12/03/2008
The Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) publishes, on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, its annual statistical report on the current state of occupational health and safety in Germany. In 2006, the number of occupational injuries was 1,047,516, incuding 941 fatal injuries. In absolute figures, the number of occupational injuries increased by 18,000, i.e. 1.7%. With an increased working population, the injury frequency index per 1000 full-time equivalent employees remained stable (28.4 in 2005 versus 28.3 in 2006). But this trend is not uniform: in some branches this index declined, e.g. in the public sector (26.2 in 2005 versus 23.0 in 2006) and the metallurgy sector (26.6 in 2005 versus 21.7 in 2006), while it stagnated or increased in others. Regarding occupational diseases, the number of cases recognized declined, as did the number of new pensions.

The number of claims for recognition, on the other hand, increased by 2.6%. The number of deaths related to an occupational disease declined by 1%. The report summarizes the results of the survey of 20,000 members of the working population carried out by the BAuA-BIBB (Federal Institute for Vocational Training). This survey gives a general idea of physical and mental working conditions and reports workers' subjective impressions of stress. The report focuses on temporary work, a sector that has expanded strongly in recent years, with about 580,000 temporary employees in 2006. It presents an overview of legal changes based on amendments made to the legislation on temporary work and deals with injuries occurring in this sector, the work situation and the specific constraints of this form of work.

Source: Eurogip