Figures showing that the HSE prosecutes in less than half of fatal accidents involving building workers prove that justice is not just delayed but often denied, construction union UCATT has claimed.
A recent Freedom of Information request to the HSE revealed that, out of the 332 fatal accidents involving construction workers between 2004/5 and 2008/9, just 154 (46 per cent) led to a prosecution. UCATT did not request figures for more recent years, as it typically takes between three and four years between the death of a worker and a case coming to court.
Steve Murphy, the union’s general secretary, said: “These are truly shocking figures. It is bad enough that families have lost a loved one but the fact that, in the majority of cases, no prosecution has ever been brought is shameful.
“With regard to construction deaths, we were already aware that it was a case of justice delayed, but we can now see in the majority of cases it is, in fact, justice denied. Families who have lost a loved one deserve answers about why there are so few prosecutions.”
In deciding whether a prosecution should be brought, the HSE follows the Code for Crown Prosecutors and its own published enforcement policy, which set out the circumstances when a prosecution should and shouldn’t be brought.
The Code explains that no prosecution should go ahead unless the prosecutor finds there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction. Prosecutors also need to consider a number of questions so as to identify the relevant public-interest factors for and against prosecution.
The HSE also highlighted issues relating to the employment status of construction workers. A spokesperson told SHP: “Every construction death is thoroughly investigated by HSE. If there is sufficient evidence to prosecute and it is in the public interest, we always do.
“It’s meaningless to set a quota for the percentage of prosecutions, and there are some very good reasons why it isn’t possible to bring a case to court – for example, if there is a lack of evidence, or in the deaths of people who are genuinely self-employed.”
How bad will this get with watering down of CDM? Less competence in the industry, corners cut, use of cheap untrained labour and poor regulation to protect the worker. A massive step backwards for the industry.