Manufacturing deaths rise, against the UK trend

The UK`s manufacturing sector has bucked a national trend of workplaces becoming safer, by recording a slight increase in the number of people killed at work, from 43 in 2004/05 to 45 in 2005/06. Figures released by the HSE show that the rate of fatalities per 100,000 workers in the sector also rose — from 1.3 to 1.4. But the HSE adds that the number of injuries in manufacturing has fluctuated in recent years, with no overall trend.

The national trend in workplace fatalities is downwards, with the number of people killed at work across the UK dropping by 5% from 223 in 2004/05 to 212 in 2005/06. The rate of fatal injuries has also fallen by 5%, from 0.75 to 0.71 per 100,000 employees — the lowest rate on record.

Falling from a height continues to be the most common way of people being killed at work, accounting for 22% of fatalities during 2005/06. But the number of people who fell to their deaths was, at 46, the lowest on record.