SIPTU has called for a ‘name and shame’ policy for unsafe construction sites.
The call was made after what the union claimed was a marked decline in safety standards on building sites around Dublin, and said the Health and Safety Authority was not publicising those sites which it closed due to unsafe work practices.
Construction Branch Secretary Mr Eric Fleming said the union was unhappy with the way in which the courts deal with rogue employers and said the recent HSA review showed the courts to be far too lenient.
He said the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mr Tom Kitt, committed himself to introducing new safety regulations last year, but claimed these had yet to come before the Dáil.
Mr Fleming said construction workers were also being let down by the lack of counselling following serious accidents or fatalities on sites and what he described as the "inffectiveness" of the HSA.
He said the union was not satisfied that the HSA was capable of safeguarding the rights of its members to work in a safe environment and called on Mr Kitt to introduce a system of roving health and safety auditors to supplement "the insufficient resources of the HSA.