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OSHA Calls 5,702 Deaths on the Job Good News |
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A new government report shows the number of workers killed on the job in 2005. Although the total was down slightly from 2004, more Hispanic, African American, young and agricultural workers died on the job than in 2004. Nonetheless, the head of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) calls the latest report on workplace deaths “good news for all workers.”
Released Thursday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report, 2005 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, shows that 5,702 workers died on the job last year, 62 fewer than the 5,764 killed in 2004.
However, deaths among African American workers rose for the third year in a row—to 577 in 2005, compared with 546 in 2004. Deaths among Latino workers rose to 917 from 902 in 2004; among immigrant Latino workers, the job death toll increased to 625 from 596 in 2004.
Among workers younger than 20, fatal injuries jumped by 18 percent to 166 in 2005. Shockingly, deaths among the very youngest of workers, those under 16, jumped 85 percent in 2005 to 24 fatalities.
The BLS report also shows that 714 agricultural, forestry and fishing workers died in 2005, compared with 669 in 2004.
Yet Edwin G. Fouke, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health, says the report
is positive news for our nation and all workers….Many of our initiatives to reduce workplace fatalities are showing tremendous successes.
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says although the overall number of worker deaths declined slightly in 2005, the rise in fatalities among some groups of workers reveals
a worsening situation for many of the nation’s most vulnerable workers, including especially alarming increases in on the job deaths among people of color and children.
The BLS report covers only fatalities on the job and does not include an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 deaths each year from occupational diseases, or the millions of workplace injuries.
Says Sweeney:
Six years of Bush administration neglect and failure of workplace health and safety have put millions of workers at increased danger. It’s clear that a change in direction and leadership is needed to protect workers on the job and to improve their lives.
Click here to find out more about safety and health at work and here to visit the AFL-CIO’s Safety and Health Toolbox for materials you can use to make your voice heard about safe jobs.
For the latest on job safety news, visit Confined Space.
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