The Hazards Campaign is a network of
resource centres and campaigners
on health and safety at work

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Memorial Day

International Workers Memorial Day 28 April 2008

'Good Occupational Health for All Workers'

Corporate Killing: Facts and Figures
A Hazards Campaign briefing document

Page 1 Introduction
Page 2 Real UK estimates of death at work
Page 3 Deaths due to work related illness
Page 4 Made ill by work
Page 5 Deaths in your region - official figures
Page 6 Work-Related Deaths Worldwide

Page 6 Work-Related Deaths Worldwide

Worldwide the ILO estimates that each year the toll at work due to unsafe working practices is:

• approximately 2.3 million workers killed by occupational injuries and illnesses;
  
• at least 355,000 of these deaths are due to incidents at work;
  
• an estimated 500-2,000 non-fatal injuries for every fatal injury - many result in lost earnings, lost jobs and permanent disability and poverty;
  
• equivalent to 5,000 workers dying each and every day across the world;
• equivalent to three people dying every minute across the world;

For comparison:

• work kills more than twice as many as warfare (650,000 deaths per year),
  
• work kills more than twice as many as are killed on the roads
  
• work kills more people than alcohol and drugs together, and the resulting loss in gross domestic product is 20 times greater than all official development assistance to developing countries;
  
• hazardous substances alone kill 340,000 per year with one substance, asbestos, accounting for 100,000 of the deaths;

The ILO claims that at least half the deaths from incidents could be prevented by safe working practices and all 'accidents' are avoidable and preventable.

Source ILO 2007 www.ilo.org/publications

Advice centres, victim support groups, local and national campaigns, other sources of information and support The Hazards Campaign is a national network established in 1988, financed by donations from supporting groups and individuals. It draws together Hazards Centres, Occupational Health Projects, health and safety groups and Trades Union Councils' Safety Committees, specific campaigns and individual health and safety activists. Specific campaign groups include the Construction Safety Campaign, bereaved relatives groups, asbestos support groups, RSI support groups, pesticide sufferers groups, campaigns against hazards affecting black and ethnic minority groups and toxic waste groups.

The campaign works by: sharing information and skills; campaigning on specific issues; acting as a national voice; issuing press releases; holding conferences; establishing national initiatives, including Workers Memorial Day; lobbying MPs, MEPs and statutory bodies. The Campaign organises the annual Hazards Conference and holds meetings about five times a year which are open to anyone sharing the aims of the campaign.

The Hazards Campaign, c/o Greater Manchester Hazards Centre, Windrush Millennium Centre, 70 Alexandra Road,
Manchester, M16 7WD . website www.hazardscampaign.org.uk