Employmentweb_low

employment relations and health inequalities: a conceptual and empirical overvieW
(IlO, 2005). although governments may pay for some medical services
or for sickness benefits, the cost to public health budgets and insurance
is ultimately borne by society as a whole, and high rates of injuries and
cases of poor health might have an impact on national productivity as
well. a study by the European Commission estimated that in the year
2000, the costs of occupational injuries in the EU-15 was €55 billion a
year (European Commission, 2004). at the firm level, only a small
fraction of the world's workforce is covered by compensation systems,
so most workers receive no income during absences from work.
Workers suffering long-term disability may also lose important skills
and thus find it harder to find future work or at least to continue in the
work for which they have been trained. The rate of participation in the
labour force for disabled workers is about two-thirds that of nondisabled,
with only half of the likelihood of being in a full-time job. In
developing countries, the earnings of disabled workers can reach onethird
of the wage of comparable non-disabled persons (Dorman, 2000).
Case study 34. Non-fatal injuries among young workers. - curtis breslin
studies in wealthy countries show that the risk of job-related injury is 1.2 to 2 times higher among young workers
(defined as age 15-24) than it is among older employees (breslin & smith, 2005; centers for disease control and prevention,
1998; dupre, 2001). When young people are injured at work, the potential social and economic consequences are high: if an
injury results in permanent impairment, a young person will experience more years of disability than an adult worker who
is similarly injured. a number of questions about these workers can be raised. What are the employment patterns for young
workers in north america, many youth work even during the school year. For example, according to a 2003 canadian
labour Force survey, 69 per cent of 15-19 year olds, and 89 per cent of 20-24 year olds said they had worked at some time
during the previous year. in north america, young workers, especially teenagers, are concentrated in jobs in the service and
retail sectors (breslin & smith, 2005). What kinds of non-fatal injuries are most common among young workers young
workers are more likely than older workers to sustain cuts, contusions, and burns (breslin, Koehoorn, smith, & manno,
2003). but they are most commonly affected by sprains, strains and musculoskeletal problems like back pain, just like their
older colleagues. Why are young workers at a higher risk for job-related injuries two factors, unsafe working conditions
and perceived workload, were consistently associated with youth work injuries in a recent systematic review (breslin et al.,
2007). how can injuries in young workers be prevented education alone is not enough to prevent workplace injuries among
younger workers or those who are new on the job. although more research is needed to determine what is most effective
for young workers, the following approaches are currently recommended: removing hazards, installing guards on
machinery, and making other changes to the physical work environment that eliminate unsafe work conditions; developing
workplace programs, policies and work practices aimed at maintaining a safe work environment; educating and training
workers to anticipate, recognise, and control hazards in the workplace; and better enforcement of occupational health and
safety regulations.
References
breslin, c., Koehoorn, m., smith, p., & manno, m. (2003). age related differences in work injuries and permanent
impairment: a comparison of workers' compensation claims among adolescents, young adults, and adults.
Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 60(9), e10.
breslin, F. c., & smith, p. (2005), age-related differences in work injuries: a multivariate, population-based study. American
Journal of Industrial Medicine, 48(1), 50-56.
breslin, F. c., day, e., tompa, e., irvin, s., bhattacharyya, J., clarke, a., et al. (2007). non-agricultural work injuries among
youth: a systematic review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 32(2), 151-162.
centers for disease control and prevention. (1998). surveillance for nonfatal occupational injuries treated in hospital
emergency departments-united states. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 47(15), 302-306.
dupre, d. (2001). Accidents at work in the EU 1998-1999. retrieved november 6, 2008, from http://cz.osha.europa.eu/
statistics/files/statistic.pdf
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