Safety inspectors have pledged “robust” action as part of a crackdown on poor standards and unsafe working practices on Britain’s building sites.
A month-long campaign has just been launched by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) aimed at reducing the number of accidents on smaller construction sites.
Philip White, the HSE’s chief inspector of construction, urged firms to make sure working conditions on sites were safe and that health issues were being properly considered, he said:
“Industry has made much progress in reducing the number of people killed and injured in its activities, but for every fatal accident, approximately 100 construction workers die from a work-related cancer.
“During the recent health initiative, enforcement action was taken on one in six sites. Time and again we find smaller contractors working on refurbishment and repair work failing to protect their workers through a lack of awareness and poor control of risks.
“This isn’t acceptable – it costs lives, and we will take strong and robust action where we find poor practice and risky behaviour.
“Through campaigns like this we aim to ensure contractors take all risks to their workers seriously, and not just focus on immediate safety implications.
“They need to put in place practical measures to keep workers both safe and well.”
Steve Murphy, general secretary of construction union Ucatt, commented:
“A month long clampdown on employers risking the health of workers is welcome. However the health of workers is being damaged 12 months a year, that is why we need extra resources for the HSE in order to properly protect the safety of construction workers.”
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