The Labor and Social Affairs Ministry reported that there was a decline in the number of work-related deaths at construction sites throughout Israel, despite a sharp increase in work-related accidents in 2020 from 2019.
According to the ministry's report, 57 persons were killed in 2020 at building sites due to work-related accidents, as opposed to 84 in 2019, showing a drop of about 32% in deaths. The report, however, does not match other organizations’ data from work-related accidents throughout the year, although there is a consensus of a decrease in fatalities.
According to a report published by Kav LaOved, workers' hotline, 65 people were killed in 2020 because of work-related accidents, showing a decrease of 24% in comparison with 2019.
The ministry’s report said that 488 people were wounded in 2020, a rise of 11.8% since 2019.
The group "Safe Work Israel," an independent organization that collaborated with the Labor Ministry, reported that 69 workers were killed in 2020 and that, though there was a decrease in work-related deaths for Palestinian and Jewish workers at construction sites, there was an actual increase in Arab Israeli deaths as this year saw 30, while 2019 saw 27, Walla News reported.
Hezi Schwatzman, from the Committee for Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the Labor Ministry, praised the number of safety inspections throughout 2020, although in certain sectors he noted there were no inspections at all.
It is speculated that close to 70% of incidents that occur in Arab localities or Arab-run companies are not reported. Schwartzman said that "almost 70% of (building) sites do not report to us, they are not at all on our radar."
The ministry's report cited that there was a 29% increase in the number of inspection visits in all industries. There was a large increase in the construction industry: 12,250 visits were conducted in 2020 versus 8,331 in 2019, and 2,977 sites were closed in 2020 as opposed to 1,635 closures the year before.
Regarding the decrease in fatal accidents, Schwartzman said he believes it is due to the enforcement activities by the ministry. "There is no doubt that there are results for hard work," he said.
Even though there was a much higher inspection rate that closed down dangerous work environments, Israel still has a way to go to ensure the safety of all the workers in all sectors.
Despite the higher number of inspections and site shutdowns, only 179 financial sanctions were imposed on the contractors, according to data from Kav LaOved. "The number of sanctions imposed this year as well as in previous years is very low and insufficient," the organization said. "It is clear that insufficient use of the sanctions leads to a lack of deterrence among contractors.”