NEWS: €2.68 billion a year spent worldwide on injuries at work

The estimates were presented for the start of the XXI World Congress on Safety and Health at Work, held in Singapore from 3‑6 September.

In further findings; work-related illnesses accounted for 86 % of all deaths related to work worldwide, and 98 % of those in the EU. In most European countries, work-related cancer accounts for the majority of costs (€119.5 billion or 0.81% of the EU’s GDP), with musculoskeletal disorders being the second largest contributor.

Research was conducted by the International Labour Organization and European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) as part of a project to calculate the cost of poor occupational safety and health (OSH).

Director of EU-OSHA, Dr Christa Sedlatschek, commented: "Safe and healthy work is a fundamental human right but these new estimates of the costs of poor or non-existent OSH measures show that the economic case for OSH has never been stronger.

Work-related ill-health and injury is costing the European Union 3.3 % of its GDP. That’s €476 billion every year which could be saved with the right occupational safety and health strategies, policies and practices."

To see infographics created by EU-OSHA for the study, click here