BATU calls for tighter regulation on building sites

The Building and Allied Trades Union has called for tighter regulations governing employment on construction sites in an effort to improve safety for workers.

The union said today that 17 people had died in building site accidents this year, the same number as in 2003.

It also said its members were reporting that overall safety standards had declined rather than improved in recent years.

BATU general secretary Denis Farrell said the casual nature of employment on many building sites was contributing to the problem.

"Unfortunately, the number of people that are supposedly working for themselves is leading to a construction industry that's so unorganised or unregulated that these numbers of deaths and serious injuries will continue," he said.