By Lynford Simpson, Staff Reporter 
Source: Ministry of Labour Statistical Bulletin 2001.
SIX PEOPLE were killed last year in industrial accidents, according to the Ministry of Labour's 2001 Statistical Bulletin.
This is a substantial increase over 1999 and 2000, when there was only one fatal accident each year. Despite this, fewer people got hurt in industrial accidents in 2001 compared to 2000, according to the Ministry.
The number of accidents reported to the Ministry in 2001 declined by 65.2 per cent, moving from 273 to 95.
September experienced the greatest decline in reported accidents, with the figure falling from 59 to 3, a 95 per cent reduction. The second largest decline occurred in the months of May and December with a 75 per cent reduction, each month. November was the only month experiencing an increase and this amounted to 33.3 per cent.
Of the 95 reported accidents in 2001, 71 or 75 per cent qualified for investigations. The majority of these investigations were conducted in September and July, with totals of 24 and 12, respectively. All accidents which qualified for investigations were investigated.
Meanwhile, investigations carried out by the Ministry's Occupational Safety and Health department for the year 2001 increased by 167 compared to 2000, a nine per cent jump. There was also a 10.2 per cent increase in special investigations over the period. August had the highest increase in inspections, with the figure moving from 66 to 309.
The month experiencing the largest decrease was March, 50.9 per cent, from 271 to 133. Inspection of registered factories increased by 14.4 per cent from 1,147 to 1,312, while inspections of unregistered factories decreased by 14.4 per cent from 425 to 364. Inspection of ships increased to 186 from 133, an upward movement of 39.8 per cent.
Special investigations were highest in the month of October with 21 or 19.4 per cent of the total. April saw the greatest improvement where 20 inspections were conducted. However, May saw a decline from 20 to 2
inspections.
