Santa Catarina leads work accident statistics in Brazil: National prevention campaign warns of the situation

The Ministry of Labor launched, this April, the National Campaign for the Prevention of Accidents at Work 2024, with a special call for the state of Santa Catarina. Annually, Brazil records around 600,000 reports of workplace accidents, resulting in 150,000 sickness benefits requested. Of these, Santa Catarina accounts for approximately 8 to 9%, both in benefits and accidents.

The campaign aims to encourage companies and institutions to adhere to preventive actions. Membership can be made through the Ministry of Labor website, where educational materials are also available to be shared with employees. Pedro Maglioni, labor inspector in Santa Catarina, highlights the importance of the actions that must be developed by October.

“This year, the theme is machinery and equipment safety. We will probably have some more technical events. Regarding compliance with the standard, this culminates in the month of October, where we have another important date, which is National Occupational Safety and Health Day in schools. We have been running a competition for students for some time now, with the support of many public and private schools, the aim of this is so that we can have this culture of safety and prevention right from school.”

Santa Catarina is among the states with the highest incidence of accidents and absences from work, being the fourth in records and the third in granting INSS aid related to occupational diseases and accidents at work. The labor inspector highlights that proportionally the state’s numbers are not favorable.

“We have a national context that is very bad, but Santa Catarina is worse than the national average. Santa Catarina has the highest incidence rate of work accidents in Brazil. In other words, there is a much higher probability of having an accident in Santa Catarina than in any other state in Brazil.”

Since 2022, the Superintendence of the Ministry of Labor in Santa Catarina has recorded 420 embargoes and bans on activities that created risks for workers in the state. For Maglioni, it is essential to raise awareness and manage worker health and safety.

“It is important for us to emphasize that the expression of work will not solve this problem alone. It is impossible for us to be monitoring the activity of all companies all the time. In other words, in principle, the organizations themselves need to know that there are ways to prevent it.”

*With Acaert information

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