Experts are calling for a "renewed focus" on construction health and safety. Photo / NZME
Experts are calling for a "renewed focus" on construction health and safety. Photo / NZME
Two construction workers die every month on the job and just over one is seriously injured every day, new statistics released today found, causing experts to call for a renewed focus on construction health and safety.
This comes after a number of accidents on construction sites recently.
This week, aconstruction worker died after scaffolding he was installing on units in an Auckland suburb collapsed, trapping him underneath.
Then last Friday, two people were critically injured and three others suffered moderate burns after an explosion at a construction site in Wynyard Quarter on Auckland's Viaduct.
WorkSafe NZ, Construction Health and Safety NZ (CHASNZ) and the Council of Trade Unions (CTU) said that focus needs to be re-established on healthy and safety within the construction sector.
Since January 1 last year, at least two workers have died in construction every month and just over one worker a day has been seriously injured.
CTU president Richard Wagstaff admitted to Newstalk ZB that the construction sector has a terrible record of workers getting killed or injured on the job.
"The explosion last week at the waterfront really again reminded us that we have to step up because too many people are dying, too many people are getting hurt," he said.
Wagstaff thinks this reveals a "slack attitude" on health and safety compared with other countries.
"I think it really comes down to what the culture and attitudes are, and if people understand that the number one priority is to keep people safe and remove hazards."
He also expressed his concern about people potentially avoiding working in the sector due to its dangerous reputation.
Two workers die in construction every month and one is seriously injured every day, new statistics released today found. Photo / Jason Oxenham
CHASNZ chief executive Chris Alderson said more time needs to be put into site supervisors and workforce so they can focus on getting the job done right rather than fast, cheaply or without the things that make the work safer.
"We need the courage to challenge doing things in the name of health and safety that don't actually improve safety on site. [The] construction workforce is currently under extreme pressure from internal and external factors and this also increases the risk of a normal day's work becoming one with a tragic outcome," Alderson said.
Construction workers are owed a duty of care by their employers and sadly many are not being supported, WorkSafe chief executive Phil Parkes explained.
"Workers, family, whānau and communities pay the cost of poor health and safety practices in construction every day through illness, injury and death, this must change immediately," Parkes said.
He also said failure to meet legal requirements will result in swift enforcement.
"Our message is clear, we need workers' help to hold poor health and safety practices to account, including by speaking up if you feel safe to do so."
