased from 76% to 88% during the year. Thus, since employers have started to better comply with requirements, the Labour Inspectorate has less reason to conduct follow-up inspections. In the course of follow-up inspections risk factors of the work environment and OSH activities were assessed as follows: Table 2. Assessments given at inspection visits Good 42% 47% 65% 71% 69% Rather good 53% 48% 28% 23% 25% Rather bad 5% 4% 4% 3% 4% Bad 1% 1% 2% 2% 3% At about 94% of enterprises work environment was assessed as good or rather good in the course of follow-up inspection visits. Major changes compared to the situation during initial and follow-up inspection of enterprises concern problems related to noise; paths have been cleaned up, possibilities to exposure to moving work equipment were assessed, measures to avoid exposure to dangerous chemicals were taken. However, it is evident that e.g. to improve organisation of health control within a given term still pose difficulties to enterprises, it was noticed at about 20% of enterprises covered by follow-up inspection visits. 10% of enterprises could not select persons responsible for work environment by the time of follow-up inspection visit i.e. there was neither a work environment specialist, a work environment representative nor work environment council, who should deal with better organisation of work environment in the future. ON THE GROUND OF COMPLAINTS 94 enterprises were inspected in On the basis of complaints enterprises of construction and trade sectors were visited more frequently. Complaints on construction enterprises were mostly submitted by anxious citizens, who had noticed construction workers without personal protective equipment at construction sites, mostly on roofs. Commercial establishments have an open work environment and citizens inform the Labour Inspectorate of problems they notice. Since 2012 hints submitted to the Labour Inspectorate are registered with a link to the enterprise, on the basis of which activities of the enterprise are checked and/or the information is available, so it enables to pay attention to the information when planning an inspection visit to the enterprise. On the ground of complaints enterprises in Tartu and East-Viru Counties were inspected most. Fellow citizen are especially attentive regarding working of minors. For instance, they definitely notice when minors work on construction sites, or even worse, if they work on roofs with no protective equipment. The Labour Inspectorate is very grateful for this information, because that way we will be able to respond quickly and prevent accidents. INFRINGEMENTSI of requirements of different legal acts were identified in the course of inspection in (in ), 84% of which were formalised in notices (in %). As compared to the year 2011 the number of non-compliances discovered has decreased, but still infringements were established in 82% of enterprises visited (in % of enterprises). 88% of requirements issued by inspectors were timely met in 2012 (in %). Thus, it is good to note that enterprises have paid more attention to compliance with requirements of safety at work and in cases infringements had been established, requirements were met more accurately than in previous years. The number of infringements detected also indicates more in depth inspection of enterprises. When in 2008 in the course of an enterprise visit 3-4 infringements were detectedon an average, then in 10

12 2012 the number was 5-6. Such results show that labour inspectors have become more thorough and the employers`attention is drawn more and more to compliance with occupational health and safety requirements. Figure8 Analysis of infringements by legal acts reveals during the last five years the relative importance of infringements directly resulting from OSH of the total number of infringements has considerably decreased. However, the number of infringements of OSH requirements related to the use of work equipment and nonobservance of OSH requirements at construction sites has increased. The Figure below shows the most frequent infringements by legal acts. Figure9 Infringements of requirements of the OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT were identified 3525 times, i.e. 29% of the total number of infringements (in %). For instance, based on the Occupational Health and Safety Act the majority of infringements detected concerned the lack of 11

