AN ESTIMATED 1,400 people died in Ireland from work-related diseases in 2003, rather than the officially recorded 65 people, a conference on heath and safety at work in Bilbao heard yesterday.
Figures released by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work at the conference have shown the lower figure masks the true level of mortality, caused by heart attacks, cancers and other stress-related diseases.
The agency's figures for 2003 showed that of the 165,000 fatalities attributed to work-related accidents and diseases in the EU, 159,000 could be attributed to work-driven non-accidental deaths.
The figures also showed that while 7,460 died in workplace accidents in the EU, the true death rate was 74,000 if heart attacks, cancers and stress-related diseases were included.
It said that 74,000 fatalities could be attributed to hazardous substances at work in the EU, including asbestos and passive smoking.
The Irish figures showed that in 2003 there were 1.8 million people employed in the Republic.
The Bilbao-based EU agency said that accidents in Ireland causing at least four days' absence in that year stood at 75,167 and work-related diseases stood at 1,333.
Its estimate for work-related mortality was 1,143 and of these there were 623 deaths caused by dangerous substances.
Agency director Dr Jukka Takala said the time had come for Europe to realise that accidents at work were only the most visible and easily recorded part of work-related deaths.
The majority, he said, were caused by stress, including cancers and heart attack.
The figures were released at the European Lighten the Load conference in the Basque capital, which was the closing event of the European 2007 campaign on work-related musculoskeletal disorders, (MSDs).
Research has shown that MSDs are the most common work-related problem, and in the EU, 25 per cent of workers complain about back pain, while 23 per cent report muscular pain.
Dr Elke Schneider of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work said certain studies had estimated work-related upper limb musculoskeletal disorders were costing national governments between 0.5 per cent and 2 per cent of gross domestic product.