Minister of Labour, Employment and the Social and Solidarity Economy Dan Kersch was also present and announced that the number of inspectors has risen to 61. This means that the rate required by the International Labour Organization is now being fulfilled.
Minister Kersch summarised: "With 61 inspectors for 452,000 jobs, we are not only meeting, but surpassing the required standard."
The ITM conducted 3,000 checks during lockdown, and a further 2,000 of Covid restrictions.
Nevertheless, the number of fatal work accidents has remained high in recent years.
ITM director Marco Boly acknowledged that efforts need to be increased in that domain: "Over the past 25 years, we averaged between 20 and 21 fatalities annually. Usually, between a third and half of them are workers falling from extreme heights. We consider that unacceptable and are currently looking to launch joint campaigns with the affected ministries to get a grip on the problem. Our goal is to substantially reduce the number of fatal incidents in the future."
