OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRIES OF THE NEW MEMBER STATES OF EUROPE AND TURKEY Richard Neale  Visiting Professor of International Development, University of Winchester, UK Emeritus Professor of Construction Management, University of South Wales, UK   Evelin Toth Desk Officer Europe, Programme for Workers' Activities, International Training Centre of the International Labour Office, Turin, Italy

PURPOSE OF THE SURVEY “The survey will provide an analysis of the experiences of EFBWW affiliates in New Member States of the EU and Candidate Countries with occupational safety and health standards in construction and related sectors.” Essentially, the survey provided a summary of the views of the participants on a comprehensive range of issues, so providing a foundation for discussions during the Workshop

RESPONDENTS

BASIS OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE Experience as a project manager Practical research with construction firms Worldwide information gathering Seminar discussions with international delegates at Reading University

TOPICS A national culture of safety and health A national regulatory framework Clients of the construction industry must take an active role A business case for OS&H Method statements and risk assessment Worker participation Older and younger construction workers Social and physical welfare of women Training: Attitudes, Skills and Knowledge (ASK) 10 Applications of modern technologies

DEVELOPMENT OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE Safety Coordinators were seen to play an important role, so questions were asked about their appointment at national and company level. Factor 3 was extended to distinguish between public and private clients. Factor 4 was extended to ask about the commitment of large and SME employers. The value of the support available from international agencies was queried. Explanations were sought of ways in which each TU promoted good OSH. A general question about the likely development of OSH in their industries was added.

Validity of the responses Validity of the responses? All the respondents knew that their responses would be made available to all at the workshop.

Q15 OSH & large employers Large employers generally take OSH seriously Q16 OSH & SMEs SMEs generally do not take OSH seriously

Summary of positives 1 Most have full time OSH TU officials Increase in national perceptions that it is important Increasingly important to National governments Good progress towards implementation of EU Directive Large employers generally take OSH seriously General agreement that there are many good reasons for investing in good OSH Method statements and risk assessment used in some cases Some companies provide PPE There is general agreement that worker participation is very important and can improve workplace OSH

Summary of positives 2 In some countries, older workers are allowed to retire or given lighter and easier work. There is some draft legislation. In most countries, some women are employed in professional and managerial grades (in one country 10%) and harassment is rare Useful guidance for future ILO and EU support Generally, modern technology is viewed to be safer or makes no difference. Can make work easier, reduce risk, better environmentally, safer by design TUs seen as important agents of change

Summary of negatives 1 Some Governments say wrong time, too many other problems “Some only support employers, do not care about workers” Limited enforcement of legislation due to attitudes, lack of resources and corruption Clients do not see OSH as their concern SMEs generally do not take OSH seriously “There is a reluctance to invest, they tend just to try to minimise cost” If only ‘some’ construction companies provide PPE there are many who do not The responses show that worker participation is varies considerably

Summary of negatives 2 In some countries older workers are not given any preferential treatment In most countries, very few women are employed in manual trades It is unusual for employers to provide effective or any training Although generally very positive, it was also acknowledged that modern machinery and tools can be very dangerous without proper training and skills. There is some concern about employers’ attitudes, people less important than machines General improvement seen to be difficult

Overall, as Table 3 shows, the positives outweighed the negatives Overall, as Table 3 shows, the positives outweighed the negatives. “If we didn’t think we could really improve workers’ conditions, we wouldn’t be here today”.

Near Belfast 1970

Cardiff 2010 19701970