Workplace injuries occur once every 25 minutes in Jordan, report reveals

AMMAN — The Jordanian Labour Rights Centre revealed that occupational injuries occur every 25 minutes in the Jordanian labour market, and one work injury-related death occurs approximately every two days, according to a report obtained by The Jordan Times.

The Jordanian Labour Rights Centre released the report on the occasion of the International Day for Safety and Health in the Workplace, which falls annually on April 28. 

Figures issued by the Social Security Corporation covered in the report indicate that an average of 20,000 work accidents occur annually, with a rate of 11.7 injuries per 1,000 insured persons. The same figures showed that 25.3 per cent of the total deaths caused by work injuries are reported in the manufacturing industries sector, followed by the wholesale and retail trade sector with a rate of 17.7 per cent.

The manufacturing industries sector constitutes the highest percentage of work injuries with a rate of 31.6 per cent of the total injuries, followed by the health and social work sector with a rate of 22 per cent, as the statistics indicate a death from injury every 1.9 days for those covered by the insurance law, and a work accident every 25 minutes in various sectors.

The report indicates that falling is the most common work injury, as the percentage of injuries resulting from falling was 28.03 per cent of total injuries, followed by injuries due to manual labour tools at a rate of 11.9 per cent, then injuries resulting from falling objects at a rate of 9.68 per cent. 

The figures also indicate that road accidents are the most common cause of injury-related deaths, with a rate of 46.8 per cent of the total number of deaths, followed by explosions, fires, and falling.

Almost half, or 45.9 per cent, of work injury victims are under the age of 30 years, which necessitates emphasising the attention on health and safety of young workers through raising awareness and specialised training.

These figures do not reflect the actual number of work injuries in Jordan, which are “certainly much more” than reported quantities, the report said.  Workers in the informal economy are estimated to constitute approximately 48 per cent of the total number of workers in the Kingdom. 

Agricultural sector workers are still not covered by insurance is globally have some of the highest rates of work injuries. 

More than half a million workers are not covered by the insurance. In addition, some facilities covered by insurance deliberately do not report injuries and prefer to cover the expenses in other ways in order to keep their file clean with the social security, the report said.

Although the Labour Law devoted a special chapter to the issue of occupational safety and health, and according to it, a number of regulations and instructions were issued, Jordanians still need more comprehensive and detailed texts that include specialised directives for the prevention of hazards at the level of each sector, the report said.

The report stressed the importance of having a national strategy for occupational safety and health and great importance for the state to develop its performance and reduce as much as possible of work accidents and injuries and to ensure full coordination between all concerned parties so that each of them bears the responsibilities of carrying out the tasks and duties required of them, in accordance with international standards in this regard.