The State Labor Inspectorate so far this year was informed about 231 accidents at work. The number is by 88 cases lower than in the corresponding period last year. The Inspectorate’s director Dumitru Stavila has told IPN that the employers do not report all the work accidents, but they show greater openness than the previous years.
Of the 231 accidents reported until August 7, 73 have been examined by labor inspectors. In the other cases, an internal inquiry was enough. Eleven persons have died in work accidents so far this year, by five fewer than in the same period last year. There was reported no fatal collective work accident.
Most of the reported work accidents happened in agriculture, building sector and processing industry. Among the most frequent cases are the falls from height, accidental falls at the same level, crushing under processing equipment and electrocution.
Dumitru Stavila said the employers in Moldova hunt for profit and forget about the dangers to which the employers are exposed when the security rules at work are not respected. “The employers are liable to administrative or even criminal punishment,” he stated.
Under the legislation, the salary earners can stop work if their life and health are in danger and can inform the employer about the violations and can urge other employees to stop work until the problem is fixed. The employers are obliged to assess the risk factors at the workplace before employing somebody. If the risk is identified, they must take measures to remove it. If not, other measures should be taken such as diminution of the working hours, provision with food, payment of compensations for work in noxious conditions and additional leave.
In January-July, there were carried out 4,000 inspections to see how the legislation on labor relations, safety and health at work is observed. The inspectors identified over 37,000 violations, 17,000 of which were related to safety and health at work.
