With 739 deaths, if we cross the data from the Directorate General for Labor (DGT) and the National Health Insurance Fund, 2021 will be a record year in terms of accidents at work.
“On palier seems to have been achieved since 2010 when the number of injuries and their frequency index are no longer decreasing “acknowledges Pierre Ramain, general manager of the job for which it is concerned“a topic of great concern on which we will continue to provide”.
The Labor Inspectorate works in particular to combat falls from a height, which account for 26% of accidents at work and 18% of deaths, particularly in the construction sector.
3,647 work stoppages in 2021
“In 2021, 421 accidents at work caused by falls from a height were reported, including 46 deaths and 249 with consequent serious injuries “, notes the DGT. For 2022 the data are on the same path with 413 accidents in the first half, of which 23 were fatal and 130 were seriously injured.
To combat accidents at work, labor inspectors notified 3,647 work stoppages in 2021 (compared to 3,149 in 2020) and already 2,070 in the first half of 2022.
The DGT gives the example of a construction site in Vaucluse where workers detached at a height of 8 m without protection guided, by a strong mistral, a crane that descended from heavy concrete slabs, and which could not reopen until after implementation. adequate protections and a modification of the operating mode.
Asbestos
The sites of Grand Paris and the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games are also the subject of specific work with a dedicated team of nine inspectors in Île-de-France.
“They are on site every week and check all the problems that can usually be encountered on this type of work”explains Annaïck Laurent, Deputy Director General of Labor.
In addition to falls, labor inspectors also focused their action on asbestos protection, with a specific campaign in 2021. Out of 2,350 sites inspected in three months, the regulations were only respected in just over half of the cases and are 15 work stoppages were pronounced.
Telework accident
2021 will also be characterized by controls related to Covid, in particular on compliance with the national company protocol which has given rise to over 30,000 inspections in companies.
The telework issue is a problem today. “We are currently investigating the case of an employee who suffered an injury at home during his telecommuting hours and which could therefore be an accident at work”notes Christelle Chambarlhac, head of the management office of the labor inspection system.
The inspectors also continue to check issues related to social fraud but also to job insecurity, a topic recently added at the request of the government that wants to fight short-term contracts.
Since October, 4,800 inspections have been carried out in companies most greedy for precarious contracts, while, according to a recent study by the Ministry of Labor, “pFor a given sector, the risk of injury is greater for precarious workers than for other employees “.
Reduction in the number of labor inspectors
DGT gives the example of a logistics warehouse in Hauts-de-France where, after an accident at work, the inspectors found that the plant employed 113 CDI against 43 CDD and 231 temporary workers, or 70% of precarious contracts.
The labor inspectorate pushed for the establishment of a “Plan for reducing precariousness” after which precarious contracts represent only 33% of the workforce (145 permanent contracts, 7 temporary contracts and 64 temporary workers).
” The audit continued to analyze the reasons for the remaining precarious contracts.notes the DGT which, however, has to deal with the reduction in the number of labor inspectors to carry out its missions: 1,772 at the end of August 2022 against 1,841 at the end of 2021.
A situation, explains Pierre Ramain, due to the pyramid of old age and numerous retirements “and while, in 2020, with Covid, we were unable to organize a competition”.
