Philippines

Organization responsible for the statistics

Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics, Department of Labor.

Periodicity

Annual.

Source

Occupational Injuries Survey.

Objectives and users

To provide relevant data on occupational injuries by the Department of Labor and other concerned government and private entities for monitoring health and safety in the workplace and for formulating policies and programmes for workers' welfare.

Major users:

Government, employer and labour groups, non-governmental organizations, academics and professional groups.

Coverage

Persons:

Working owners with or without pay, salaried directors, managers and executives, permanent, temporary and casual employees, apprentices and learners with or without pay, employees on paid sick leave, vacation, maternity or other leave, employees working away from the establishment but paid by and under the control of the establishment, employees on strike, persons working without regular pay for at least one-third of the working time normal in the establishments.

The following are excluded: silent or inactive partners, members of the board paid solely for attendance at meetings, workers on leave without pay, consultants, persons paid solely on commission, persons paid on a retainer basis, and homeworkers.

About 2,500,000 workers are covered.

Economic activities:

Since 1991, all economic activities and sectors except government services, public administration and defence. In 1990, agriculture was not covered because of a lack of listing of establishments to be used as the sample frame.

Geographic areas:

All areas.

Persons working outside the country are not covered. Persons normally resident outside the country but working in establishments in the country are covered.

Establishments:

All establishments employing at least ten workers.

Types of occupational accidents covered

All types of reported occupational accidents occurring in the work environment.

Neither occupational diseases nor commuting accidents are included.

Concepts and definitions

The following terms and definitions used in the statistics were derived from various sources, including labour legislation, insurance and compensation regulations. In general, they follow the current international statistical standards and guidelines.

Work accident:

An unplanned, unexpected occurrence that may or may not result in personal injury, property damage, work stoppage or interference, or any combination of these conditions which arises out of and in the course of employment.

Occupational injury:

Any injury, such as cuts, fractures, sprains, amputations, etc., which results from a work accident or from exposure involving a single incident in the work environment.

Disabling injury:

Any occupational death, regardless of the time between injury and death, or any non-fatal occupational injury except those requiring medical treatment only. The extent of disability is as follows:

Fatal: death caused by a work accident.
Permanent total disability: disability which permanently and totally incapacitates an employee from engaging in any gainful occupation or which results in the loss or the complete loss of use of any of the following in one accident: one eye and one hand or arm, leg or foot; any two of the following not on the same limb: hand, arm, foot or leg; permanent complete paralysis of two limbs; brain injury resulting in incurable imbecility or insanity.
Permanent partial disability: disability other than fatal or permanent total disability which results in the loss or loss of use of a part of the body regardless of any preexisting disability of the injured member or impaired body function.
Temporary total disability: disability which does not result in death, permanent total or permanent partial disability, but which causes absences for a fixed period of time.

Non-disabling injuries (medical treatment):

Disability which requires first-aid or medical attention of any kind and which does not result in lost workdays.

Lost workdays:

Days for which employees were not able to work due to occupational injuries.

Work environment:

The physical location, equipment, materials processed or used, and the kinds of operations performed by an employee in the performance of his work, whether on or off the employer's premises.

Establishment:

An economic unit under a single ownership or which engages in one or predominantly one kind of economic activity at a single fixed location.

Minimum period of absence from work: none; information is collected about all injuries, including medical treatment cases classified as non-disabling occupational injuries with no workdays lost.

Maximum period for death to be considered a fatal occupational injury: within the same reference year as the accident.

Types of information compiled

(a) personal characteristics of persons injured: none;

(b) amount of worktime lost;

(d) characteristics of injuries: nature of injury and extent of disability;

(e) characteristics of employers or workplaces: average number of workers employed;

(f) other characteristics: total hours worked.

Measurement of worktime lost

Worktime lost is measured in workdays.

