Don't Write Us Off

By Owen Tudor

New TUC research will underpin one of its most important campaigns - the push for a better deal for workplace injury victims.

When accident prevention fails, compensation is small comfort for victims. People suffering major injuries in Britain stand a 1 in 6 chance of getting back to work. In Scandinavia, they have a 50:50 chance. The UK economy is losing an estimated £300m per week because of work-related illness and injury.

Two articles in Hazards magazine looks at the costs of workplace injury and the economic sense for employers in ensuring the retention and rehabilitation of injured workers. Retention strategies could involve, for example:

· quicker or more effective treatment

· tackling the cause of ill-health at work which could prevent full and permanent recovery

· changing working arrangements and the way work is done.

· training and vocational advice on moving to a different job

Hazards; no 79, July-September, 2002)