USA: Watchdog complicit as firms bury victims

Risks July 19th reported that the US system for measuring workplace safety is flawed and misses up to half of all workplace injuries, according to a report presented last week at a hearing on OSHA, the federal agency charged with protecting workers' safety and health.

The committee report said both employers and OSHA have incentives to report and use faulty data. The fewer injuries and illnesses an employer reports, the less likely the employer will be inspected by OSHA and the more likely it will pay lower premiums for workers' compensation.

Bob Whitmore, former chief of the OSHA recordkeeping division, is highly critical of the safety watchdog. 'I contend that the current OSHA injury and illness information is inaccurate, due in part to the wide scale underreporting by employers and OSHA's willingness to accept these falsified numbers,' he said. 'There are many reasons why OSHA would accept these numbers, but one important institutional factor has dramatically affected the agency: steady annual declines in the number of workplace injuries and illnesses make it appear that OSHA is fulfilling its mission.' OSHA has dramatically reduced its enforcement programme, instead promoting a series of voluntary approaches, including industry 'alliances' and 'voluntary protection programmes'.