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Wilkommen Pet!
12:36 05 Mar 2003
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Auf Wiedersehen Pet. We all know the story. A bunch of out-of-work
Geordies (along with a smattering of other regional representatives
with strong accents) can't find work in construction and head off
to Germany to keep the wolf from the door.
Scroll forward a decade or two, and the tables have turned. The once-intrepid adventurers are now gaffers on a demolition project in their native North East, employing gangs of foreign workers with dubious paperwork and an even more dubious grasp of the English language.
This inevitably leads to confusion. The question this television drama raises is now a serious consideration in today's real-life demolition industry.
How serious are the problems caused by the recent influx of foreign labour in the demolition industry?
George Mackey of Griffiths McGee acknowledges there are problems. "This situation has evolved particularly over the past five years. The industry is having to come to terms with an ageing workforce as well as a drop in the numbers of young Irish workers - Irish workers in demolition isn't just a caricature, it's a reality - who found employment at home because of the success of the Irish economy," he says.
Mike Cosman, manager of the construction sector at the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), agrees this influx is symptomatic of a wider socio-economic trend.
"Given the chronic labour shortage in construction, it would probably grind to a halt if there wasn't such a significant input of foreign labour. This is just the reality of a free labour market in the European Union as well as across those countries looking to join," says Cosman.
A particular area of concern, however, is not the number and variety of different nationalities, but the problems posed if a proportion of the workforce is not fluent, or even conversant, in English.
Understanding safety instructions
Where this is the case, concerns have been raised over the ability of the workforce to understand safety instructions and to communicate effectively in what is a very hazardous environment.
"The industry as a whole recognises the potential for a problem in this area, and is addressing it through the use of interpretation and translation projects as well as training initiatives. You can't let yourself get to the point where safety would be compromised," says Mackey, who also represents the NFDC on the NFDC/HSE forum.
Cosman agrees: "We've addressed this in different ways, whether it's through translated briefings, or offering English language training or providing inductions in workers' native languages. We've also developed safety videos and signs featuring symbols that aren't language specific."
Nevertheless, according to Cosman there is one key issue. "The issue is effective communication of health and safety information."
David Coleman of Coleman & Co and chairman of the NFDC's Midlands and Welsh region, agrees: "If people don't speak English, even if you use an interpreter, how can you be sure they've fully understood what they've been told?"
However, it should not be assumed that communication difficulties that arise by not having English language as the mother tongue are solely limited to sites with foreign workers.
"There are areas in the UK in certain communities - the Turkish community for example - where the whole client/contractor chain doesn't use English, so insisting on English wouldn't be appropriate," says Cosman.
He also points to other factors not necessarily related to workers' countries of origin. "The broader issue is not just nationalities of people on site, but that we recognise the diverse educational standards in the worlds of construction and demolition.
"The important thing is the type of work you put people on. Not only are there issues of people not being able to speak English, there are many who are new to the construction industry. Because there are so few barriers to entering it, you have to be selective about who you take on and where you put them. Somebody who is competent at soft strip is not necessarily competent at oxy-acetylene cutting," says Cosman.
Coleman articulates a more fundamental concern. "What happens on site with those who can't read English? They could walk straight into an exclusion zone. You'd have to take them by the hand and show them around, but once you let go anything could happen in an ever-changing environment like a demolition site."
According to Coleman, responsible management also extends beyond direct control of staff on site to the terms of employment for foreign workers. "We employ foreign workers at the same rate as anyone else. We don't take them on for reasons of economy, we take them on because we need to."
This economic necessity is the counterpoint to the financial imperatives that drove thousands of British labourers and tradesmen to seek work on foreign sites during the 1980s.
"It's exactly the same problem as faced in Auf Wiedersehen Pet, but in reverse. In fact it's the age-old problem induced by the ebb and flow of the construction industry," concludes Cosman. n
Scroll forward a decade or two, and the tables have turned. The once-intrepid adventurers are now gaffers on a demolition project in their native North East, employing gangs of foreign workers with dubious paperwork and an even more dubious grasp of the English language.
This inevitably leads to confusion. The question this television drama raises is now a serious consideration in today's real-life demolition industry.
How serious are the problems caused by the recent influx of foreign labour in the demolition industry?
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George Mackey of Griffiths McGee acknowledges there are problems. "This situation has evolved particularly over the past five years. The industry is having to come to terms with an ageing workforce as well as a drop in the numbers of young Irish workers - Irish workers in demolition isn't just a caricature, it's a reality - who found employment at home because of the success of the Irish economy," he says.
Mike Cosman, manager of the construction sector at the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), agrees this influx is symptomatic of a wider socio-economic trend.
"Given the chronic labour shortage in construction, it would probably grind to a halt if there wasn't such a significant input of foreign labour. This is just the reality of a free labour market in the European Union as well as across those countries looking to join," says Cosman.
A particular area of concern, however, is not the number and variety of different nationalities, but the problems posed if a proportion of the workforce is not fluent, or even conversant, in English.
Understanding safety instructions
Where this is the case, concerns have been raised over the ability of the workforce to understand safety instructions and to communicate effectively in what is a very hazardous environment.
"The industry as a whole recognises the potential for a problem in this area, and is addressing it through the use of interpretation and translation projects as well as training initiatives. You can't let yourself get to the point where safety would be compromised," says Mackey, who also represents the NFDC on the NFDC/HSE forum.
Cosman agrees: "We've addressed this in different ways, whether it's through translated briefings, or offering English language training or providing inductions in workers' native languages. We've also developed safety videos and signs featuring symbols that aren't language specific."
Nevertheless, according to Cosman there is one key issue. "The issue is effective communication of health and safety information."
David Coleman of Coleman & Co and chairman of the NFDC's Midlands and Welsh region, agrees: "If people don't speak English, even if you use an interpreter, how can you be sure they've fully understood what they've been told?"
However, it should not be assumed that communication difficulties that arise by not having English language as the mother tongue are solely limited to sites with foreign workers.
"There are areas in the UK in certain communities - the Turkish community for example - where the whole client/contractor chain doesn't use English, so insisting on English wouldn't be appropriate," says Cosman.
He also points to other factors not necessarily related to workers' countries of origin. "The broader issue is not just nationalities of people on site, but that we recognise the diverse educational standards in the worlds of construction and demolition.
"The important thing is the type of work you put people on. Not only are there issues of people not being able to speak English, there are many who are new to the construction industry. Because there are so few barriers to entering it, you have to be selective about who you take on and where you put them. Somebody who is competent at soft strip is not necessarily competent at oxy-acetylene cutting," says Cosman.
Coleman articulates a more fundamental concern. "What happens on site with those who can't read English? They could walk straight into an exclusion zone. You'd have to take them by the hand and show them around, but once you let go anything could happen in an ever-changing environment like a demolition site."
According to Coleman, responsible management also extends beyond direct control of staff on site to the terms of employment for foreign workers. "We employ foreign workers at the same rate as anyone else. We don't take them on for reasons of economy, we take them on because we need to."
This economic necessity is the counterpoint to the financial imperatives that drove thousands of British labourers and tradesmen to seek work on foreign sites during the 1980s.
"It's exactly the same problem as faced in Auf Wiedersehen Pet, but in reverse. In fact it's the age-old problem induced by the ebb and flow of the construction industry," concludes Cosman. n
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