Further to the publication last week of a report into fatalities in the construction industry, the Work and Pensions Select Committee has now endorsed the call to extend the remit of the Gangmaster’s Licensing Regulations to include the construction sector.
The report by MPs - The Workplace Health and Safety Follow-Up Report - also acknowledged the need for the introduction of statutory duties on company directors to increase workplace safety.
In addition, it condemned the use of bogus self-employment in the construction industry, and urged Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to ensure that the risks of “self-employment” were made clear to workers participating in the Construction Industry Scheme (which sets out the rules contractors should follow when paying sub-contractors).
The report also criticized the use of “blacklisting” in the construction industry as a “reprehensible practice”, and welcomed the Government's proposals to ban it.
The follow-up report by MPs comes hard on the heels of a report commissioned by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions at the end of last year entitled One Death is too Many: Inquiry into the Underlying Causes of Construction Fatal Accidents.
This made a number of far-reaching recommendations for improving safety in the construction industry, including the recommendation to introduce statutory duties for company directors in relation to health and safety and to extend the remit of the Gangmaster’s Licensing Authority to construction.
According to UCATT which has welcomed both reports, construction is the most dangerous industry in Britain. On average, six construction workers are killed every month.
For further information on The Workplace Health and Safety Follow-Up Report, go to: http://www.publications.parliament.uk
For further information on One Death is too Many, go to:
http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm76/7657/7657.pdf