Thousands of building workers are expected to take part in a demonstration in Dublin today to highlight concerns at safety standards. Protesters plan to assemble at the Garden of Remembrance in Parnell Square at 11 a.m. before marching to Leinster House.
The event has been criticised by the Construction Industry Federation (CIF), which says it is unnecessary and will cost companies millions of euro. The CIF says members invested up to €80 million in health and safety training last year, and the rate of fatalities in the sector has fallen by 26 per cent since 1995.
However, Mr Fergus Whelan, of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, said there had been a huge increase in the number of fatal accidents on building sites in the run-up to Christmas. Last year there were 22 fatalities on construction sites, reversing a downward trend which had been achieved in previous years.
"We take the view that building workers are as important as any other profession," said Mr Whelan. "If there were 22 nurses or 22 journalists killed doing their work last year, I think people would be pretty concerned."
He said while there had been improvements in standards there were still many who had not taken the safety issue on board.
In a briefing to the media on the issue last week, the CIF's director of safety, Mr Peter McCabe, said workers also needed to take responsibility for site safety.
"There seems to be as assumption that when something goes wrong, the only one to blame is the contractor," he said.
Referring to today's protest, he said the industry and the unions had developed a partnership approach to the issue, and "it's very difficult to maintain that when you see one of your partners on the streets".
"We don't like it. We would prefer to face the issues head-to-head."
The Minister of State for Labour Affairs, Mr Frank Fahey, said he intended to take a number of measures to protect construction workers. He would be inviting both the CIF and unions, "as a matter of urgency", to discuss a number of issues which needed to be addressed.
These were: why significant levels of health and safety training were not having a more positive effect; why employers appeared to be ignoring established codes of practice; and what needed to be done to ensure a culture of health and safety compliance in this dangerous industry.
Mr Fahey said he had also asked the Health and Safety Authority to give him details of all prosecutions in the past 12 months.
"I am particularly conscious of tragic accidents which have involved trench collapses during excavation," he said.
"In response to these accidents, I have instructed the HSA to draft and enforce a code of practice on 'below-ground working' as soon as possible."
