News Article

Death toll in the industry is unacceptable


Posted by Dan Gibbs | Date Posted 30.07.2007 | Time Posted 10:01:34 | Views: 464

More than 240 people died because of accidents at work in 2006/07 and the construction industry was responsible for one third of these fatalities, the highest percentage of any sector.

There were 77 deaths in construction in the year under review, equivalent to a rate of 3.7 per 100,000 workers. Last year, there were 60 deaths at a far lower rate of 3.0 per 100,000. This represents a 28% increase.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber described the figures as dreadful.

He said: "Each one of these tragic deaths was preventable and shows that employers are not doing enough to make their workplaces safe. Among the worst offenders are employers in construction, the waste industry, and agriculture."

The latest statistics presented by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) show the provisional figure for the number of workers fatally injured in 2006/07 as 241, which corresponds to a rate of fatal injury of 0.80 per 100,000 workers.

In 2005/06, the finalised figures were 217 and 0.72 respectively; these were the lowest annual figures on record.

The HSE's internal monitoring systems had signalled an increase in fatalities in construction and so the unvalidated statistics collected through the year have already led to plans to address the areas of concern.

To tackle the level of fatalities in the sector, the HSE has confirmed a continuing focus on its inspection programme targeting the refurbishment and repair sectors. These sectors in particular have seen an increase in fatal injuries.

The HSE will also be working very closely with organisations and firms to address the problem.

Health and Safety Commissioner Danny Carrigan said that construction remains an undeniably dangerous industry and, all too often, it demonstrates the unacceptable human cost of getting things wrong. He said that he was particularly concerned about the continued high level of construction worker fatalities on smaller sites and involving small businesses.


Published in sections: Health and Safety ::

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