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Occupational fatalities: Over 1,700 Russians died from workplace injuries last year

More than 1,700 people in Russia died from work-related injuries last year with roughly 25% of this total being construction workers

MOSCOW, November 13. /TASS/. More than 1,700 people in Russia died from work-related injuries last year with roughly 25% of this total being construction workers, Russian Supreme Court Justice Oleg Zatelepin told a plenary session dedicated to criminal cases linked to occupational safety violations.

"Statistics showed that a total of 37,560 cases of workplace injuries were registered in Russia in 2017. Occupational accidents claimed the lives of 1,722 workers," he added. Most of them were construction workers (24%), followed by those employed in the manufacturing industry (15%), agriculture and forestry, hunting and fishing (13%), cargo transportation and storage (12.6%), and in the mineral extraction (8%) sectors.

"In the general breakdown of the causes behind last year’s fatal accidents, almost every third (30%) reason for any accident was due to the unsatisfactory organization of work, coming from employers’ violating safe working conditions and job safety requirements. Also, a significant number of accidents was due to workers themselves having violated those requirements," Zatelepin stated.

The Russian Supreme Court Justice pointed out that the number of persons in Russia convicted of the accidents that caused grievous bodily harm, or death, is not on the decline. Last year, 132 individuals were convicted under Article 143 of the Russian Criminal Code ("Violation of Labor Protection Rules") compared with 134 persons a year earlier. That being said, 168 persons were convicted under Article 216 of the Russian Criminal Code ("Violation of Safety Rules in Mining, Building, and Other Activities") compared with 124 in 2016, while 17 persons were convicted under Article 217 of the Russian Criminal Code ("Violation of Safety Rules in Explosive Facilities") as opposed to 18 persons in 2016.