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Life and livelihoods

Jan 23, 2008 | Staff | News Observer

One of government's key responsibilities is to press the private sector to protect people in vulnerable situations -- children in day care centers and seniors in nursing homes, for instance. Sometimes that vulnerability extends to the workplace, where dangerous conditions can result in injuries and deaths.

So North Carolinians have something to cheer about in the latest state Department of Labor statistics, which show that workplace deaths dropped again in 2007. The trend was heading in the opposite direction earlier this decade. That makes the decrease, following a drop in 2006 as well, especially welcome news for workers and their families.

Forty-six people died last year in workplace accidents, still a shocking number but down from 62 deaths in 2006. Additionally, the 2007 number is a four-year low. The head of the state's occupational safety and health division tells The N&O that labor department programs which train workers in safe practices have made the difference, as well as unannounced visits by labor inspectors to construction sites. The inspectors point out to companies and workers dangerous conditions such as ill-placed electrical cords, faulty scaffolding and problems with safety harnesses.

The point, of course, is to prevent accidents. Hitting employers with fines after an accident can serve a purpose, but it can come too late. Most employers undoubtedly want to keep their workers safe. But companies that may not care -- that would risk accidents to save a few bucks -- ought to face stiff fines when someone under their control is hurt.

Last year's results were particularly encouraging in light of more and more people (and thus employees) moving into the state and continued growth in Hispanic workers. Yet the good news still puts Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry in the unenviable position of having to answer the question, "What will you do for us this year?" At least three workers have died on the job in the first weeks of 2008, a Waynesville man who died from a fall in Cherokee County and two Wayne County men killed when a metal sheet fell from a crane in Manteo, crushing them.

Campaigns have a habit of petering out once success is attained. If Berry manages to resist that tendency, North Carolina's workplaces could become even safer.