CONSTRUCTION ACCIDENTS
2.2 million people work in Britain’s construction industry, making it the country’s biggest industry. It is also
one of the most dangerous. In the last 25 years, over 2,800 people have died from injuries they received as a
result of construction work. Many more have been injured or made ill.
Falls continue to be the biggest cause of fatal injury in Britain’s workplaces, with 24 of the 59 worker deaths in
construction in 2005/06 resulting from a fall from height. Unfortunately, this pattern continued in 2006/07. On
top of this, over 4,000 major injuries such as broken bones or fractured skulls are reported to HSE each year by
the construction industry. Over half of these serious injuries involve falls from height or from tripping over
materials on walkways and are easily preventable
The government should set up a fund similar to the model of the Pension Protection Fund, to compensate the
families of workers killed in the construction industry, MPs have suggested, after a 25% rise in the number of
deaths in the sector. Under current rules, many families are denied compensation because companies go into
liquidation, rather than pay compensation. Labour called for a Parliamentary debate after the publication of a
report by construction union Ucatt, which revealed that convictions following deaths in the construction
industry had fallen by 75% between 1998 and 2004. In 2006-07, however, annual deaths rose to 79 in
construction, an increase of 25% on the previous year.
Ucatt, professionals’ union Prospect and the Public and Commercial Services Union claim the increase in
fatalities has occurred alongside staff cuts at the Health and Safety Executive, the body responsible for
inspecting workplaces. Alan Ritchie, general secretary, said: “One death on a building site is one death too
many. The lives of building workers cannot be reduced to a financial cost. The government must reverse these
cuts and put extra resources into ensuring that this inherently dangerous indu