POTENTIAL threats to our physical well-being lurk around us whatever job we do, according to Health & Safety officer Doris Foley.

And she added that many companies were breaking the law, some without realising it, by failing to have a health and safety committee in place. All employers with a workforce of five or more are legally obliged to have one.

While she conceded that those who worked with heavy machinery or among hazardous substances faced the most obvious dangers at work, Ms Foley said office workers also encountered very real risks to their health as well.

Speaking ahead of next week's International Day for Dead and Injured Workers, Mrs. Foley said responsibility for safety at work lay with both employers and employees.

"In many cases, workers are not fully aware of the dangers they face, because they have not taken the necesary time out to find out what they are," said Mrs. Foley. "They are given tasks to do and they go about getting them done.

"When an employer takes on a worker he has a responsibility to satisfy himself that this person understands the arrangements necessary to ensure that he does not incur injury or occupational illness." Mrs. Foley said the results of such complacency had a significant effect on the community. She said Bermuda had suffered ten deaths at work since 1984, although strangely enough in that time only two cases of occupational injury had been reported.

She said many cases were going unreported. And there was also a financial cost.

"We recognise that there are hundreds of thousands of dollars being paid out by insurance companies for patients who are disabled when the situation could have been prevented," said Mrs. Foley.

"That person suffers hardship in many ways and so do their family members. The employer may also find himself having to pay higher insurance premiums."

Heavy labouring jobs bore the most obvious dangers, Mrs. Foley added, but even apparently 'safe' workplaces harboured dangers.

"The high-risk categories are construction workers, dock workers and airport workers and anybody who works around heavy machinery. There are also those who work with potentially harmful substances they might inhale or in high noise levels.

"Offices are generally considered low-risk places to work, but people can leave the office with eye strain, back pain, shoulder pain or wrist pain.

"This is generally because the interface between man and machinery is unsuitable. Work stations need to be correctly set up and workers need to take the necessary breaks.

"There are other, psychological stresses to consider as well. They play an important part in absenteeism which of course reduces productivity."

Mrs. Foley said most of the island's bigger employers, like the banks and insurance companies, complied with the law which made health and safety committees mandatory.

"By law every place of employment which employs five people should have a health and safety committee," said Mrs. Foley. "We recently carried out a survey of 5,000 employers and found that most of the bigger ones were in compliance - but many of the smaller ones were not."

The Health & Safety Office dealt with non-compliers by serving them with a notice to put the situation right within a given time, Mrs. Foley added.

The Office also offers a four-day training course for employers and employees that covers health and saftey workplace assessments, setting up a committee, how to investigate accidents and the requirements of legislation.

Mrs. Foley said the aim of next Monday's International Day for Dead and Injured Workers was to raise awareness of risks at work, as well as to remember those who had suffered.

The Interational Labour Organistaion, the International Confederation for Free Trade and unions around the world back the event.

Global statistics show that each year, two million people die as a result of occupational accidents and work-related diseases.

And it is estimated that world-wide, there are around 270 million work accidents and 160 million instances of work-related illness each year.

In Bermuda, the day will be marked by a declaration by Health & Family Services Minister Nelson Bascome on the steps of City Hall at midday in front of assembled employers and workers.

The crowd will then walk to the Cathedral, where at 12.30 p.m. there will be a candle-lighting service in recognition of dead and seriously injured workers.