13 safety instructions on works carried out and work equipment used 408 or at every seventh enterprise, in 2011 such infringements were established in every sixth enterprise. Risk assessment, the arrangement of which has posed a major problem for years, had still not been conducted in 474 i.e. in every 8 th enterprise (in 2011 in every 7 th i.e. in 453 enterprises). Risk assessment had been performed, but insufficiently, in 336 i.e. in every 8 th enterprise, the result was the same also in To sum it up, we may say that continuously there are problems with conducting of risk assessment in every fourth enterprise inspected. It is good to note that the number and percentage of such enterprises, where risk assessment has not been conducted at all, is declining year by year, at the same time we can see more and more problems at those enterprisetes, where risk assessment has once been conducted, however, they are not up-to date and are no longer in line with the changed work environment. Inspectors identify more and more that once prepared risk assessments are not in line with the actual situation or risks have been underestimated. Thus, risk assessment of an enterprise cannot be just a one-time written document on paper but it must be in line with the development and changes of the enterprise and thus the risk assessment must be reviewed again and again and updated. Internal control of work environment was insufficient in every ninth enterprise and the person responsible for work environment i.e. work environment specialist had not been nominated in every eighth enterprise. Taking the results for the basis the organization of the whole work environment should be systematically examined. The work environment situation of enterprises would considerably improve if the employers determined people responsible for work environment (work environment specialist, work environment representative), who would systematically conduct or have work environment risk assessment conducted, would identify work environment risk factors and based on the results could prepare necessary safety instructions on work to be carried out and work equipment to be used, as a result of which the number of possible violations would considerably decrease. Infringements resulting from non-compliance with OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR THE USE OF WORK EQUIPMENT were identified in 1713 cases i.e. 14% of the total number of infringements (in i.e. 10% of infringements). Since 2012 labour inspectors have started to draw attention to the safe use of work equipment, both the number of violations and the proportion of such violations as compared to other infringements have increased. Here we mean especially infringements related to the presence and use of devices ensuring safety of equipment (protective covers, etc.) and check of good technical condition of work equipment, that is not performed. Infringements of the requirements of the PROCEDURE FOR TRAINING AND IN-SERVICE TRAINING REGARDING OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY were registered in 1478 cases i.e. 12% of the infringements (in cases i.e. 13% of the infringements). Based on the Procedure the requirement of primary and supplementary instruction of workers is most frequently not observed, it was established 692 times i.e. in every fourth enterprise. However, these results show directly that the companies still do not address issues related to prevention of accidents at work. It is the instruction and training of workers that are the key elements in avoiding accidents at work. Introductory instruction, training and inservice-training of first-aid providers, complimentary training for work environment specialists, etc. must also be mentioned here. Infringements resulting from non-compliances of OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS AT CONSTRUCTION SITES were established 989 times. The increase of infringements of building regulation is definitly due to the fact that more target inspections were performed at construction enterprises, in the course of which safety at work at construction sites was mainly inspected. Such violations as safety of working at heights is not ensured; personal protective equipment is not used; scaffoldings 12

14 and ladders are not in line with requirements; paths, clearance zoneand/or danger zones are not in compliance with requirements; no welfare facilities in line with requirements, etc. can be brought out here. One of the reasons of increase of such violations is definitely more extensive and thorough inspection of the construction sector, so it is expected that the better identification and elimination of such infringements contributes to reducing the number of accidents at work in the construction sector. The Figure below reveals most common OSH infringements regardless which legal act they are based on: Figure10 WITH THE AIM TO ELIMINATE AN INFRINGEMENT, WORK WAS SUSPENDED in 229 cases and the use of work equipment was forbidden in 581 cases (in 2011 the respective figures were 176 and 459). Suspension of work with the aim to eliminate violations has been resorted to more and more year after year, which in turn means that inspectors have become more demanding and dangerous situations are liquidated quickly. The majority of the cases when work was suspended still took place at construction works. The most common causes were that scaffolding and work platforms were not in line with requirements, personal protective equipment was not used, also work equipment was not in working order. In other fields of activity when devices ensuring safety of work equipment did not meet requirements. The use of work equipment was forbidden mostly when the devices ensuring safety of work equipment, lifting equipment or work equipment meant for temporary work did not meet requirements. WARNINGS OF PENALTY PAYMENT for non-observance of requirements were imposed in 555 cases in all, in the amount of euros. Penalty payment was enforced in 7 cases, in the amount of 1210 euros (in 2011 in 31 cases, in the amount of 9867 euros). As compared to the previous years the need to enforce penalty payment has considerably decreased. 13

