The construction industry has to continue adopting different methods to get safety messages across to migrant workers, speakers at the InterConstruct Conference in Edinburgh said.
With the construction industry accounting for two thirds (66 per cent) of all migrant worker deaths in 2007-08, and migrant workers accounting for 17 per cent of construction industry fatalities (12 out of 72), the sector has more reason than most to come up with innovative solutions to a very real problem.
Attracting workers from outside the UK is something the industry is likely to have to do even more in the future. Reluctance from UK workers to do the work, coupled with an ageing population, means there are likely to be more gaps appearing in the employment market. So, if the construction sector is to improve its safety record, it has to find ways of ensuring that willing workers from abroad can understand how to stay healthy and safe.
HM Principal Inspector of Health and Safety (construction) at the HSE, James Skilling, said one of the problems is the “black economy” that exists in the industry, in which health and safety is not talked about. Couple this with the mobility of the migrant workforce, and the challenge of reaching them becomes still more problematic.
“We’ve had to make new partners. There’s still a number of migrant workers who don’t get advice from us and often, people only find out about their rights after they’ve had an accident,” James told the conference.
He said the HSE has been working with the Citizens’ Advice Bureau, the Police, trades unions, local authorities and community groups, including churches, to reach migrant workers.
Professor Alistair Gibb, from Loughborough University, said another issue is that only 30 per cent of migrant workers employed in the industry had previous experience of construction work, so getting safety messages across to them is important. That means placing messages where your target audience will see them.
“We spent some time in Crewe, which has a lot of Polish workers. You’ll see road signs in this area in Polish, and if you want to communicate then the best way to do it is at the Polish pub in Crewe. If it’s not there, then it’s the Polish shop, or through social and recreational organisations.”
Alistair pointed out that people from different countries often find ways around language problems. Highlighting an Italian company working on a major project in the UK, which had put together a team containing Lithuanians, Poles, Russians and Latvians, Alistair said this team was consistently among the company’s top performers — despite the fact they couldn’t communicate very well in each others’ languages.
“They developed their own language to communicate with each other,” Alistair explained. “They used English to communicate health and safety terms, and then they’d go back to a mix of their languages when they spoke to each other. These people will learn to communicate with each other, and we should be careful not to tar migrant workers with a brush that says they’re thick.”
Using images could be another effective way of communicating with migrant workers, Glasgow Caledonian University’s Dr Billy Hare pointed out: “We want them to associate the words with the image, and if they don’t understand, they’re able to sketch their own image. We’ve found images help reinforce messages, and they’re a good aid, but they’re not a substitute.”
Billy also urged caution with the use of interpreters: “The existing method is to have someone who is bilingual who can interpret for the worker. But how do you know they are actually translating what you want them to — they might just be saying ‘nod your head’. How do you know, for example, that a phrase like ‘plant and machinery’ isn’t interpreted as ‘flower and machinery’?”
Visit www.youtube.com/iosh to hear speakers from InterConstruct 09 talking about their presentation topics.
