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Textos
FORGS & CEPS
Federação Operária do Rio Grande do Sul Centro de Estudos e Pesquisa Social
Dados
Number 05

Work Accidents in Brazil: the workers under permanent risk

The official records are far from portraying the reality of the world of work
in Brazil. It is estimated that over one third of Brazilian workers are
embedded in the so-called formal labor market, or are registered as
workers (military, public servants, autonomous professionals, have their
own structures or other types of bonds of legal nature for the social
security), which guarantees them a minimum of social rights. "According
to the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD 2008, the number of
workers in Brazil reached 92.4 million people from ten or more years of
age, and of these 31.9 million are registered." 1 As a general rule are
forgotten the thousands of foreign workers who settle in Brazil, which are
illegal, subjected to systems of slavery mostly in large cities. In this
context is presented one of our biggest problems, which is translated in
poor working conditions that are offered to employees. In this context the
national indices of Work Accidents remain high, but only a limited amount
worth recording. The following are the data relative to the period 1998 to
2007, in what refers to accidents at work, which had official annotation in
Brazil:

Year 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Accidents 414.341 387.820 363.868 340.251, 393.071,
Deaths 3.793 3.896 3094 2753 2.968
Disabled 15.923 16.757 15.317 12.038 15.259
Occupational 30.489 23.903 19.605 18.487 22.311
Diseases
Year 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Accidents 399.077 465.700 499.680 512.232 653.090
Deaths 2.674 2.801 2.708 2.717 2.804
Disabled 13.416 12.563 13.614 8.383 8.504
Occupational 23.858 30.194 33.096 30.170 20.786
Diseases
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• Source: Statistical Yearbook of Work Accidents (AEAT) work done by

the Ministry of Social Welfare in partnership with the Ministry of Labor and
Employment. 2

In general working conditions are very risky, and the supervision of the
Ministry of Labor and Employment, responsible for monitoring the
workplace in Brazil, is insufficient. "There are about three thousand work
fiscal auditors working in supervision activities, it would take twice the
federal public servants, invested in this task by tracking the reality of
work. Another component that inhibits a more resolute action of the
supervisory organs is the contingent of federal funds, which sometimes
prevents the movement of tax and maintenance of field actions. Often the
labor inspectors have to make expenditures on their own with
displacement and meet the costs of board and lodging. 3 Following the
companies that serve the "Regulatory Standards", better known as RS,
Decree no. 3214 of 08 June 1978, which govern and regulate the working
environment are part of the exception. The vast majority of companies
operate in poor conditions. It is, therefore, in these dangerous
environments, arduous and unhealthy and poorly lit, that the employees
have to undergo to ensure their livelihood. Added to these factors, the
long and exhausting working hours, the constant lack of Personal
Protective Equipment and of collective use. "According to the Department
of Politics of Social Welfare of MPS, the most frequent accidents are with
the fist and account for 27.5% of cases. Including the cases of synovitis
and tenosynovitis, the percentage rises to 30%. This shows that one third
of the accidents occur as a result of lack of empowerment of people or
lack of equipment and suitable working procedures and the use of
obsolete equipment. They are accidents that could be avoided quite
easily investing more in training in safe work process and replacing the
obsolete machines. "4 In this particular, by way of example we cite the
Regulatory Norm. 6, which is true work of fiction, because predicts for the
training of workers in the use of Personal Protective Equipment. Herein
lays one of the biggest gaps that workers have to overcome, as the
employers in this country are reluctant to provide the equipment
necessary to protect the worker and even when they provide, are of low
quality. In short there is no equipment and training. On top of that training
workers in our country is symptomatic.
Millions of workers are in the condition of illiterate, semi-literate or
functional illiterate. Collecting 2008 data from the PNAD we have:
"Among the employed, 7.8 million people (8.4%) had no education or had
less than a year of study, 8.6 million people (9.3% ) had 1 to 3 years of
study, 21.8 million people (23.6%) had 4 to 7 years of study and 16.0
million people (17.3%) ranged from 8 to 10 years of study "5 If the data
are correct we have the official total of 54.2 million workers without having
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completed secondary education, which in theory would still be free with

the primary. In short, the execrable statement observed in Brazil leads to
low qualification that is one of the components of acceptance of poor
working conditions and also difficult to organize workers in the rejection of
job insecurity. The fact that many workers are in informality or even, to
have job, but that without proper registration (formal link) exacerbates
their miserable situation. "Among the 92.4 million people from ten or more
years of age employed 48.1 million (52.1%) were contributing to social
security funds in 2008" 6 In theory these are supported by social
insurance. The worker on condition of informality and underemployment
that suffers any accident at work without proper registration in license,
suffers double jeopardy because it is deprived of the few and inadequate
social security and social rights to which the worker is registered by the
company. In addition to having to earn their living and getting nothing of
insurance and compensation for suffering concussion, they still have to
pay for treatment that is generally very expensive. Even the formal
workers sometimes do not have all their rights guaranteed, because in
case of partial or total disability for work, notes that the company that
exploited them no longer exists or is in default with full reference to the
payment of social tax, what may cause you inconvenience. It is also worth
noting that many entrepreneurs do not have the financial structure to
repair damage caused to the health of their employees, whether negligent
or intentional. Companies that overlook the record of the workers are
failing to contribute to Social Security and, consequently, with a profit
even more criminal.

