High level of health and safety violations in construction
Published: 12 November 2006
During 2006, the General Labour Inspectorate – Executive Agency (GLI-EA [1]) of Bulgaria carried out a nationwide campaign entitled ‘Health and safety and labour relations in the construction sector’. The campaign was divided into two stages as follows:[1] http://git.mlsp.government.bg/
On 7 August 2006, the Executive Agency of the General Labour Inspectorate in Bulgaria reported on the findings of the recent national campaign on ‘Health and safety and labour relations in the construction sector’. Within the framework of the campaign, some 2,452 onsite inspections were carried out. The labour inspectors registered 16,280 offences at work sites against health and safety legislation and the Labour Code. A total of 15,778 warrants were issued to employers and 1,462 statements have been drawn up.
Background
During 2006, the General Labour Inspectorate – Executive Agency (GLI-EA) of Bulgaria carried out a nationwide campaign entitled ‘Health and safety and labour relations in the construction sector’. The campaign was divided into two stages as follows:
between 15 April and 15 May 2006, inspections were carried out on construction sites in the regions of Bourgas in the southeast of the country, Varna on the Black Sea coast, Dobrich in the northeast, and the capital city of Sofia and Sofia Province in western Bulgaria;
between 15 May and 30 June 2006, the inspections were extended to other regions in order to cover most operational construction sites in Bulgaria.
As a result, a total of 2,233 construction companies were inspected, of which 64.7% are micro and small enterprises employing up to 20 workers.
Main results of campaign
GLI-EA found 16,280 offences against the existing labour legislation and health and safety requirements on work sites. According to the analysis of the inspections, published on 7 August 2006, the average number of violations is high, at 6.6 cases per inspection, despite a slight decrease in this proportion, compared with 2005.
Main results of campaign in construction sector, 2005 and 2006
Source: Analysis of results of national campaign in construction sector, GLI-EA, 2006
Type of offences
Although some progress was observed, compared with previous campaigns, the 2006 campaign found extensive violations of labour and health and safety legislation. The most frequent offences related to the lack of health and safety measures and low control by employers and officials with regard to the use of personal protective equipment; such equipment was even found to be unavailable to workers on some construction sites. The inspections reveal that, out of a total of 16,280 offences:
1,081 violations pertained to the lack of company occupational health and safety regulations;
1,328 breaches reflected a failure to give proper instructions on health and safety to workers;
324 offences were due to the absence of an established health and safety body;
499 violations resulted from the lack of an occupational health service;
1,137 breaches concerned the lack of established working conditions committees or groups;
862 offences represented a deficiency in risk assessment and in an approved risk elimination programme.
Employment relations
The campaign also registered violations of labour legislation in respect of employment relations. The offences mainly pertained to the following: workers recruited with no signed contract (8%); non-compliance with the requirements of labour contracts (26%); overtime work which was neither reported nor paid (12%); unavailability of pay-slips and receipts for wages paid in cash; and failure to register the labour contract with the local branches of the National Revenue Agency (NRA) (4%).
Main sanctions imposed
The labour inspectors issued 15,778 obligatory warrants to the respective employers in violation of legislation. For the offences against labour legislation, some 1,462 statements for administrative and penal prosecution were drawn up, 858 of which were issued to the employers, 223 statements were delivered to officials, and 381 were addressed to the workers. Moreover, GLI suspended a total of 467 machines, installations and construction sites, and 42 persons were removed from work due to the lack of proper qualifications. In all, four warnings were lodged with the prosecutor’s office, three of which related to the employment of persons aged below 18 years without GLI’s prior permission.
In addition to the administrative sanctions, the labour inspectors provided information and technical advice to the employers on labour and health and safety legislation and requirements.
Reference
General Labour Inspectorate – Executive Agency, Analysis of the results of the 2006 national campaign ‘Health and safety and labour relations in the construction sector’, 2006.
Nadezhda Daskalova, Institute for Social and Trade Union Research (ISTUR)
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2006), High level of health and safety violations in construction, article.
