Citing a report on job-related fatalities for 1999, Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman said yesterday that more must be done to prevent workplace fatalities in the construction industry, just as homicides in the workplace have been reduced.
"The decline in homicides -- 10 percent last year and 40 percent in the last six years -- demonstrates that when we concentrate our efforts we can make a difference," said Herman.
OSHA worked with retailers and taxi companies to provide guidance on preventing violence, and as a result helped to reduce the number of homicides in the workplace.
Herman said the same efforts should be focused on reducing fatalities in the construction industry.
The construction industry accounts for 20 percent of all workplace fatalities -- the highest percentage for any single industry, according to the Department of Labor.
"We have focused OSHA''s resources in construction and other high-risk work sites and will continue to do so. These deaths can be prevented," said Herman.
by Virginia Sutcliffe