Atin Ito First Filipino Community Newspaper in Ontario
In 2021
Across regions, Metro Manila had the highest reported cases of work-related diseases and injuries in 2021, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.
Based on the PSA report released on Friday, May 3, more than half, or 52.5 percent of the total work-related disease cases were reported in Metro Manila, followed by Region IVA, CALABARZON, Region III, and Central Luzon.
A total of 132,710 occurrences of occupational diseases in establishments with 20 or more workers were recorded in 2021.
This as work-related diseases rose by 143.3 percent to 132,710 occurrences in 2021 from the recorded 54,551 cases in 2019.
Among the work-related diseases suffered by workers, more than half or 60 percent of the total reported cases were work-related COVID-19 infection, followed by back pain at 19.2 percent and neck-shoulder pain at 5.2 percent.
Meanwhile, about 1.2 percent were cases of work-related mental health conditions which refer to a neurologic or psychiatric condition characterized by the existence of a clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition that may be caused or aggravated by working conditions.
Workers engaged in manufacturing had the highest share of work-related diseases with 21.8 percent or 28,947 cases and was followed by the information and communications sector with 15.4 percent or 20,413 cases, and human health and social work activities except for public health with 12.6 percent or 16,751 cases.
For work-related accidents, the numbers declined to 23,906 in 2021, down by 36.3 percent from the recorded 37,513 in 2019, the PSA said.
Meanwhile, Metro Manila also had a total of 3,018 cases or 25 percent share of work-related injuries with workdays lost, followed by Region III – Central Luzon with 14.3 percent and Region XI – Davao Region with 10.7 percent.
Occupational injuries saw a decrease of 32.4 percent to 27,636 cases during the year, down from the 40,892 reported cases in 2019.
Among the injuries, there were only 169 fatal cases with workdays lost, while 11,907 were non-fatal cases with workdays lost or cases that resulted in absence from work while more than half of the reported injuries in the workplace were cases without workdays lost.
By major industries, the highest share of occupational injuries with workdays lost was observed in manufacturing, which accounted for 41.7 percent of the total.
Completing the list was agriculture, forestry, and fishing with 12.4 percent and administrative and support service activities with 11.7 percent.
The major reason for injuries was reported to be caused machines and equipment which had a share of 27.5 percent absences from work, while other common agents of injury consist of materials and objects with 23.7 percent and hand tools with 18.8 percent.
Plant and machine operators and assemblers were the occupations with the highest risk of involvement in occupational injuries with workdays lost at 29.1 percent, followed by elementary occupations with 24.8 percent.
Likewise, service and sales workers were also prone to risk, which contributed 14.3 percent of the total work-related injuries.
On the other hand, a total of 2,784 commuting accidents related to work occurred in 2021 while some 3,134 workers were injured during the time of commuting accidents, based on the PSA data.
— Xander Dave Ceballos
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Credit belongs to: www.mb.com.ph