15 Work accidents According to the data submitted to the Labour Inspectorate 4148 work accidents happened in 2012, of which in 3324 cases employees suffered from aminor bodily injury, in 810cases a serious bodily injury and in 14 cases the employee died as a result of the work accident. Compared to 2011 the number of registered accidents at work has increased about 11% i.e. by 404 cases. Figure11 However, the National Audit Office highlighted the fact that in Estonia there is no veritable statistics on accidents at work as compared to the other EU Member States and compared to weighted data by the Statistlcs Estonia, based on survey research, we must recognise the fact that in Estonia accidents at work are registered 2,6times less than can be seen from research surveys. The statistics on accidents at work drawn up by the Labour Inspectorate is based on data officially submitted by employers. In 2012 BY THE LEVEL OF SEVERITY approximately 400 minor work accidents were registred more than the year before, the number of serious work accidents increased by 13 cases. The number of fatal accidents decreased by five cases. Compared to 2011 the number of serious work accidents has practically remained the same, however, the number of minor work accidents has increased approximately by 14%. It is good to note that the proportion of serious and fatal work accidents of the total number of work accidents has considerably decreased. Figure12 14

16 THE RATIO OF WORK ACCIDENTS PER EMPLOYEES has increased by 8%. The ratio is related to the number of employed, aged in the county and field of activity. Based on the data on 2012 the number of employed in Estonia was (in ). Thus, 664 accidents at work were registered per employees, including 532 minor, 130 serious and 2 fatal work accidents in 2012 (in 2011 the respective numbers were 615 work accidents, 481 minor, 131 serious and3 fatal accidents at work). The increased number of workers in general, including new workers at work places and the slightly increased production intensity can be regarded as one of the reasons of increase of proportion of accidents at work. The analysis of accidents at work confirms that the majority of work accidents take place with workers who have worked less than a year, one of the reasons of which could be insufficient instruction and training. On the other hand notification of work accidents has significantly improved, which in its turn means that the number of work accidents is likely to increase in the coming years. Communication activity of the Labour Inspectorate has contributed to better notification of work accidentsthrough which the awareness of both employers and employees has grown. Figure13 WORK ACCIDENTS BY THE COUNTIES were registred mostly in Tallinn and Harju and Tartu County, where the number of work accidents has continually been increasing during the recent years. Less than a year ago work accidents happened only in Ida-Viru, Järva, Jõgeva, Lääne and Võru Counties. Work accidents per employees are continually registred mostly in Lääne-Viru County. The number of registred work accidents is characterized on the one hand by a very good notification level of work accidents by doctors and employers, especially concerning minor accidents at work and on the other by the number of employed in the county. For instance based on the data of Statistics Estonia in 2012 the number of employed in Lääne-Viru County was , however, 358 work accidents were registred. Thus, Lääne-Viru County is not a county with the largest number of employed in Estonia, but such large industries as food and wood industry are located there, where unfortunately more work accidents happen than in less dangerous fields of activity. Compared to the last year, the number of work accidents per employees has increased in nearly all counties, with the exception of Järva and Jõgeva Counties, where in both counties the number of employees has increased but the number of work accidents has still decreased. 15

17 Thus, we can much better track the change in the proportion of accidents occurred in counties than in absolute figures because it is influenced both by the change in the number of employees and in the number of accidents at work in the county. Therefore, we can say that the least number of work accidents were registered per in Võru, Ida-Viru and Lääne Counties, but in 2011in Rapla, Valga and Hiiu Counties. Figure14 The number of accidents at work taken place OUTSIDE THE REPUBLIC OF ESTONIA has increased year by year, when in work accidents took place outside Estonia, then in , of which two were fatal accidents at work. Most of the accidents at work taken place outside the Republic happened in Finland (63) mainly with Estonian construction workers. Outside the EU Member States 54 accidents at work were registered, most of them in Afghanistan, in the Peace Corps. Namely, accidents at work taken place with people in the peacekeeping force are also considered as work accidents in Estonia.The Labour Inspectorate was notified 18 times of work accidents taken place in Sweden, when either workers in shipbuilding or drivers of motor vehicles were injured. BY FIELDS OF ACTIVITIES for the fourth year in a row the majority of accidents at work were registered not in production and manufacturing sectors but in public administration and national defence. Pursuant to the activities in the public sector and national defence, accidents at work involve mainly employees of the Police Forces, Rescue Board and Prison Board and peacekeepers of the national defence. When we look at the change in the number of accidents at work in the last five years, the number of accidents has increased mostly in public administration and national defense sector, in trade, transport, wood industry, administrative and support service activities, health care, catering, education, furniture industry and the real estate sector. For example, in 2012 in processing industry there were 110 accidents more than during the year before, in the sectors of public administration and national defense the number of work accidents increased by 84, in health care sector by 77. It is good to note that the number of registered accidents at work has rather increased more by minor work accidents, which could mean that more and more minor injuries are registred, which in previous years were not considered important to be registered and notified to the Labour Inspectorate. The number of accidents at work has continuously been increasing in administration and support activities, where in 2008 the number of accidents at work registered was 98, but in 2012 the number of work accidents in this field was already 299. The majority of cases registered in this field concern 16

