Construction workers are facing needless dangers in the workplace, according to Unite, the construction union, in response to a recent survey published by Direct Line for Business.

The survey found that there were 196 fatal accidents and 26,196 non-fatal incidents in the construction industry in the last five years. The most common form of injury recorded were slips, trips and falls, accounting for 28 per cent of the total number of accidents.

It also found that the number of prosecutions being taken by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in construction had substantially declined. There were 246 cases taken in 2015/16, and 206 in 2016/17, a fall of 16 per cent.

Responding to the figures, Unite has called for employers to ‘start taking workers safety seriously,’ as Unite assistant general secretary, Gail Cartmail, explains:

“The sharp decrease in HSE prosecutions is deeply troubling. The best deterrent against unscrupulous employers cutting safety is the fear that they will be caught and prosecuted.”