Employers 'reluctant' to report on health and safety

The head of the National Statistics Office yesterday admitted that the collection of data in the field of health and safety was limited because employers were often reluctant to cooperate.

Some of the information provided by employers was partial, and other accidents went unreported.

Alfred Camilleri was speaking at a health and safety conference organised by the Malta Employers' Association at the SAS Radisson Baypoint Hotel.

Very little information was given on the working environment and no statistics existed of occupational diseases, he said.

Nevertheless, the statistics collected showed that the total number of accidents at work went down from 5,265 in 1999 to 4,936 in 2002. This meant that the average number of days lost was down from 19.6 in 1999 to 15.6 in 2002.

Dolores Cristina, parliamentary secretary in the Social Policy Ministry, said that of the 4,936 cases, 3,207 were reported by the private sector.

On average, employed workers claimed 12.5 days in sick leave a year, whereas those who were defined as self-employed claimed 29.3 days.

Ms Cristina said one was immediately startled by the fact that the average sickness benefit days per claim of self-employed beneficiaries were double those of employed persons.

The statistics implied that self-employed persons were more amenable to sickness than employed persons. However, if these statistics did not reflect reality, Malta might be facing a situation of under-reporting by employed beneficiaries or over-reporting by self-employed beneficiaries.

Either way, the present scenario was a cause of concern and implied the role of the government as a catalyst of cultural change, Ms Cristina said.

Such change could be brought about not only by legislative measures but also by extensive educational campaigns and by building effective partnerships between all players in the safety and health scene.

She said the government was committed to designing and implementing policies that not only reduced occupational accidents and diseases but also enhanced the quality of work and the atmosphere at the workplace.

MEA president Paul Debattista urged more in-house safety campaigns, most of which were being promoted by the government and the trade unions and which had raised the level of awareness.

Mark Gauci, chief executive officer of the Occupational Health and Safety Authority, spoke of the need for certain employers and workers to change their attitude to safety and to realise the often inexpensive benefits of adopting systems and investing in protective gear.

Other speakers at yesterday's conference included trade union representatives and Nick Starling, director of the UK's authority, the Health and Safety Executive.