Close to 1700 cases of workplace injury and death were recorded last year.

The Employment Ministry says that of this number, close to 1,540 cases involved injuries and there were about 150 deaths.

Ministry’s Occupational Health & Safety Director Tomasi Kama says most injuries and deaths are recorded between the ages of 36 to 55.

“The main cause has been persons falling at the workplace which totals to 1232. This is followed by handling material which has around 936 cases then power driven machinery which accounts up to 776 reported cases.”

Employment Minister Parveen Kumar says there are some areas which need policies to reduce the number of accidents at workplace.

“We would like to work towards to prevent the injuries at the workplace. That is our objective and it’s the government’s aim as well.”

Meanwhile, the total number of cases reported annually has decreased by about 200 since 2017.