April 28th is National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Accidents and Illnesses at Work. And that is why the month that is about to end is remembered as Green April — a campaign by the MPT, the Public Ministry of Labor, with the motto “Illness is also an accident at work. Know to prevent.” 
The national coordinator of the MPT for Workers’ Health, Cirlene Zimmermann, explains that the initiative aims to explain to society the importance of reporting workplace accidents to Social Security.
The coordinator highlights that the most common workplace illnesses are bone, muscle injuries and repetitive strain injuries.
Cirlene also remembers work-related mental disorders.
Other factors, such as moral, sexual and electoral harassment, in addition to exhausting daily working hours, can lead to mental illness. But it is common for the employee himself to resist admitting the problem, due to social prejudice or embarrassment.
On the other hand, companies hardly notify the INSS about work-related mental illnesses, according to the MPT coordinator.
When a work accident is not reported to the INSS, the employee is left without sickness benefit, and society is harmed.
To promote health in the workplace, the company needs to listen to employees and act. Not just to protect them from risks.
According to the INSS, from 2012 to 2022, more than six million work accidents were reported in the country — resulting in more than two million absences and 25 thousand deaths. In the same period, spending on sickness benefits, disability pensions, death pensions and work accident benefits reached R$136 billion.
*With reporting by Oussama El Ghouri
