Construction workers should not have to protest publicly in order to secure safe conditions of employment. Yet that is what happened yesterday when an estimated 500 workers left construction sites and paraded through the streets of Dublin.
Last year, 69 people died and 8,000 were injured in Irish workplaces. More than one million working days were lost to injuries and ill health, much of which was "entirely preventable", according to the HSA. Within the construction industry alone, 18 people died last year. The death of Mr Timothy Kelliher at a building site in the Dublin docklands last week was the immediate reason for yesterday's protest by his colleagues.
The Minister of State with responsibility for this area, Mr Tom Kitt, has drawn attention to a reduction in the number of deaths per thousand employed by the construction industry. And he has spoken of an increase in the number of inspectors employed by the Health and Safety Authority. At the same time, the Construction Industry Federation has promised to invest £30 million in safety training programmes and other measures in the coming two years. Such improvements are welcome. But they do not go far enough. An annual death toll of 18 in the construction industry, with more than 1,000 injured, is far too high, in spite of the fact that not all dangers can be guarded against. And there is a continuing shortage of inspectors at the Health and Safety Authority.
Improved safety standards would bring benefits to all. Not alone would employers reduce their high insurance costs, but care for their employees should produce a healthier and more committed workforce. Mr Kitt has indicated his intention to introduce legislation to give effect to on-the-spot fines for those rogue employers and sub-contractors who flout safety regulations. That too is welcome. The aim must be to encourage a safety-compliant industry.