Azerbaijan, Baku, April 21 / Trend A. Akhundov /
Roughly 24 people died and 48 were injured at work in Azerbaijan in the first quarter of the year, Chairman of the Azerbaijani Confederation of Trade Unions Sattar Mehbalyev said at an event on the occasion of the upcoming World Day for Safety (April 28).
"The accidents occurred in construction, oil and gas industry and power engineering," he said.
He said the number of fatalities was 67 people in 2009 and 69 people in 2010.
"Four people died in companies and organizations with trade unions in the first quarter," he said. "The number of injuries at work at such enterprises reduced from 65 in 2009 to 54 in 2010, while the number of deaths has decreased from 18 to 15."
He said the organization's technical labor inspectors have recently conducted studies at more than 1,500 enterprises with poor safety conditions. They revealed more than 1,000 violations of the law.
"About 81 percent of the deficiencies revealed in 2010 were eliminated," Mehbalyev said.
He said as a result of the activities undertaken by the Confederation of Trade Unions, employer costs for labor protection increased by 50 percent.