Building site safety

Bill Callaghan, chair of the Health and Safety Commission (HSC), has outlined the steps being taken to address the current toll of over 100 deaths and 5,000 serious injuries a year in the construction industry. The sector has a reputation for being "confrontational, risk tolerant and reluctant to change and it has an appalling health and safety record", he told construction union UCATT's confernence. He said that enforcing the law remained a key aspect of the HSC's approach and congratulated UCATT on its occupational health strategy initiative. Callaghan also confirmed that the HSE would be looking at the role of subcontracting and agency labour, an issue high on the union's safety agenda.