Agro-industrial accidents linked to length of service, operation site and confidence in employer adherence to safety rules

Abstract

Background Agriculture consistently ranks among the most hazardous occupational industries globally with high risk of job-related injuries, illnesses, disability, and death. In 2015, the agricultural fatal work injury rate in the United States was 22.8 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers; seven times the all-worker fatal injury rate of 3.4 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers. In this study we identified those factors that are associated with workplace accident and injuries at the Goldtree (SL) Limited Company- a private international agro-industrial palm company operating in Sierra Leone.Methods This is a descriptive research that made use of both qualitative and quantitative research technique to collect occupation related accident and injuries from workers at the Goldtree (SL) Limited Company international palm oil producing and marketing company in Sierra Leone. We analyzed the responses of 100 workers at the Goldtree (SL) Limited Company regarding their work safety, adherence to work safety guidelines as well as working habit.Results Thirty nine (39.0%) of the workers interviewed in this study said they had been involved in some forms of occupational accident; (33.3%) of those involved in some form of occupational accident have been working in the company for 3 – 5 years, 22.0% have been working at the company for at least 2 years; 7.7% have been working for 6 – 8 years (X 2 = 9.88, p-value = 0.02).Conclusion Workers who have spent few years in the job, have confidence that management is committed to addressing health and safety issues, believed that their working tools were in excellent condition, or agreed that they have rights and responsibilities for an effective workplace health and safety system have decreased odds of experiencing occupational accidents or injury.