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Call for vigilance after site death no.50
Construction union UCATT has called for building bosses to prioritise safety on sites, following the death last week of a construction worker in Swansea - though to be the 50th worker to die since April last year. The man, who was working at a luxury flats development on a Carillion site at Swansea Marina, fell from scaffolding on 22 January. Despite emergency treatment he died in hospital four days later. Nick Blundell, UCATT regional secretary for the Wales and South West, said: 'This latest death underlines the dangerous nature of construction. While it is almost impossible to make the industry entirely safe, construction employers in general could be doing far more to make sites safer.' UCATT says last year's sharp rise in construction deaths is linked to factors including cuts in the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which has reduced the number of inspections and prosecutions, the increasingly casualised nature of the industry, which has reduced effective safety training of workers, and an in increase in construction work, which has created additional time pressures. HSE is leading a joint inquiry with the police into the Swansea death. Carillion sent its condolences to the family of the dead man. A spokesperson said: 'The construction site was closed yesterday as a mark of respect.'
Briefing document (300 words) issued 1 Feb 2008
