AMMAN — The Social Security Corporation (SSC) will launch a campaign next year to raise public awareness on the importance of workplace safety and health regulations, after workplace injuries reached alarming levels last year.

A study prepared by the corporation’s health and safety regulation department recorded more than 16,432 workplace injuries in 2011, most commonly in the tourism and construction sectors.

The report recommended stronger and more active partnership between the public and private sectors to address the causes of these injuries and implement effective safety regulations in workplaces.

“It is the state’s role to ensure a healthy work environment for all labourers and guarantee their rights are secured and protected by introducing and enforcing the relevant legislation in order to instil a sense of loyalty to the workplace in their minds,” SSC Spokesperson Musa Subeihi said at a press conference to release the results of the study on Sunday, adding that last year the death toll in the workplace stood at 76.

He added that workplace safety is still substandard, which puts workers at risk as well as the national economy.

In order to encourage employers to apply safety standards in the workplace, Subeihi said, the SSC is considering raising the monthly subscription fees for enterprises that fall short, noting that the corporation’s database shows that an incident takes place every 32 minutes and one labourer dies every five days.

“Since the establishment of the SSC in 1980, more that 400,000 work injuries have taken place, at an annual average of 14,000 work injuries,” Subeihi said.

Meanwhile, Firan Shatnawi, head of the health and safety regulation department, noted that among insured workers 9,979 Jordanians and 2,710 workers of other nationalities suffered injuries last year, adding that a significant number of work injuries last year happened on a Friday, when labour ministry inspections are less common.