Editor's comment: A damning indictment?

After a year that’s been the best on record for safety on sites, the past couple of weeks have been a tragic reminder that things can go badly wrong. Despite the progress made by many contractors – reflected in the number and quality of entries for the Silver Helmet Award for Safety at last week’s CJ Awards – it takes only one major incident to reinforce public opinion that construction is a dangerous career.

The dreadful details of the injuries sustained by those involved in the Battersea crane collapse two weeks ago will do little to help persuade parents that their offspring should pursue a career in construction. Nor will the accident in Leicestershire last week. And with so much work in the pipeline, there is only one place construction firms can look for staff – overseas.

It is currently estimated that about 88,000 non-UK workers are employed in the construction industry, mostly male, in their early twenties and from Eastern Europe. But while their great attitude to work means they get plenty of it, a Health & Safety Executive survey has highlighted issues that need to be addressed by anyone employing migrant labour – right now: major health issues caused by being repeatedly given the worst and heaviest work, lack of training, a total disregard for their health and safety, no PPE provision and shocking working conditions.

Would anyone dare employ UK nationals in such conditions? Or are we just willing to exploit ‘foreigners’ because it’s too much effort to understand them? And they’ll eventually return home anyway?

Either way, the UK construction industry needs to think about how it treats these workers. They have a right to a healthly, safe life, like anyone else. If this abuse continues, there is no doubt that one of the next high-profile incidents will involve migrant labour – and if it’s because of lack of training, health and safety input, PPE, or health issues, it will be a damning indictment for the entire industry, and one we should be ashamed of.

Emma Penny, Editor, Contract Journal [11 October 2006, p 48]