Hazards at work: About 48,000 workers died in the country in 2016 owing to occupational accidents. | Photo Credit: SOMASHEKAR G R N more-in The mortality rate at workplaces in India has been increasing, the British Safety Council has said at the opening of its first overseas office in the city to raise awareness of the importance of health and safety. The British Safety Council (India) LLP will be based in Lower Parel and offer services like auditing, training, e-learning for the Indian market. The services will be offered in partnership with NIST Institute, a leading safety training and consultancy company. The council, which has been serving India for the past 30 years, said that a recent report on workplace fatalities in the country showed that about 48,000 workers died due to occupational accidents. The report said that 38 fatal accidents took place every day in the construction sector alone. In contrast, the U.K. reported 137 incidents in 2016 in all employment sectors. A statement issued by the British Safety Council said, “In a country with a population of 1.25 billion, around 80% of workers of the estimated 465 million- strong workforce are not protected by the existing health and safety legal framework.” Mike Robinson, chief executive of the British Safety Council, said, “The construction sector is the one with the highest fatality rate in the U.K. and India. The death rate is 10 times higher in India as compared with the U.K. The construction sector is where the focus needs to be.” Mr. Robinson said rural areas covered a huge portion of the country and to reach out to the workers there they had to start with the largest urban cities and businesses.

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