Friday is a National Day of Mourning to remember those who lost their lives, were injured or experienced illness due to their work
Last year, 30 people lost their lives due to their work, 8 from fatal accidents and 22 from occupational disease. Over the past five years, WorkplaceNL accepted 145 claims for work-related deaths.
ServiceNL Minister Sarah Stoodley says injury rates have been going down. She says in the last 5 years the lost time injury rate in this province is 1.5 per injuries per 100 workers. The Minister says it’s a part of Occupational Health and Safety 's responsibility to inspect workplaces. She says they completed 4500 OHS inspections during the last year, with over 900 orders, and 467 stop work orders. Minister Stoodley says everyone should expect a safe place to work but it’s everyone’s responsibility to keep safety top of mind.