Experts warn hiding workplace accidents can lead to tragedy

Failing to report workplace accidents can lead to tragedy, safety experts said on Latvian Radio’s “How to Live Better” programme, LSM reported.

Linda Šedlere, a board member of construction company Schwenk and a representative of the employers’ social initiative Mission Zero, said reducing workplace accidents in Latvia requires investigating less serious incidents as well as severe ones.

“Often, we only do something after a serious incident has happened. But if we do not put things right in the background, the problems keep growing,” Šedlere said. She said efforts to reduce serious and fatal workplace accidents depend on learning from minor incidents and near misses.

Ivars Vanadziņš, director of Riga Stradiņš University’s Institute of Occupational Safety and Environmental Health, said all accidents should be investigated. “Fatal cases clearly have to be investigated, and they will be. But, in reality, the whole mass of incidents needs to be investigated. That is where the reasons they happen are hidden,” he said.

Renārs Lūsis, head of the State Safety Inspectorate, said statistics should include more minor or less serious accidents, suggesting many incidents may go unrecorded. “When they can no longer be hidden, something bad will happen,” he said.

Šedlere said workplace culture and attitudes also affect accident rates. She called for safety practices to become the norm and urged employers and employees to learn from mistakes and not underestimate risks. The experts said reviewing errors can help companies improve, and that safety costs less than losing workers’ lives. Employees, Šedlere added, should consider whether they want to work for a company that does not take safety seriously.