It is compiled as follows:

for temporary incapacity to work: either as reported by the establishment; if the employee was still away from work at the end of the reference year, the number of future workdays expected to be lost is estimated and added to the total already lost; each partial day away from work other than the day of the accident is considered as one full workday lost; or estimated at less than 120 workdays lost per case;
for permanent incapacity to work:
- permanent partial incapacity: as reported by the establishment (see above) or at 120 or more workdays lost per case;
- permanent total incapacity: using a standard scheduled charge of 6,000 workdays lost per case;
for a fatal injury: using a standard scheduled charge of 6,000 workdays lost per case;

Temporary absences of less than one day for medical treatment are not counted as worktime lost.

Classifications

(a) fatal or non-fatal accidents:

disabling or non-disabling injuries, with disabling injuries classified by extent of disability: fatal, permanent total, permanent partial and temporary;

(b) extent of disability:

see above;

(c) economic activity:

according to a classification based on the International Standard Industrial Classification of all economic activities, Revision 2, at the major division level; for manufacturing, at the major group level;

(d) occupation:

none;

(e) type of injury:

cuts, lacerations, punctures and avulsions; contusions, bruises, haematoma, and abrasions; strains, sprains, dislocations and fractures; burns and scalds (thermal and chemical); crushings, spinal and cranial injuries; amputations and loss of body parts; foreign body in the eye; electrocution and electric shock; asphyxiation and poisoning; others;

(f) cause of accident:

none;

(g) duration of absence from work:

none;

(h) characteristics of workers:

none;

(i) characteristics of accidents;

(j) characteristics of employers or workplaces:

size of establishment (10-99 workers, 100-199 workers and 200 workers or more);

(k) other:

region.

Crossclassifications:

economic activity and extent of disability;
economic activity and employment size;
economic activity and nature of injury.

Reference period

One year.

An injury is included in the statistics for the period (year) in which the accident occurred.

Worktime lost is included in the statistics for the period (year) in which the accident occurred.

Estimates

Total number of occupational injuries.

Frequency rates of disabling occupational injuries per 500 full-time workers, calculated as the number of disabling injuries per 1,000,000 employee hours of exposure, where 1,000,000 workhours of exposure is equivalent to 500 persons each exposed to 2,000 hours of work per year.

Estimated total hours worked = reported total hours worked x (estimated number of establishments with injuries / reported number of establishments with injuries)

Frequency rate = (estimated number of cases of injury / estimated total hours worked) x 1,000,000

Severity rate: the number of lost workdays due to disabling injuries per 1,000,000 employee hours of exposure = (estimated number of lost workdays / estimated total hours worked) x 1,000,000

Historical background of the series

The statistics were first compiled and published with respect to 1986. No data were compiled for 1987 to 1989. The current survey began with respect to 1990. There has been no change in the objectives of the compilation.

As from 1991, agriculture has been included, and information has been collected on the nature of injury for disabling injuries. The questionnaire format was revised for the collection of data for 1995, by including explicit instructions regarding the coverage of the different terms.

Documentation

Series available:

The following tables are published with respect to establishments employing ten or more workers:

Number of establishments with occupational injuries by economic activity and region.

Number of occupational injuries by economic activity and region.

number of disabling occupational injuries by:

economic activity, extent of disability and region;
economic activity, employment size and region;
economic activity, nature of injury and region.

Frequency rates of disabling injuries by:

economic activity, extent of disability and region;
economic activity, employment size and region;
economic activity, nature of injury and region.

Severity rates of disabling occupational injuries by:

economic activity and area;
economic activity, employment size and region.

Bibliographic references:

The data are published in:

Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Injuries and Work Accidents (annual).

idem: Yearbook of Labor Statistics (annual).

Methodological notes appear in each of these publications along with the data.

Regional data and data on workdays lost and total hours worked are not published, but may be made available on request.

These data can be supplied on magnetic tape; the data on workdays lost and total hours worked can also be supplied on diskette.

