Factsheet 55 - Achieving better safety and health in construction
Keywords:There is, throughout the EU, a growing recognition that standards of occupational safety and health (OSH) in construction have to be improved. Each year about 1 300 workers are killed, another 800 000 injured and countless more suffer ill health. The human suffering caused by accidents and ill health is distressing to all concerned, the extent of which is impossible to calculate. The financial losses are considerable. No one should need convincing that the management of safety, health and welfare in the industry should have the highest priority. The 2004 European Week for Safety and Health at Work is dedicated to construction. The Agency has collected cases from across Europe where actions have been taken to achieve better standards of safety and health. The report reflects the standards of OSH in construction, but demonstrates what, with effective action, can be achieved to improve these standards.
