The Department of Labour says up to 1000 people die every year because of work-related disease.
It also says about 17,000 - 20,000 new cases of work related illness occur every year.
The Department has released a new plan to try to reduce these figures.
The Occupational Health Action Plan will give priority to reducing occupational cancer, respiratory hazards and noise and skin irritants.
The Labour Department says workplace disease is often more complex to understand than occupational injury, meaning it often ends up as a "poor cousin" to injury prevention.
