Nine people died on the job in Malta in the first half of 2022

There were nine fatal accidents at work during the first six months of 2022, an increase of 50 per cent over the six workplace deaths reported over the same period of 2021.

No further data was presented in the release from the National Statistics Office on the sectors or professions of those who died on the job.

The new update also shows that that non-fatal accidents between January and June 2022 also increased from the previous year, with 1,164 persons involved in such accidents. This is 33, or 2.9 per cent, more than was registered over the same period of 2021.

The majority of these non-fatal accidents occurred in the manufacturing sector (16.3 per cent).

Another 164 (14.1 per cent) of the accidents occurred in the transportation and storage sector, followed by 151 in the construction sector (13 per cent).

When compared to the same period in 2021, the highest increase in the number of accidents was in the human health and social work activities (29, or 26.1 per cent).

The largest share of accidents at work during the reference period involved persons working in elementary occupations followed by craft and related trades workers.

Almost half (44.8 per cent) of the injuries at work affected the upper extremities of the body, such as the fingers and hands.

Wounds and superficial injuries, and dislocations, sprains and strains were the most common types of injuries, amounting to 615 and 298 cases respectively.

In the first half of 2022, 33.2 per cent of the accidents at work took place in enterprises with 500 or more employees.

In 2021, 863 non-fatal accidents per 100,000 employed persons were reported.

The highest standardised incidence rate of non-fatal accidents at work was recorded in manufacturing followed by construction and transportation and storage.

Last year, the Occupational Health and Safety Authority issued hundreds of fines to workplaces with health and safety deficiencies ranging from lack of risk assessment to failure to ensure that equipment is examined by competent persons in a timely manner. Most of the deficiencies were found in construction sites, but other workplaces, including factories and printing works, were also found wanting.