Data published by ILO:

The following data, from 1990 onwards, are furnished regularly to the ILO for publication in the Yearbook of Labour Statistics, relating to reported injuries according to major division of economic activity: number of persons fatally injured, number of persons injured with lost workdays, total of these two groups; number of workdays lost by persons with lost workdays; rates of fatal injuries per 1,000,000 hours worked. The number of persons at risk (total number of employees) is also supplied and stored in the LABORSTA database.

Confidentiality:

Only integrated information may be published; the data may be used only for statistical purposes.

International standards

The current international statistical standards and guidelines were among the materials used when the concepts, definitions and methods used for compiling the statistics were last revised.

Method of data collection

Type of survey:

Establishment survey.

Types of data collected:

The following types of data are collected in the survey questionnaire:

information about the establishment: name, address and size (average number of workers), total hours worked during the year, main economic activity;
number of occupational injuries according to extent of injury and nature of injury.

The questionnaire includes instructions for its completion, including definitions and coverage, and a table showing frequency rates according to extent of injury and severity rates, by economic activity.

Universe of the survey:

A list of establishments generated by the Industrial Census every five years. It is updated each year and covers all economic activity. It includes about 40,000 to 45,000 establishments.

Sampling:

Sampling methods are used. The sampling unit is the establishment. The sampling frame is stratified by region, economic activity and employment, and a sample selected from each.

Field work:

Data are collected with reference to 1 January to 31 December of the previous year. The questionnaires are mailed to the sample establishments, with personal visits or follow-up by enumerators. Data should be provided within ten working days of receiving the form.

Data processing:

The questionnaires are edited manual by checking for completeness, consistency and reliability. Doubtful entries are verified by telephone for establishments in the National Capital Region, and by mail elsewhere. The manually edited forms are coded by computer then validated manually. Any corrections are re-encoded as necessary. The forms are then processed by computer and the tables generated.

Estimates:

Estimation starts at the cell level, defined by the Ath area, ith industry and jth size. For convenience in notations, the subscripts have been dropped.

The following formulae are for cell estimates; estimates by size, major industry group, area and the whole country are derived through summation at the desired levels:

Number of establishments with occupational injuries:

NJ = nJ x N / n'

where:

NJ = estimated number of establishments with injuries

nJ = reported number of establishments with injuries

N = population of establishments

n' = number of responding establishments

Number of establishments with disabling occupational injuries:

NDJ = nDJ x N / n'

where:

NDJ = estimated number of establishments with disabling injuries

nDJ = reported number of establishments with disabling injuries

Number of establishments with non-disabling occupational injuries:

NNDJ = nNDJ x N / n'

where:

NNDJ = estimated number of establishments with non-disabling injuries

nNDJ = reported number of establishments with non-disabling injuries

Number of cases of occupational injuries:

Cje = Σ_t CJet ; Σ_e CJet

where:

Cje = estimated number of cases with e extent of disability

Cjt = estimated number of cases with t nature of injury

Cjet = estimated number of cases with e extent and t nature of injury = cjet x N / n'

cjet = reported number of cases with e extent and t nature of injury

Number of lost workdays:

Dje = Σ_t Djet

Djt = Σ_e Djet

where:

Dje = estimated number of lost workdays in e extent of disability

Djt = estimated number of lost workdays in t nature of injury

Djet = estimated number of lost workdays in e extent and t nature of injury = djet x N / n'

djet = reported number of lost workdays in e extent and t nature of injury

Reliability of the estimates:

The whole of the target population (establishments employing ten or more workers) is covered by the sample frame. Standard errors and sampling variance are not calculated. About 38 per cent of establishments do not respond.

Changes planned:

None.

Additional information

Information on occupational injuries is also compiled and published by the Bureau of Working Conditions of the Department of Labor and Employment, on the basis of work accident reports submitted by employers in accordance with Rule 1050 of the Occupational Safety and Health Standards.