On top of that the denial of the fiscal taxes, further weakens the already
weakened public health system in Brazil. Aside from that tax evasion is
common for entrepreneurs to deny access of injured workers to the
service desk. It's called "no notification" of the Occupational Accident.
With that, workers no longer receive the days off for the firm and social
insurance and risk being dismissed because it challenges the unofficial
provisional guarantee employment to the injured. There are cases of
companies where the employee, whether injured or suffering from
occupational health problems, remains active. The fear of losing their jobs
and the consequent livelihood in which generally include the family
members contribute to the maintenance of this state. Occupational
diseases can also be uncertainty in this regard. "You can define
occupational disease as any disease caused by work or the conditions of
the environment on which it runs. The Brazilian legislation defines
occupational or work diseases in Decree 2172 of 05 March 1997, Article
132, sections I and II, and Annex II, equalizing to all intents and purposes,
to the work accident. It also states in Article 132, paragraph 2 of Decree
2172, which, in exceptional cases, noting that a disease is not included
on the list included in Annex II resulted from special conditions under
which work is performed and it is related directly to Social Security should
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equate it to the work accident "7 Sometimes the symptoms can be

alleviated (doctored). Often we hear that industry colleagues working
under the influence of drugs or similar painkillers to reduce pain, including
used without proper prescription. It is the fear of losing their jobs, to stay
away and returning to find his place occupied by another worker.
Contributes to that, that Social Security makes payments only in
proportion, meaning a significant reduction in wages. Very common is the
benefit of the employee seeking to keep busy which tends to worsen their
already battered situation. A recent change of conduct on the part of
federal agencies (2007) make possible the morbid accounting of 138,955
Occupational Accidents or more, which have not been given sufficient
and necessary formal notification required by law to employers (without
Work Accident Communication Registered).

"In 2007 there was a significant increase in the records of accidents. This
fact is due to the first reflection of the official adoption of the Social
Security Epidemiological Technical Nexus in the system for granting
accident benefits. With the new methodology introduced by Social
Security, some diseases, which were previously reported as non-work
accident, are identified as accidental, based on the correlation between
the causes of the expulsion and the sector of worker activity groups. Is
how these cases are suspected, there is no need to issue the
Communication of Work Accident. " 8 In 2007, were registered, as
contained in the Statistical Yearbook of Occupational Accidents (AEAT
2007), 9 514,135 occupational accidents, which are added to the 138,955
cited without proper record, but noted in the attendances made in the
public health system and which are classified as typical of the work,
making a total of 653,090 accidents. They are mostly Occupational
Diseases. In the light of the available data also is noted that Brazil is
among the countries with the highest incidence of accidents at work and
compete in that we are included among the highest number of deaths.
"The statistics show that between 1971 and 2000 (30 years), died in
Brazil more than 120,000 people and another 300 thousand remained
invalid, all victims of more than 30 million work-related injuries reported in
the period" 10 27 / 06/2006.

16000
14000
12000
10000
8000
6000 Deaths - 2000
4000
2000
0
China USA Russia Brazil
14924 5559 4370 3094
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Looking at the dramatic estimates of the International Labor Organization

(ILO) necessarily have to take into account the following data: "The ILO
estimates (2008) that 6,000 workers die each day in the world due to
accidents and diseases related to work, a number that is increasing
(these numbers can be calculated in 2.2 million deaths caused by
accidents or occupational diseases). In addition, each year there are 270
million non-fatal accidents at work (resulting in a minimum of three days
absence from work) and 160 million new cases of occupational diseases.
The ILO estimates that the total cost of these accidents amounts to 4% of
global GDP or more than twenty times the total cost for investments in
developing countries. " 11 In short, the work without conditions, claims the
lives and health of millions of people, and investors hypocritically call it
development. It also is important to understand the Accidents at Work
that permanently disable workers involved in this misfortune. The officials
call attention to this tragedy, which plays in the absolute impoverishment
of thousands of workers every year. The numbers, obviously, do not show
the real situation that the injured are in a position of permanent
hyposufficience. On top of the suffering of the victim is still the family
involvement, which many times is to serve permanently the injured,
thereby decreasing family incomes, because the spending increases.
There are many instances of Accidents at Work, only the pests mentioned
of the exploitation of workers will, unfortunately, add. In particular, it is
timely to consider what is observed in the growth of accidents in the way
to the work. Following we present graphically the data for the last ten
years:

