Kurt Bugeja Coster
Call for stricter enforcement of safety on building sites
The construction site in St Julians which this week claimed the life of the sixth worker this year.
The General Workers' Union and the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin have called for stricter enforcement at the workplace following two construction site accidents this week, one of them fatal.
Representatives of the two unions said there needed to be more inspections and better education.
GWU general secretary Tony Zarb also appealed for more construction workers to become unionised, partly placing the blame for accidents in this category on the fact that many are not protected by unions.
The first accident took place on Monday, when a builder working in a derelict block of flats in Ġużè Howard Street, Sliema, fell off a plank and plunged onto debris below.
Although eyewitnesses said he was bleeding badly, sources said he sustained broken ribs and legs and was recovering at Mater Dei Hospital.
However, the man involved in the second accident on Wednesday was not so lucky.
The part-time builder, working on the first floor of a construction site in Carmel Street, St Julians, went to fetch a tool when he lost his balance, sources said.
As he was falling he tried to grab hold of a brick wall, which gave way.
An autopsy found that the builder did not die from the fall but due to injuries caused by the falling bricks, which killed him instantly.
Reacting to the two accidents, UĦM president Gejtu Tanti said the most effective way to raise awareness was through an education campaign.
"Fines for breaking health and safety regulations must also be increased to discourage employers from failure to enforce them and employees from not obeying them," he said.
Mr Tanti said more inspectors should be employed at the Occupational Health and Safety Authority.
"Although more have in fact been employed, most of whom are better qualified, they still cannot keep up with the increase in construction," he said.
Similarly, Mr Zarb called for more inspections to be carried out at workplaces.
The Occupational Health and Safety Authority said it is investigating both accidents but could not comment any further because of the ongoing magisterial inquiries.
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John Charles Sutcliffe
Oct 18th 2009, 15:33
Further to these comments, my partner was the lady injured by a falling wall in Gzira 7 months ago. It is only by the grace of God that she is still alive but is in a lot of pain from her dental injuries and it is costing me about euro 5000 to have the cosmetic work done to fix what was a perfect set of teeth. The Construction company in question has been prosecuted several times before by OHSA (but the fines are derisory (200 to 5000LM) and to date no action has been taken against them in this case by the authorities in spite of the fact that it is an open and shut case of criminal negligence. I am waiting for their (OHSA) decision before proceeding against these people but until the authorities take this kind of thing seriously and as long as there is cheap non- unionised labour begging for work nothing will change. It is about time that the criminally careless people responsible have to pay with some jail time, so that they feel some pain as well.
J Oatmon
Oct 17th 2009, 19:29
The enforcement of building site safety regulations should not just cover the site workers, but also the general public of course.
There have been cases where builders fail to protect the passing public properly, and the case of the lady on holiday and walking along the front in Gzira, and being struck by falling scaffolding planks poles and rubble is fresh in my mind. The injured young lady had her teeth driven into her jawbone by the force of the falling scaffolding striking her on the head and piling on top of her.
The injured person is known to me, and I can say that still after seven months, and no action has been taken by OSHA or the police against this builder, for the injuries this young woman suffered as a result of the builder's negligence, and no compensation either.
john fenech
Oct 17th 2009, 11:28
Recrimination is just that an opinion after the fact.
May I ask the Unions, OHSA and the authorities if they are absolved of this problem? Is there a clause in all the industrial agreements where the safety of the workers is a non-negotiable condition? Are the Union representatives on the shop floor trained to assess the health risks associated with the job? Does MEPA inform OHSA about the construction work in progress and do the latter have the personnel and the authority to curb on site any health hazard infringement?
Are all employees aware of the possible potential danger on the place of work and the means to avoid it? What are the present legal stipulations for an infringement to the workers safety as stipulated by the EU Health Directives?
To be fair the authorities must provide the mechanism to protect the part timers from themselves, since most of the time construction accidents are attribute to cutting corners to either gain time or reduce cost to maximise profit! For instance looking around, the scaffolding at several building sites is not to the required safety standard so is the issue and use of safety clothing.