Construction unions call for health and safety shake-up
16-03-2007
A coalition of trade unions is calling for the government to re-assess health and safety legislation following an increasing number of fatalities in the construction industry.
The Public and Commercial Services Union and the construction union Ucatt want to see a reversal of the decision to cut the number of safety inspectors and inspections as deaths on building sites have already reached 74 this year.
This increase of 14 per cent - compared to the figures for 2006 - is juxtaposed with staff cuts at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which has until 2008 to cut up to 300 jobs.
Alan Ritchie, HSE general secretary, told personneltoday: "One death on a building site is one death too many. The lives of building workers cannot be reduced to a financial cost.
"The government must reverse these cuts and put extra resources into ensuring that this inherently dangerous industry is made safer."
Prospect negotiator Mike MacDonald added: "The government's refusal to back the call for proper resources for inspection and accident investigation ignores the stack of evidence that enforcing the law is the most effective motivator for business to improve health and safety standards."
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