Year 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Accidents 26.114 37.513 39.300 38.799 46.881
in the
way to
work
Year 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Accidents 49.642 60.336 67.971 74.636 78.564
in the
way to
work

• Source: Statistical Yearbook of Work Accidents (AEAT) work done by

the Ministry of Social Welfare in partnership with the Ministry of Labor and
Employment. 12
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In 10 years the number of work accidents more than doubled which

shows that the constituted authorities proved awkward to solve this kind
of situation. You can still include accidents involving professionals who
drive motor vehicles (cars, motorcycles, trucks, SUVs, buses, etc..),
Which has grown because the traffic in Brazil is one of that most takes
lives. The situation of rural workers also is rooted in the harsh working
conditions which, in most cases, are still manual and a permanent risk,
this means millions of workers are exposed to every kind of risk at work,
not receiving EPI, many are not formally registered in and often being
transported in a vehicle without the minimum conditions of transit, along
with supplies and tools, which further increases the risk of accidents and
damage. On top of that, thousands of rural workers, working directly with
chemicals, which nature (side effects on health) is completely unknown.
Always remember that the defensive leave traces that can attack the
health of other jobs that perform management of the plantation, including
effecting crops. The number for rural men and women, with respect to
pathology of work, remain unclear, which prevents an accurate diagnosis
of the situation in concrete. The area of prevention and job training,
receives input of resources were wholly inadequate. Continue attacking
the consequences and not the causes of problems. "Given the federal
government data show that accidents and illnesses cost annually U.S. $
10.7 billion to the coffers of Social Security, responsible for the payment
of sickness benefit, aid, accident and pensions." 13 Unfortunately the
governors on duty bet on expensive curative model, neglecting the
positive aspects of prevention, these objectively, cheaper. "The
International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates (2005) that the countries
of Latin America and the Caribbean lose $ 76 billion a year on deaths and
injuries caused by occupational diseases. According to the entity it means
something between 2% and 4% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the
region. "14 To equalize this tragic situation, only the direct action of
workers themselves, mediated by their organization from the workplace,
will allow, through pressure and mobilization, the reversal of this situation
disastrous.

Sources:

1.
http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/presidencia/noticias/noticia_visualiza.php?id
_noticia=1455&id_pagina=1
For comparison purposes we attach the data found in 2004: Data from
the synthesis of social indicators of the Brazilian Institute of Geography
and Statistics (IBGE) show that in 2004, 30.4% of the employed
population in the country had formal employment, or three in ten
Brazilians. This group is protected against accidents at work; it
contributes to Social Security, which pays sickness benefit, aid, accident
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and disability pensions. But the IBGE also shows that 22% of the
Economically Active Population of Brazil is self-employed, and 18.3% are
employed without a contract. This group is not entitled to Social Security
benefits, and are not eligible to the domestic workers that do not
contribute (according to the survey, the total number of domestic workers
is equivalent to 7.7% of the population) and non-paid workers, who
account 7.7%. They are protected by a special system of insurance
against accidents at work and the military statutory servants, amounting
to 6.6% of the EAP. In short, there is no record of accidents at work for
more than half of Brazilian workers

2. http://www.previdencia.gov.br/

3. Syndicate of Fiscal Auditors of Labor;

Another problem concerns the structural problems, in particular,
with respect to the amount of staff available and the possibility of their
use. Tax auditors in insufficient numbers indicate the urgent need to hold
new public contest for the Special Group of Mobile Inspection can be
extended and renovated. Annual Assessment - PPA 2000-2003 year
2002.
http://www.camara.gov.br/internet/comissao/index/mista/orca/ppa/ppa
202000-2003/ppa_rel_aval/021_Trabalho%% 20e% 20Emprego.PDF

4.
www.previdenciasocial.gov.br/.../agprev_mostraNoticia.asp?...30.
..

5.http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/presidencia/noticias/noticia_visuali
za.php?id_noticia=1455&id_pagina=

6.http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/presidencia/noticias/noticia_visuali
za.php?id_noticia=1455&id_pagina=

7.http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/8084/Conc_doe.htm

8.http://www.mte.gov.br/sistemas/atlas/Boletim/acidente/acidente
.html

9.http://www.previdencia.gov.br/

10.http://cecac.org.br

11.http://www.oitbrasil.org.br/28deabril.php

12.http://www.previdencia.gov.br/
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13.http://www.riscobiologico.org/detalhes_topico.asp?id_pagina=
148&id_topico=754

14.http://www.agenciabrasil.gov.br/noticias/2007/07/27/materia.2
007-07-27.2077542540/view