UCATT Releases Safety Dossier to Improve Construction Safety Ahead of Safety Forum

Construction union UCATT have published their blueprint of their recommendations for dramatically improving safety in the construction union.

The document has been produced prior to the Safety Forum on September 17, called by Peter Hain the Secretary of State at the Department of Work and Pensions. Mr Hain organised the Forum because of the construction industry’s failure to improve its safety record.

In particular the dossier highlights concerns with the Health and Safety Executive performance and activities. The union has learnt that a backlog of cases following major accidents was resolved by investigations being conducted by letter, rather than in person. In other cases investigations were not conducted due to “inadequate resources”.

Construction deaths rose by 31 per cent in 2006/7, with 77 workers losing their lives. Yet the HSE has been experiencing real term budget cuts since 2002. The number of construction inspectors has been cut and further reductions are planned. The HSE will have to make further cuts of 5 per cent a year between 2008-2011.

In contrast last year the Republic of Ireland increased their spending on health and safety resources by 13 per cent and reduced construction deaths by nearly 50 per cent.

The report also highlights how the casualised nature of the construction industry endangers workers lives. The bogus self-employment culture denies workers basic employment rights and means that they do not have access to independent safety representatives.

A key UCATT demand is that the employment status of workers is recorded when they are killed at work or involved in a major accident. The HSE now accept that this is an important step in identifying problems of casualisation in the industry.

In particular Mr Hain has identified the poor safety record of the house-building sector. UCATT have identified that this is one of the most casualised and fragmented of all the construction sectors. House building companies are also entirely reliant on bogus self-employed workers and often do not employ any construction workers.

Alan Ritchie, UCATT general secretary said: “Peter Hain is to be congratulated for calling the Safety Forum. The British construction industry must be told loudly and clearly that they can no longer get away with killing their workers.”

He added: “This is not an unachievable wish list but a serious strategy to ensure that construction deaths are massively reduced.”

To download a copy of the UCATT Safety Dossier click here