Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1056422
24 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 28 NOVEMBER 2018 DAVID HUDSON FOLLOWING the death of the Libyan construction worker who fell from a height of seven storeys at a Sliema apartment where he was working, Malta- Today reached out to the Oc- cupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA) which said that anyone pointing fingers at OHSA may be misguided. The man reportedly died on the spot yesterday after he clung to a rope for a minute and a half be- fore falling to his death. He dangled on the rope and tried to scale the building after the wooden plank he was stand- ing on gave way. The ordeal was recorded and viewed by many on social media before it was reported on local newspapers. The event caused a controversy. CEO of OHSA, Mark Gauci, said that since 2002, the date of inception of OHSA, fatalities had significantly decreased from an average of 12 per year to an aver- age of four. "There is the belief that the construction industry is the only dangerous sector in the country. The truth is that there are other sectors, including the manufac- turing industry and the chemi- cal industry that are likewise as dangerous," Gauci said. "The OHSA has to balance its work in all these sectors." Gauci claimed that with the construction sector, the main re- sponsibility lies with duty-hold- ers, who are usually the clients themselves, the contractors. "All the media is looking at us," Gauci said, "but the law ensures that the client is the one who has the legal obligation to ensure oc- cupational health and safety." Gauci explained how due to the construction explosion causing pressure on the labour supply, a demand for foreign labour has arisen. The problems here in- clude a language barrier and ig- norance of the legal obligations. "Due to a lack of labour supply and the huge demand for con- struction developments, short- cuts are taken," Gauci said. The OHSA also claimed that with regards to maintenance of construction, one has to some- times rely on the benevolence of neighbours, which is not always forthcoming. For this reason, the installation of scaffolding may not be straightforward if it is pre- vented from being set up by the people next door. The OHSA had suggested the introduction of a skill card that would guarantee competence and skill which would include the adherence to health and safety standards. However, the skill card is so far a voluntary ap- plication. The plan, according to OHSA, is to make the holding of a skill card a prerequisite to working within the construction industry. "Even with self-employed con- struction workers," Gauci said, "it's their responsibility when it comes to whom they will pro- vide work on a construction site. They are the ones who should make sure that health and safety standards are followed." The Malta Developers Asso- ciation also released a statement calling for basic requirements in the industry. "The MDA wants to publicly express its sorrow about yet an- other death of a worker in the construction industry," the as- sociation said. While it claimed that it did not want to discuss the merits of this particular incident, the MDA pointed out that it was organising courses on health and safety procedures on a voluntary basis. "For quite some time, the MDA has been lobbying the authorities to establish a system of registra- tion for all qualified workers in the construction industry," the MDA said. Such a registry, it said, would not only reflect the aptitude and skill of the worker concerned but it would also establish a health and safety course as a prereq- uisite to being on the list. The MDA indicated that this is of special importance to self-em- ployed persons who do not work within the custody of a contrac- tor. "Moreover, legal obligations and responsibilities on hiring qualified persons would apply to anyone carrying out work, irre- spective of whether one is a de- veloper, a contractor or a private citizen," the association said. The White Paper establishing a new construction authority had already made mention of these measures, with Transport Minis- ter Ian Borg even tipping his hat at MDA's proposals. The death of the 26-year old Libyan worker is the subject of a magisterial inquiry being led by Magistrate Francesco Depas- quale. A separate inquiry is being led by the Occupational Health and Safety Authority. Media focus on OHSA is 'misguided' The Libyan construction held on a rope for dear life for a minute and a half before falling to his death in Sliema