site.btaHeart Attacks, Strokes at Workplace Are Increasing, Says General Labor Inspectorate

In recent years, the number of non-traumatic fatal accidents such as heart attacks and strokes at work has increased, Ekaterina Asenova, Executive Director of the General Labor Inspectorate said in an interview with BTA on Friday.

It is no coincidence that one of the causes of this type of fatal accidents is overwork or burnout, she pointed out, emphasizing that this trend shows how sick the average Bulgarian worker and employee is, who, despite everything, continues to work, which leads to death. Asenova noted that serious tension is observed among people who work without employment contracts. "The tension of whether I will stay at work or not, whether I will have to work overtime today leads to heart attacks and strokes at the workplace", she stressed.

Asenova said that the most serious violations that the Labor Inspectorate registered in 2024 where incidents that led to death at the workplace. "For the past year, these accidents that the inspectors have investigated are 67 traumatic accidents that led to death. The record holder for another year is construction", she stressed, adding that the most frequent incidents are falls from height and an unsafe working environment.

The main reason, however, is a total underestimation of the safety and health rules," Asenova said. She noted that the good news is that from the beginning of 2025 occupational accidents on the territory of the country have been decreasing compared to the same period in 2024.

Asenova participated in the Open Day on Occupational Safety and Health at the Stara Zagora Brewery Zagorka AD, where she pointed out that it is important to encourage employers who provide safe working conditions. “We should also encourage many employers to take an example from what we have just seen. I am impressed by the good practices that have been introduced in Zagorka AD," Asenova emphasised. The company has introduced the so-called golden rule, which allows each employee to refuse to perform an activity that directly threatens the life and health of both him and another person, without having to worry about penalties, Asenova said.

Representatives of the Labor and Social Policy Ministry, as well as trade union organizations, participated in the event as well.