Construction sites were most likely to see incidents occur according to a report by Association d'assurance accident (AAA). Photo: Shutterstock

Construction sites were most likely to see incidents occur according to a report by Association d'assurance accident (AAA). Photo: Shutterstock

Ten people lost their life on the workplace in Luxembourg over the course of 2021, a number that has gone down compared to 2020, according to accidents insurance association AAA.

The Association d'assurance accident (AAA) on 4 October published its annual report on workplace safety. Despite having more workers in 2021 than in 2020--491,166 against 453,434--the number of deaths on the workplace dropped from 19 to 10. 7 of these deaths were linked to incidents, while 3 workers died from health issues. The previous year 9 people had died on the road--no occurrences were counted in 2021.  

Cost of incidents up

The AAA received an average of 114 statements a day during the twelve-month period. There was a total of 16,540 workplace incidents for 2021, 1,125 more than in 2020: 2,589 took place on the road, 239 were declared as work-related illnesses. The report explains that compared to 2019, illnesses were up by 88,19% due to covid-19. Work-place accidents (13,712) made up the bulk of reported incidents.

On average, incidents cost €3,867 each, compared to €3,800 the previous year.

Construction sites, public spaces see higher occurrence

Over a quarter of incidents reported and recognised took place on construction sites, while close to the same amount were recorded in public spaces like public transports, train tracks and tarmacs. Dust and debris from sites were also cited as being a source of injury for 20% of cases acknowledged by the AAA.

But, as the report underlines, “despite the crisis, the number of companies and employees has continued to increase during the years 2020 and 2021. This increase, together with the decrease in the number of accidents, has a beneficial effect on the accident frequency rate.” The decrease compared to pre-pandemic levels is of 22.8%.

The public establishment, which operates under the social security ministry led by (LSAP), in its statement said it would set new goals for its national workplace safety strategy, extending it to 2030 as the Vision Zero strategy implemented in 2016 was coming to an end.