site.btaGeneral Labour Inspectorate Reports 157 Fatal Work Accidents in 2023

A total of 157 occupational accidents resulted in death in 2023. Another 85 work-related accidents caused serious injury and possible disability. Three hundred and four occupational accidents led to temporary disability, Alexander Borissov of the General Labour Inspectorate (GLI) said on Tuesday at a discussion hosted by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy.

According to Borissov, the largest number of occupational accidents occurred while working at heights. Violation of safety rules, lack of safety instructions, breaches of technological and working discipline, and lack of necessary equipment are some of the main reasons for occupational accidents. The authorities detected 5,253 violations of work safety rules in 2023 and closed 81 job positions after checks.

Only 1% of alerts received at the GLI in 2023 concerned safety-at-work issues. Far more often, people called to report overdue compensation payments or breaches of working time regulations. Very few employees complain that their employers have failed to provide safe working conditions, GLI Executive Director Ekaterina Assenova said.

Deputy Labour and Social Policy Minister Ginka Mashova spoke about a nationwide work safety campaign aimed to convince employers that, by protecting the lives of their workers, they create a future for the workers' families and their own enterprises.

In 2021 there were 2,456,366 people insured against work accidents and occupational diseases, said Sokol Silyanov of the National Social Security Institute.