18 security workers and agency workers. As for security workers the increase in cases of violence towards them has been noted, also the number of accidents at work due to fall has grown. As for agency workers the analysis of the cases is a bit more complicated, as the agency workers hold various positions and work at various sectors. Regarding these employees we can assume that they are more likely to have a work accidents because they have not sufficiently received training and instruction on occupational health and safety. Figure15 In the fields of activities in processing industry the largest number of accidents at work PER EMPLOYEES were registered: in wood industry (1817), food industry (1758) and furniture industry (1157). From other sectors the largest ratio of accidents at work concerned administration and support activities (1403) and public administration and nationanal defence (1240). In most fields of activity the ratio of work accidents has increased as compared to the year before, it has decreased to some extent only in paper industry, fishery, wood industry and in the field of administration and support activities. Though in the construction sector there are a lot of accidents at work, including serious ones, with workers it is not such a dangerous field of activity as can be predicted. Here one of the causes could be the proportion of concealment of accidents at work in the construction sector. Based on the weighted data by the Statistics Estonia it is known that actually there are five times more accidents at work in the construction sector than officially registered. Figure16 17

19 THE NUMBER OF SERIOUS WORK ACCIDENTS increased by 13 cases. In 2012 most of the serious accidents at work happened in the sector of construction and metal industry (more than 90), more than 60 work accidents resulting in serious bodily injury were registred also in the transport sector, trade and wood industry. Compared to the previous year the number of serious accidents has increased in construction, manufacture of chemical products, rubber and plastic products and public administration and national defence. For instance, the number of serious work accidents in manufacture of chemicals, rubber and plastic products has increased due to working with cutting equipment cutting presses, plate cutters, angle cutters, etc. The number of accidents on the same level have also increased, not even related to falls, but trips, which again means that paths in the production facilities must be free and objects hindering movement must be cleared away from paths. More than a third of serious accidents at work are accidents caused by slips and falls resulting in arm or leg fractures that are classified as serious bodily injuries on the basis of diagnosis. Thus, many serious accidents at work are not caused by risks and hazards related to production/processing but also paths along which workers move. 14 FATAL ACCIDENTS AT WORK were registred in 2012 (in ; in , in ). By the venue of the county 4 fatal accidents at work took place in Tallinn, 3 in Lääne-Viru County and 1 in Ida-Viru, in Pärnu, in Rapla, in Saare andin Viljandi Counties. Outside Estonia there were two fatal accidents at work, one work accident happened in Latvia, the other in France. In fatal accidents at work four took place in transport sector and three in construction sector. In agriculture, metal industry and public administration and national defence two fatal accidents at work took place and in the field of mining one fatal work accident happened. THE MOST FREQUENT CAUSES OF INVESTIGATED WORK ACCIDENTS according to employers`points of view and inspectors` investigation results were as follows: Table 3. Causes of investigated work accidents Causes brought out by employers/ Causes identified by inspectors Violation of occ.safety requirements by employees 67% 27% Other causes 21% 17% Insufficient training and instruction 12% 20% Work equipment not in line with OSH requirements 10% 17% Violation of OSH requirements by another employee 8% 4% Insufficient internal control 7% 18% Constr. sites, premises or paths not in 4% 6% line with occ. safety requirements Non-use of personal protective equipment 4% 1% Lack of personal protective equipment 0% 3% Compared to previous years employers have started more and more to identify the true causes of accidents at work. The number of such reports where the only cause of an accident at work was stated as other causes has decreased. At the same time the largest differencies between findings by inspectors and employers, concern identification if internal control had been sufficient at the work place to prevent the accident at work. Regarding 1% of cases of serious work accidents employers have stated fatigue of the worker as the cause. 18

