Dominica

Organization responsible for the statistics

Dominica Social Security.

Periodicity

Annual.

Source

Reports of occupational injuries submitted to the Dominica Social Security.

Objectives and users

For records and planning purposes, and for publication in the Annual Report.

Major users:

Dominica Social Security, actuaries, planners and academics.

Coverage

Persons:

All persons employed, both full- and part-time workers.

32,159 persons are covered.

Economic activities:

All economic activities and sectors.

Geographic areas:

All areas.

Only injuries occurring to persons injured and resident in Dominica are covered.

Establishments:

All types and sizes of establishments.

Types of occupational accidents covered

The statistics cover compensated injuries due to all types of occupational accidents.

Statistics of occupational diseases are also compiled, and published along with the statistics on occupational injuries.

Commuting accidents are only included if the person was travelling in a vehicle provided by his employer.

Concepts and definitions

Occupational accident:

an accident arising out of and in the course of insurable employment.

Occupational injury:

personal injury or a prescribed disease arising out of and in the course of insurable employment.

Commuting accident:

an accident happening while an employee is with the express or implied permission of his employer travelling as a passenger by any vehicle to or from his place of work, provided that the vehicle is being operated by or on behalf of his employer and is not being operated in the ordinary course of public transport service.

Worktime lost because of occupational injuries:

the period of incapacity covered by medical certificates exceeding three days but not more than 26 weeks from the date of injury.

Fatal occupational injury:

an injury resulting in the death of the insured person.

Temporary incapacity to work:

incapacity which does not last beyond 26 weeks from the date of the accident.

Disablement injury:

an accident resulting in the loss of physical or mental faculty, causing disablement assessed at not less than one per cent, in respect of which a final assessment has been made.

Minimum period of absence from work: four days.

Maximum period for death to be considered a fatal occupational injury: none.

Types of information compiled

(a) personal characteristics of persons injured: age, sex;

(b) amount of worktime lost: none;

(c) characteristics of accidents: time; location of the insured person at the time of the accident;

(d) characteristics of injuries: none;

(e) characteristics of employers or workplaces: economic activity.

Measurement of worktime lost

Worktime lost is measured in workdays, only for occupational injuries causing temporary incapacity to work.

Temporary absences from work for medical treatment are not counted as worktime lost.

Classifications

(a) fatal or non-fatal accidents:

none;

(b) extent of disability:

none;

(c) economic activity;

(d) occupation:

none;

(e) type of injury;

(f) cause of accident:

none;

(g) duration of absence from work:

none;

(h) characteristics of workers:

age, sex;

(i) characteristics of accidents;

(j) characteristics of employers or workplaces;

Crossclassifications:

none.

Reference period

One year and one month.

An injury is included in the statistics for the period (year or month) in which the claim was submitted.

Worktime lost is recorded in the statistics for the period (year or month) in which the claim was submitted.

Estimates

Totals of persons injured and workdays lost.

Percentage distributions by economic activity.

Historical background of the series

The statistics were first compiled in 1986.

Documentation

Series available:

No standard tables are published; information on occupational injuries is included in the publications of the Dominica Social Security.

Bibliographic references:

Information about occupational injuries is published in:

Dominica Social Security: Annual Report.

Data published by ILO:

The following data for 1991 and 1992 have been supplied to the ILO for publication in the Yearbook of Labour Statistics, relating to compensated 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.

Confidentiality:

There are no restrictions on the publication or release of the data.

International standards

The current international statistical standards and guidelines were taken into account when the systems for statistics of occupational injuries was established.

Method of data collection

Legislation:

Regulation 45-62 of the Social Security (Benefits) Regulations.

Claims should be submitted within four days of the accident.

Reporting:

The injured person or his employer submits the injury report to the Director of the Dominica Social Security, using a standard form.

Data reported:

The forms consists of the following information:
  1. information about the person injured: name, address, social security number, date of birth, sex, occupation, earnings;
  2. information about the employer or place of work: name, address, economic activity;
  3. information about the accident: date, time and place of accident; brief description of the cause of the accident; work performed at the time of the accident; machine being operated (if any);
  4. information about the injury: nature of injury.

Changes planned:

none.

Additional information

Some information on occupational injuries is also collected by the Safety Inspectors, as provided for by the Employment Safety Act No. 3 of 1983.