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Swiss companies urged to improve accident prevention

Occupational Health Day: Suva promotes prevention
Occupational Health Day: Suva promotes prevention Keystone-SDA

On World Day for Safety and Health at Work, Suva, the Swiss national accident insurance fund, is calling on companies to strengthen their prevention culture.

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Nearly three million people worldwide die every year in the course of their work. Most of these deaths are due to work-related illnesses, according to accident insurance. In Switzerland, between 2019 and 2023 around 218 workers died each year as a result of their work, 153 of them due to occupational illnesses.

In Switzerland, the proportion of deaths due to occupational illnesses is well below the global average, and 90% of them are linked to exposure to asbestos.

+ Asbestos removal work still progressing slowly in Switzerland

Suva is calling for further progress in the culture of prevention in the Swiss workplace. It highlights six dimensions: communication, values and rules, conduct, learning, responsibility and company organisation.

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Suva believes that, in order to meet the current challenges of health and safety in the workplace, as well as those relating to safety during leisure activities, it is in the interests of companies to incorporate this prevention approach into their day-to-day activities.

Such an approach can drastically reduce accidents and absences, and help to improve performance, efficiency and the quality of work, as well as the company’s image and reputation. The insurance company concludes that a culture of prevention is an investment in the long-term future of the company and, above all, the people who work there.

Translated from French by DeepL/ts

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