Over the last few years, the number of accidents at work in Luxembourg have decreased. But there are still regular reports of incidents in the workplace or on the way to work, occasionally with fatal consequences.
The Occupational Health and Safety Forum on Wednesday saw 125 exhibitors participate in the event at Kirchberg’s Luxexpo, where they offered a series of solutions and products designed to improve safety at work.
Vision Zero, the national prevention strategy for health and safety at work, was launched in 2016 and envisages a goal of zero work accidents. Minister of Health and Social Security Martine Deprez said the rates of work accident were lower than ever, but that even a single accident was one too many. According to Deprez, the ministry has set itself the target of reducing the current rates by a fifth.
In 2024 there were 16,751 work accidents, with five fatal incidents. However, the number of deaths at work has decreased in recent years, from 23 in 2018.
Minister of Labour Marc Spautz said the reduction in accidents was enabled by strong prevention. He highlighted the awareness campaigns led by the Inspectorate of Labour and Mines (ITM) and the Accident Insurance Association (AAA) and said they were now bearing fruit. All this is not only in the employee’s best interest, but also the employer. according to Spautz.
When thinking of health and safety at work it is common to immediately consider physical injury, yet mental health and well-being is coming into focus more and more. The Red Cross has launched a new project to promote mental health, for which it received a prize at the Forum.
One in three employees has attended a mental health awareness course, and this will be expanded, said Deprez.
But accidents don’t just happen at work - often they can occur on the commute. In February, an awareness campaign was launched to draw attention to a number of potential risks on the way to work, such as using a phone at the wheel, or driving under the influence of alcohol. The president of the Road Safety association, Paul Hammelmann, called upon the government to go a step further and ban the sale of alcohol at service stations.
Such a ban is not on the horizon, Deprez responded. But the ministry is looking at working together with the Road Safety association to flag selected events to encourage people to drink responsibly, or abstain altogether if they are driving home, for example. If fewer people drink, it will affect sales, and that might cause petrol stations to reduce their alcohol stock, Deprez said.
