UCATT chief slams lack of progress over site deaths

The new general secretary of UCATT has today (Wednesday) expressed his dismay at the lack of progress in reducing fatalities in construction.

Health & Safety Executive (HSE) statistics show that there have been 42 deaths in construction since the beginning of April – exactly the same number as this time last year.

Alan Ritchie, who took over at from George Brumwell two weeks ago, said the figures are "particularly disappointing" considering that the European focus on health and safety for this year is construction activities.

"There cannot be a starker indication that the government needs to introduce corporate manslaughter legislation so that a real deterrent exists for those employers who fail to protect their workers against well known hazards such as working at height," he said.

"If this trend continues through to the end of March we will see yet another year where nearly six construction workers die at work every month. If this number of British soldiers were to be killed in Iraq there would be a public outcry."

The government recently responded to the Department for Work and Pensions Select Committee Inquiry into Health and Safety Commission and HSE by rejecting recommendations for increased resources that would be spent on additional inspectors.