20 Other circumstances of work accidents statistically In men and 1602 women were injured as a result of an accident at work, meaning that 61% of work accidents took place with men (in 2011 the respective figures were 2413 men and 1328 women, the relative importance of men was 64%). The majority of work accidents involved workers aged 25-34, especially men in the age group. Most accidents with women happened in the age group of accidents at work took place with young people aged 15 to 24 in 2012 (in ). The youngest injured person suffering from an accident at work was only 16 years old and the oldest was 81 years old. Figure17 When we look at the proportion of work accidents taken place only with men by fields of activities, then most of the accidents happen in the sector of processing industry metal and wood industry, then in the sector of public administration and national defence and then the construction sector. The majority of accidents at work with women also happen in the sectors of processing industry, but mostly in food industry and wood industry. Then come retail and wholesale trade, which are followed by health care sector. Figure18 19

21 BY FIELDS OF ACTIVITIES- the so-called fields of activities for men can be considered construction and mining sectors and the relative importance of work accidents taken place with women is the biggest in finance and insurance activities, education and health care sectors, this can be explained by the fact that in these fields the percentage of workers of the respective gender is considerably higher. Figure19 The Labour Inspectorate and the European Statistical Office Eurostat collect data also on circumstances of work accidents, why the accidents have happened. As it can be seen from Figure 20, the majority of work accidents have been caused by loss of control over machinery, work equipment, means of transportation or animals. The second place is continually taken by accidents caused by slips, trips, falls, which result in serious bodily injuries (37% of the total number of serious work accidents). Such seemingly simple accidents that need not be related to the work process, however, account for 24% of the total number of work accidents. Again, these cases can significantly be reduced in the work environment when more attention is paid to maintenance of paths. The proportion of such accidents has increased where the employee himself is involved in the work process and does not do anything wrong but e.g. due to inattentiveness, etc. slips on the work surface or when closing a door fingers may be caught between the door or he may lean aginst an unstable object, which e.g. falls on the employee`s foot, etc. 20

22 Figure20 It can be seen from the Figure below how different factors contribute to varying degrees of injuries. Contact with sharp tools rather causes minor injuries, serious injuries are diagnosed more often as a result of falls and fatal work accidents are mostly caused by falling of different objects onto the victim, as a result of which the employee has been caught under the falling object. Figure21 21

23 Occupational and work-related diseases In 2012 the Labour Inspectorate received notifications of diagnosis of occupation diseases (OD) concerning 57 workers and notifications of work-related diseases (WRD) concerning 172 cvases. As compared to the previous years, the number of diagnosis of cases of occupational diseases has somewhat decreased, but unfortunatelywe cannot say that it is because the work environment has considerably changed for the better. Causes should be rather looked from procedures related to diagnosis of occupational diseases and social problems. For instance, loss of wages during the former economic recession made peoplesearch for all kinds of possible incomes, be it even compensation for an occupational disease. It was also indicated by a bigger increase in diagnosis of cases of occupational diseases. Now, however, such an incentive is not topical any more and people try to be active on the labour market rather than deal with health problems. The number of work-related diseases (WRD-s) has increased to some extent, which in essence can be a prior diagnosis for an occupational disease, but not always. However, the figure is indicative of continuous worsening of health among the labour force in Estonia, as WRD-s are mainly diagnosed during health examination at an occupational health physician which employers are required to arrange based on the procedure of health examination of employees. Figure22 However, it must be still noted that when we compare the number of people with a WRD or an occupational disease with the number of people in other Europeancountries, it is evident that both OD-s and WRD-s are underdiagnosed in Estonia. BY FIELDS OF ACTIVITY OF ENTERPRISES 40% of cases of an OD were diagnosed in the sector of processing industry at employees of wood industry, textile industry, metal industry and food industry. From other fields of activity we can bring out occupations related to agriculture, hunting, forestry sectors and also trade. About a third of cases of work-related diseases concerned workers of processing industry metal, wood, food and furniture industry. From other fields of activity we should name trade, agriculture and health care. 22

24 Figure23 Work environment risk factors, causing occupational diseases at diagnosing were identified as follows: the biggest threats continue to be repetitive stereotypical movements and wrong working position.the number of illnesses caused by vibration and noise has slightly decreased. Figure24 It is evident from the diagnosis of WRD-s that such risk factors affect workers` health mainly as manual handling of loads, forced positions causing fatigue and repetitive stereotypic movements. Looking at the changes over the period of five years, then the number of health problems caused e.g. by noise has considerably decreased, meaning that this risk factor is more easily managed in the work environment. However, more attention should be paid to health risks due to manual handling of loads and better work organisation related to it. 23

