Worker injured in Sliema incident

TRW O'Neill

Oct 14th 2009, 11:55

I often see Workmen in Malta using a single plank, to stand on. in theU.K. it is always advisable to use a double plank to avoid breakage, I always suggest this to workmen if i see them, they seem bemused. Some weeks ago in Mosta a man was running a wheel barrow fully loaded with heavy rubble up a very thin single plank, from a ledge to a skip., risking breakage, &. a fall plus the added danger of the load falling onto him. there are too many idiots in the building trade sadly. what is the point of saving a few euros, if you risk your safety, injury for life, or even your life? QED

Raymond Cutajar

Oct 13th 2009, 09:07

unluckily working safely costs money no matter what many says . Special equipement and training in using proper safe work ethics costs time / money .
however if one considers the profit margin involved in many projects using safe practices could easily be absorbed without affecting the final price
Information and education is needed but on the other hand the local OHSA should contact say a U K branch of OHSA and take a lesson or two how to go around certain cases Such a case could easily cost the contractors hundreds of thousands of euros which could easily be a catalyst for really safety conciuseness
I am wrapping up a business because so many few are ready to pay for safety .Enquiries are countless but as soon as one explains the supplier's and the user's obligations regarding safety practices the enquirer sort of thinks you are going nuts and Tragedy is Not going to happen to him
On the other hand if OHSA is short of manpower the powers that be are to blame

Giancarlo Refalo

Oct 12th 2009, 23:09

Yes but can you picture your typical "bajjad" dishing out the money required to buy himself a harness for when he dangles off balconies, etc? a self-employed "bajjad" that is? Of course, ideally a scheme would be in place so that the handymen employed legally and with all their papers in order from the ETC get a tax refund in vouchers to be spent on safety equipment with proof of purchase. Indeed, Wardens, instead of standing (for the most part uselessly) next to cranes and building sites to direct traffic, should busy themselves with ensuring that the worksite they are working on complies with full health and safety regulations. And the responsible Maltese public should take the initiative and not hire workers if a) they do not have safety material with them and b) they do not provide a VAT receipt. However, somehow I don't see this happening anytime soon...

n spagnol

Oct 12th 2009, 20:49

@Martin Saliba imagine you're lucky a small injury and you end up a week on sick leave where you cannot work How much would that cost??
imagine the worst where just a safety harness or a safety helmet could save your life ??
long term how many workers do not even wear gloves with all the chemicals they handle !!

so safety first

martin saliba

Oct 12th 2009, 20:41

@Charlene Bugeja . I would have thought that i didn't need to explain my comment being it written in simple Enlish. My point is that saftey comes at a cost. You would find that only entities like the Goverment , banks , the malta freeport and the like would be prepared to pay for these extra costs as Saftey would be a condition in the tender for works to be done and they have no choice but to accept. Imagine a decorator asking for Euro 200 to paint a facade plus Euro 50 to cover the errection of proper safty equipment. Better still lets imagine that this facade is yours. Would you be prepared to pay for the extra costs or would you find someone who will not charge you for saftey ?? In the end it all comes down to money that people wanting jobs done don't want to pay for and the employer cannot afford to absore the extra expense.

G.Zammit

Oct 12th 2009, 20:25

@Martin Saliba
I will only agree with your comment once all the medical costs are paid in full by the victim or whoever is responsible for the accident.

jimmy Vella

Oct 12th 2009, 20:21

Basic safety doesn't cost much and it`s cheaper in the end .NO BODY in this day and age should be working on a wooden plank with no harness I feel sorry for this man but I am afraid it all his fault for accepting to work that way .

Anthony A. Mifsud

Oct 12th 2009, 20:21

Blame the site Managers, the work force will and keep cutting corners, there should be a bill, of HS&E policy that all parties involved should adhear to.
Just drive up Slioema Rd, and look to your left just fifty mts up the road.
Soon there will be an headline news.
Toni

P Barbara

Oct 12th 2009, 20:19

I don't agree that anyone should force anybody else to take the necessary measures for their own personal safety. Educate and inform them yes, but never force them ! It's up to them. Just like the seat belts law - I totally disagree with that law. Don't get me wrong. I've been wearing my car's seat belt long before it became obligatory, out of common sense and carefullness. But I would never oblige anybody to wear his/her seat belt by law! That's stupid! It's for them to decide, for their personal safety. Other people would not be affected if they did not wear it. (excluding children coz they are incapable of understanding the danger). So anyone who is stupid or careless enough to consciously take unnecessary personal risks, being at work or anywhere else - let him do it, as long as no one else is affected.

Greta Apap

Oct 12th 2009, 20:12

Health and Safety at the place of work is the onus of the employer. It is a legal requirement that the employer ensures the health and safety at work, ensures and supplies health and safety equipment, trains his employees in health and safety, the employee is then responsible to abide by these rules. The problem in Malta is a always financial one employers are not ready to spend money to ensure health and safety at work and would rather risk injury to their employees it seems. There is also an attitude of machoism from workers who many times think of health and safety equipment as something uncool. To all employers please ensure your health and safety requirements, and to all employees, it s very uncool to die young!

Charlene Bugeja

Oct 12th 2009, 19:57

@Martin Saliba So you think it's fair if employers worry more about money than about the lives of their employees? Expensive or not it's unfair to put other's safety at risk

martin saliba

Oct 12th 2009, 19:32

@Chrissey Zammit . Sometimes wooden props are better than steel props. To everyone else. Safty at work is a good thing. I am selfemployed and i don't need anyone to tell me that i should wear saftey shoes and / or a harness when needed. But there is a problem when it comes to complete saftey everywhere all the time. The cost of all works would escalate to an extent where most people are not able to meet the added cost of the time needed to errect expensive saftey equipment. Every one speaks about saftey at work but is everyone prepared to pay for it ? Of course , no one needs to tell me that there is nothing more valuable that life but the truth is that the cost of saftey is expensive.

Chantelle Sciberras

Oct 12th 2009, 19:17

i really don't agree with you! is-sigurta' trid tigi mill-haddiema stess! huma jridu jiehdu hsieb hajjithom

Mark Cushcieri

Oct 12th 2009, 18:43

safety in Malta? inexistent.

Chrissey Zammit

Oct 12th 2009, 18:43

HOW many more workers will get injured,or even killed, because of the HEALTH & SAFETY on building sites that DOES NOT EXIST. I hate walking past a building site and seeing the scafolding(wooden props) NO steel scafolding, these men NEED to work, BUT work safely ONLY. Come on Health & Saftey of Malta pull your socks up and do something.