Spate of building trade deaths goes on as two more killed

The number of deaths on construction sites has risen by 20 per cent in a year, according to figures released today by the Health and Safety Executive.

The number of deaths on construction sites has risen by 20 per cent in a year, according to figures released today by the Health and Safety Executive.

The statistics show that 86 people died in the 12 months to April involving employees, the self-employed and members of the public. The number of major injuries has risen from 4,656 to 4,689.

The news is expected to lead to severe criticism of construction companies for putting profits above safety.

The report comes after two men died as they demolished a kiln in Tunstall, Staffordshire last night. The workers, who were contractors called in to demolish a 100-metre tunnel kiln, were trapped beneath debris in the Canal Lane kiln, which had not been used for several years.

In another tragedy last Thursday, a 23-year-old air conditioning fitter fell eight floors to his death in the City of London. A spate of recent fatalities also includes four deaths at the Avonmouth Bridge, three at a demolition site in Hull and another three at Canary Wharf in east London.

George Brumwell, general secretary of the building industry union Ucatt, said the fitter's death on Thursday drew attention to the "continuing slaughter" of construction workers. He said that of 59 incidents investigated from April 1992 to March 1998 by the Health and Safety Executive only four led to successful prosecutions, representing only 1 per cent of accidents leading to death or serious injury in the construction industry.

He said that big companies in the industry were largely to blame.

"The Government has put pressure on the industry to make it get its act together. But construction companies do not treat their employees with respect. Many people on site do not know who they are working for. There is no proper training in health and safety."

He said the situation was made worse by the chronic shortage of skilled labour and the pressure to complete jobs quickly. Much of the work was performed by casual labourers including immigrants from eastern Europe with limited command of English.

The Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and Sir John Egan, chairman of an industry task force, have consistently challenged the industry to record a year-on-year reduction in accidents.