25 Figure25 BY OCCUPATIONS work-related diseases were diagnosed most frequently in 2012 at cooks, shopassistants, cattle-breeders and cleaners, however, occupational diseases at seamstresses, cattlebreeders, operators of agricultural machinery and shop-assistants. All those workers have a common denominator working in forced position, monotonous work or manual handling of loads. BY AGE occupational diseases were diagnosed mostly at employees aged 55-64, but work-related diseases were diagnosed mostly among employees aged Conspicuous is the fact that women are at a younger age group more frequently diagnosed with an occupational or work-related disease than men, which might suggest that women either go to health control sooner or care about their health more seriously and dare to speak of their health problems during health examination. Figure26 When we look five years back in time, then nearly half of the cases of WRD-s were diagnosed among people aged However, there has been an increase in the proportion of older workers. In 2011 there were four cases of WRD-s at people younger than 25 years of age, which is particularly worrying. In 2012 there were no notifications of so young employees. The most frequent risk factors for young workers were chemical substances that cause allergy or asthma (3 cases), and one young worker had health problems related to repetitive monotonous movements. 24

26 Figure27 Since 2011 cases of occupational diseases and work-related ill health have been analysed by illnesses by the Health Board. Summary of illnesses is available here: Labour relations Inspection of labour relations In 2012 labour inspectors-lawyers and labour inspectors visited 539 enterprises with the aim to conduct inspection of labour relations. Inspectors had to go back to 151 of these enterprises with the aim of follow-up inspection and to make sure that the infringements identified during general inspection had been eliminated. There were 141 enterprises where labour inspectors did not identify any infringement related to labour relations VIOLATIONS OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THEEMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS ACT were established in the course of inspection of labour relations, on elimination of which 1075 notices were issued to employers. Compared to 2011 the number of identified infringements has not changed, but to some extent the number of such shortcomings increased, on elimination of which employers were issued notices (Figure 28). Figure28 As in previous years the majority of established infringements or about 80% of them are related to conditions mentioned in the Employment Contracts Act article 5 clause 1 (Figure 29), that must be 25

27 included in the written form of an employment contract. It means that the inspected employer has not notified the employee of the data as required in the Employment Contracts Act. Figure29 In 86 enterprises cases were identified where employers had not prepared and submitted employees written employment contracts, despite the fact that the parties knew from the beginning that the relationship would last longer than two weeks. Employers` misconception of the Employment Contracts Act often became evident in the course of inspection. If the law requires that data of the employment contract are submitted to an employee before he starts work and the Employment Contracts Act 4 subsection 5 allows an oral agreement only if the duration of the contract does not exceed two weeks, it is mistakenly common among employers to believe that a written contract can be drawn up within two weeks from the commencement of employment by the employee. The majority of identified infringements concern failure to inform employees of the data related to payment of wages i.e. the Employment Contracts Act 5 subsection 1 clause 5or partial compliance with the requirement. Such infringements were identified at 321 enterprises. Pursuant to the Employment Contracts Act 5 section 1 and section 5 of the European Council Directive 91/533/EEC on the employer's obligation to inform employees of the objective of the contract or employment relationship, employees must be aware of their salaries, the calculation method and the pay day. Notification obligation of the method of calculating wages does not limit the choice of a calculation method, but it is important to inform the employee of the manner how his salary is calculated and of the amount of the salary he will be paid. Employers try to avoid the transparency of remuneration systems, preferring to put down standard terms in the employment contract, on the basis of which an employee usually gets minimum wage and in addition an employer may pay other remuneration components, conditions of payment of which are not specified in any written document. Generally, the employer has specific principles for calculation of other remuneration components, but the employees are not informed of them. In addition, employers forget to inform employees of taxes paid by the employer and withholding taxes and payments (social tax, income tax, unemployment insurance, etc.). Often, the employee is not informed in writing whether he has been employed full-time or part-time, and if part-time, how many hours he is expected to work per a period of 7-days or, for instance,a month. The latter violation was discovered at 130 employers. The second largest violation is non-compliance of the requirements of working and rest time set down in in the the third section of the third chapter of the Employment Contracts Act. Violations of 26