There is an increase in workplace injury applications, says Assistant Minister to the Office of the Prime Minister Sakiusa Tubuna.
During a recent presentation to the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, Mr Tubuna pointed out that applications increased from 196 in 2019 to 682 in 2020, indicating a substantial rise in reported workplace injuries.
“What is the cause of this,” Mr Tubuna asked.
“Are the employers neglecting the work environment, or not following OHS protocols, because this is a serious issue.”
In response, Ajeet Charan, an accountant for the Accident Compensation Commission Fiji (ACCF), attributed the increase to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He explained that while workplace accidents may have occurred before the pandemic, the disruption caused by the pandemic led to a higher number of compensation claims.
“So basically, for us, the most important thing that we identified during that period was because of the pandemic, like the accident may have been happening prior to that, lot of action happening,” Mr Charan said.
“But because the employees would have been receiving the wages, and because of the no fault, then employees would not be putting pressure on the employers.”
Additionally, Mr Charan said that increased public awareness campaigns by ACCF during this period contributed to the rise in compensation applications.
