06:00 pm, Wednesday 22 August, 2007

Source:AAP

WorkCover NSW and the Housing Industry Association have announced what they say is a breakthrough safety agreement to cut the death toll of Australian construction workers.

The industry loses close to an average of one worker a week to fatal workplace injuries.

NSW Industrial Relations Minister John Della Bosca says the WorkCover-HIA partnership will lead to safer residential construction practices.

“As part of the agreement, WorkCover will provide a dedicated technical specialist from its construction team to provide comprehensive guidance and advice to assist HIA members and residential building contractors meet their workplace safety requirements,” Mr Della Bosca said.

“The agreement will recognise the unique safety needs of the residential building sector, and is designed to deliver safety outcomes that are comparable with other sectors of the construction industry.”

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) has offered tentative support.

“The union welcomes any initiatives to improve safety in the industry,” a CFMEU spokesperson said.

“We still have 50 killed on work sites every year.

“The death toll has been pretty much steady while other industries are going down.

“When you’ve got 50 families being destroyed every year, it’s a pretty sad state of affairs.”

OHS NEWS - Construction Industry Safety Procedures

Report by Julia Alder - Do you have an OHS News Story - Let us know