Hundreds of building workers blocked O'Connell Bridge yesterday causing traffic chaos in Dublin city centre. They were protesting at the lack of action by the Government and employers over safety on sites.
The protest was one of 12 co-ordinated demonstrations by building workers, which saw men walk off 50 sites in the greater Dublin area.
Among the developments affected were Parkwest; the Four Season's Hotel in Ballsbridge; the Grand Canal Quay site where a Mullingar man, Mark Loughrey (19), died after a fall two weeks ago, the M50 extension and Dublin City University.
Building workers also occupied offices of the Minister of State for Labour Affairs, Mr Tom Kitt, to protest at what they claimed was Government inaction on the is sue. Mr Kitt was in Seattle at the World Trade Organisation conference.
The one-hour stoppage was not intended to be disruptive, but so many workers turned up for the picket at O'Connell Bridge that they poured onto the roadway and eventually blocked Bachelor's Walk as well.
At one stage mounted gardai arrived and the situation became tense. Eventually gardai lent the organisers a megaphone to ad dress members, who dispersed after observing a minute's silence for the 150 building workers killed in the State over the past five years.
The protests were organised by the Dublin Alliance of General Construction Operatives, which comprises mainly general operatives in SIPTU. However, considerable numbers of craft workers also participated. A spokesman, Mr Paddy Burke, said that 15 workers had died so far this year.
The latest case was Mr Loughrey at Grand Canal Quay in Dublin.
A partnership forum set up in October by the unions, employers and statutory bodies to improve site safety was a step in the right direction, Mr Burke said, but more safety inspectors were needed.