A 54-year-old laborer was killed during his work in Netanya, February 18, 2022 (MDA)
The year 2022 - and perhaps it is better to say "also the year 2022", will end with dozens of deaths in work accidents and thousands of injured, a large number of whom were injured as a result of the negligence of their employers.
Against the background of these data, and before the start of the new year,
Hazi Schwartzman - the head of the safety department in the labor branch -
warns employers not to take it easy on the health and safeguarding of the lives of the employees.
In an exclusive interview with Walla!
Money, he points out that during the past year inspectors were recruited and trained for the task of supervising factories and businesses, with the aim of significantly reducing the frequency of offenses and negligent conduct that harms the health of the workers and endangers their lives.
Schwartzman's intention is not only to work accidents caused by the negligence of employers, but also to the carelessness and disregard that is manifested in many hundreds, perhaps even more, of male and female workers, who find their death every year as a result of occupational diseases and morbidity that originates from occupational pathology.
The shocking numbers are an estimate of foreign research factors, and this is due to the difficulty of making a causal connection between the outbreak of diseases and mortality and exposure to risks in the workplace.
Another indication of the scope of injuries at work can be obtained from the data of the Ministry of Health.
According to a report dealing with visits, in 2020 work accidents were recorded as the reason for the visit in approximately 1.8% of visits to emergency departments, and a total of 46,600 visits in 2020.
"We suggest to factories and those responsible for safety at work, to be extremely careful about creating a safe work environment. We will not hesitate to take all the legal measures at our disposal, including closing businesses and in some cases, also filing financial sanctions and taking additional actions."
Hezi's threats don't end there: "We mark the year 2023 as a turning point in terms of operational, technological efforts and the promotion of regulations to increase worker safety and we will do as much as possible to deal with the phenomenon."
Which businesses and factories are expected to be knocked on the door by an inspector on behalf of the labor arm?
Industries and workshops where the workers are exposed to noise, vibration, ionizing radiation and ultraviolet radiation, lifting heavy weights;
Chemical substances, including harmful dust and including silica and asbestos and even biological factors.
work accident.
The subcontractors are not punished (Photo: ShutterStock)
Hezi Schwartzman (Photo: Yehats)
Attorney Ronan Vardi (Photo: Public Relations)
The warning released by Schwartzman is not uttered.
Employers in Israel must take his words extremely seriously, as there has already been a significant increase of 25% in the number of inspection visits carried out by labor inspectors.
"In recent years, an average of 7,600 inspection visits have been carried out in the industry," he notes, "most of the sanctions are recorded in the construction industry, but don't get confused: in the industry, the main effect of the inspection is in closing down dangerous production processes and bringing them to a maximum safety threshold for the workers."
And if we are talking about warnings, for the winter, both the labor branch and
attorney Ronan Vardi, one of the top safety consultants in Israel and an expert on work accidents
, sharpen the risk involved in working in stormy climate conditions, when the arrow is directed mainly at contractors and entrepreneurs.
The warnings are well anchored in reality: in the months of November - December 2021, 10 workers were killed, a figure similar to November December 2020, so the danger is definitely tangible: "Unlike the other months of the year, work accidents in winter are mainly caused by landslides, electrocution as a result of contact with wires, flying constructions, etc. We recommend entrepreneurs and contractors to strengthen various covers and constructions for the winter, such as fencing, anchoring of facilities, covers of electrical systems, water drainage."
According to him, there is an urgent need to act to refine the procedures for crane operators regarding the prohibition of hoisting cargo during strong winds and more.
However, the blame for the accidents cannot be attributed only to the weather, since those who created the conditions for the disaster are of course also the subcontractors, who usually come out unscathed.
"The law imposes the responsibility only on the site's sole foreman, but the subcontractors also have a very significant obligation of responsibility as well as the workers themselves," adds Verdi, who, in addition, represents contractors and foremen against whom indictments are filed: "There is no enforcement against subcontractors and against employees No employee received a fine for violating the safety rules. Nor are subcontractors punished by the regulator, so no one has an interest in complying with the provisions of the law."
In the bottom line, Adv. Verdi points out that the responsibility for safety at the construction sites should lie first and foremost with those responsible for the work - the team leaders of the execution contractors in the field. "The issue must be settled and responsibility assigned.
And in addition to what was said also about the entrepreneurs who budget the construction works, the project managers as a senior management person at the work site and more."
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Work accidents
