Plea for law to help cut building site deaths

The British government was today urged to introduce a new corporate manslaughter law to combat the growing level of construction site deaths in the North.

Ulster Unionist Upper Bann MLA Samuel Gardiner said deaths on construction sites were on the rise again and Northern Ireland had the worst record in Britain and Ireland.

“Building employers will only change their poor health and safety practices if they are punished if found guilty of causing the deaths of their staff or members of the public,” said Mr Gardiner.

He added: “A new corporate manslaughter law with real bite must be introduced by the government before the beginning of the next session of Parliament.

“A corporate manslaughter law would force employers to make safety a priority and the fear of penalty would make them train their employees properly”.

Construction workers in Northern Ireland were three times more likely to be killed in a site accident that those in England, Scotland and Wales, he said, and the fatal accident rate in the North was also higher than in the Republic.

Last year, two thirds of deaths on sites in Northern Ireland were as a result of falls while working at height, said Mr Gardiner.