Health and Safety at the Workplace in Italy

According to the official data collected by the National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (INAIL), the social costs directly associated to work-related accidents in Italy amount to € 45 billion every year. More than 700,000 work-related accidents are reported yearly, 900 of which are deadly. However, these figures are gradually declining, due to a fall in the activity rates resulting from the recession. Further, while the number of occupational diseases and accidents resulting from “dangerous behaviour” (related to inadequate organization of work) is on the rise, the injuries related to “structural” (e.g. collapses) or “technological” factors (e.g. any equipment malfunction) are decreasing.