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Reuters/Rebecca
Cook
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A new study by the AFL-CIO
found that 4,585 workers were killed while at work in the US in 2013, and
another 50,000 died from occupational diseases.
The
report entitled “Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect” found that while there
had been some improvements in safety at work, the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) was weak and understaffed.
The
President of the AFL-CIO said that the OSHA has enough staff and resources to
inspect workplaces in the US just once in 140 years.
“America’s
workers shouldn’t have to choose between earning a livelihood and risking their
life, yet every day too many end up on the wrong end of that choice.
Corporations are prospering while working people suffer because of corporate
negligence and insufficient government oversight,” he said.
A
huge 3.8 million work-related injuries and illnesses were recorded but the real
figure is thought to be far higher as many are not reported.
Latino
workers were found to be the most at risk. The fatality rate among them
increased in 2013 to 3.9 percent per 100,000 up from 3.7 percent in 2012. A
total of 817 Latino workers were killed on the job in 2013.
Latinos
working in grounds maintenance were among the most likely to have a fatal
accident, with deaths due to tree trimming and pruning doubling since 2012.
North
Dakota was found to be by far the most dangerous area of the US to work and the
state’s job fatality rate was more than four times the national average.
One
of the main reasons for the grim statistics the report found was poor
government oversight.
The
OCHA has just 1,882 inspectors for the whole of the US, one inspector for every
71,695 workers.
Penalties
for employers are low. The average penalty for a fatality investigated by the
OCHA was just US$5,050 in 2014.
Persecutions
are also low, since 1970 when the Occupational Safety and Health Act became
law, just 88 cases have been prosecuted with defendants serving just 100 months
total in jail.
The
report notes that under the Bush administration work safety was completely
neglected and under the Obama administration progress in making new protections
law has been slow. Since 2009 only four OCHA safety and health standards have
been issued.
The
AFL-CIO calls on the Obama administration to finalize legislation, much of
which the Republican dominated Congress is trying to block.
These include improvements
to the Mine Safety and Health Act to give inspectors more authority to shut
down dangerous mines.
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