Last year almost 50 employees met their deaths. For both Byggnads (construction workers union) and If Metall (metal workers union) who have for a long time been sounding alarm bells, this recent data is definitely the signal for urgent action and for concrete decisions to made to ensure a safer occupational environment for workers. The government for its part has affirmed its wish to put the issue at the center of its policy program. It is working on a new strategy to combat work related accidents and is also relying on support from Arbetsmiljöverket, the Swedish Work Environment Authority that has already implemented a procedure aimed at improving certain aspects of safety regulations , especially on psychosocial risks.
Reasons behind the rise in accidents. Several unions have started to raise their voices about the numbers that show an overall rise in the number of accidents and illnesses. Work related accident are rising inexorably, moving from 58,000 in 2012 to almost 61,000 in 2013, whilst the number of illnesses have risen for the fourth consecutive year moving from 10,300 in 2012 to 11,400 in 2013. Despite a drop in the number of deaths between 2012 and 2013, the number rose between from 33 in 2013
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