Industry outrage at YouTube videos apparently showing dangerous on-site horseplay

Shocking images of construction workers being beaten, set on fire and indulging in dangerous acts on site have been greeted with outrage by the industry.

The grainy videos, which surfaced after an anonymous tip-off to Contract Journal, can be found on the popular site, YouTube. They appear to show individuals, many wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets involved in a variety of stupid and dangerous pranks. They are available to view below.

For the most part, it is difficult to identify any of the men and their jackets in the videos. But in some sequences of only one of the videos, workers can be seen wearing hi-vis jackets bearing the logo of the major M&E contractor NG Bailey. A spokesperson from NG Bailey has condemned the practices shown in the videos as 'utterly disgusting'.

Videos in full

If you would like to view the videos, links are provided below. Please note that Contract Journal takes no responsibility for content on external websites:

Labourers using a flammable substance to set fire to each other’s hard hats and boots
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dVB01nJZUk

A worker smashing a colleague over the head with a large board for not wearing a hard hat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4QIcnH-mCQ

A young builder diving head first into a container full of wet cement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-ayVWouYOs

A young labourer spinning around in a cement mixer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxTVGBQKd9U

Do you have something to say on this story? Email your comments to Neil Gerrard, neil.gerrard@rbi.co.uk.

Industry reaction

Upon viewing the images Health & Safety Executive (HSE) chief inspector of construction, Stephen Williams, said the behaviour could have led to serious injury or death.

"Some of the behaviour shown is criminal assault, breaches of health and safety legislation and bullying. HSE encourages all in the construction industry to condemn such videos and help stamp out this type of unsafe behaviour."

The HSE is not likely to be able to investigate the videos further because of the difficulty identifying the sites involved.

Considerate Constructors Scheme general manager Edward Hardy said: "These video clips show actions that are unacceptable and dangerous. Behaviour like this undermines everything that the scheme stands for and we expect that the management of these sites deal with these incidents with the firmness they deserve."

Heating and Ventilating Constractors' Association (HVCA) head of technical and safety Bob Towse commented: "I truly believed this kind of thing had stopped. It represents the unacceptable face of construction. HVCA would encourage any of its members aware of it going on to take action to stop it."

Construction Skills Certification Scheme chief executive Brian Adams wanted to know if any of the workers could be identified as CSCS cardholders. "We issue cards, but can also take them away, and with the industry increasingly moving towards a 100% carded workforce that would mean they need to find another job."

There was also concern about the damage the videos could do to the image of an industry.

ConstructionSkills recruitment manager Paul Sykes said: "Beyond the health and safety issues, YouTube is a popular website with young people and this is the worst possible advert for the construction industry."

NG Bailey's Response

Having viewed the video featuring men wearing NG Bailey jackets, NG Bailey chief executive Mark Andrews said:

“The content of the video we have been shown [depicting workers wearing company jackets] is utterly disgusting and steps are being taken to enhance the footage in an attempt to identify the individuals involved.

“NG Bailey has well-established policies concerning conduct on site, including the use of mobile phones, which are prohibited. Any employee going against these strict codes should expect to enter into a full disciplinary process with union representation and will be firmly, fairly and definitively dealt with under our policy of zero tolerance.

“NG Bailey has extremely high standards and safety on site is core to our business. We are thoroughly disappointed that the hard work and vigilance of our site managers has been undermined in this way.”

Email your comments to Neil Gerrard, neil.gerrard@rbi.co.uk.