More than 2,000 workplace injuries were reported in Bahrain last year alone – with two thirds of them occurring on construction sites, according to a recent survey conducted by the General Organisation for Social Insurance (Gosi).

There were 2,398 on-the-job injuries in 2005 and around 1,600 were suffered at building sites, the survey pointed out.
“Most construction site accidents were caused by shoddy scaffolding and a lack of attention to proper safety regulations,” Labour Ministry occupational guidance specialist Mariam Al Ansari said.
She said many companies are found to cut corners and ignore safety precautions to save money, often at the expense of their employees.
A total of 70,000 people are employed in building and construction in Bahrain and 75 per cent of them are Asians.
“Many employers and supervisors resent safety regulations as a waste of money, but they need to understand that these precautions are really an investment in the company’s favour,” said Al Ansari.
She said below-standard scaffolding and heat exhaustion are the two biggest workplace dangers in Bahrain.
The Gosi survey revealed that while construction sites were the most dangerous workplaces, tripping, slipping and falling accounted for the largest number of work-related injuries last year. In 2005, there were 686 reports of people getting injured by tripping, slipping and falling, which accounted for 28.61 per cent of all injuries.
Falling objects posed the next biggest threat and caused 654 reported injuries, or 27.72 per cent of workplace injuries.
The majority of workplace injuries were to the extremities, especially the hands and fingers, but one per cent resulted in death. Another five per cent resulted in disability, while 67 per cent ended in complete recovery.