Seabank accident exposes workers’ vulnerability

Malta's leading trade unions have expressed their concern over the lack of union representation among construction workers.

They were reacting to Tuesday's accident at the Seabank Hotel in Mellieha, in which a foreign worker died trapped under debris when part of the structure collapsed. Contacted by MaltaToday, the General Workers' Union and Union Haddiema Maghqudin separately said that construction workers are often left vulnerable, as their employers make it difficult for them to pursue union representation. However, they declined to comment specifically about the Seabank accident and were reacting to construction accidents in general.

Tuesday's mishap was one of a series to have occured on construction sites in recent years, marking the third accident to take place in 2012.

The other two workers died in February. The first incident happened in Sliema, where a 59-year-old man from Siggiewi died crushed under a pulley block. The second accident happened in Luqa, when a 44-year-old man from Birzebbugia died after falling five storeys at the building site of the Malta International Airport's Skyparks business centre.

Contacted by MaltaToday, the GWU and UHM said that very few workers employed within the construction sector are represented within a trade union, the main deterrent being their employers.

"We urge construction workers to join a union. The lack of such representation means that there is no health and safety representative on behalf of the workers," GWU secretary-general Tony Zarb said.

He added that one of the biggest problems is that when such workers try to join a union, "their employer makes their lives a living hell".

Zarb said the GWU has long been flagging "a number of abuses" taking place in the construction sector, including the issue of precarious work and the lack of health and safety measures adopted.

Echoing similar comments, UHM President Jesmond Bonello said the union has insisted not only for increased awareness of health and safety measures, but also to increase the number of enforcement officers and the updating of health and safety laws.

Bonello drew comparison by the harshening of fines when a driver - for example - fails to wear a seatbelt to act as a deterrent. "But the same cannot be said for health and safety measures," he said.

"We had also started a consultation process with the Occupational Health and Safety Authority to upgrade the laws. We met twice around a year and a half ago, but everything seems to have stalled now," Bonello said.

The UHM's main proposals are to increase the penalties and safeguard the workers' lives.

"However, the major issue is that there is no trade union involved. Rarely do construction workers join a union," he said.

Bonello explained that many of the construction companies are family-owned and would employ a relatively small number of workers. He said that since the employer would be working on site with them, they wouldn't feel the need to join a union.

"But union membership doesn't stop at fighting for a better pay or collective agreements. Among other factors, it's also about making sure that the correct health and safety measures are in place," Bonello said.

In the case of large companies, the management might convince the workers not to join a union.

It is a well-known fact that many of the construction companies - and not only - are employing foreign workers. Zarb and Bonello argued that one of the main reasons would be the level of pay.

"It is not a secret that such a sector is finding problems to recruit workers because of the pay and the working conditions. Several times, employing foreigners would mean giving less wages and offering inferior working conditions," Bonello said.

The UHM President said this was leading to social dumping. He also pointed out how communication between Maltese and foreigners also caused problems. "Many of these workers would know little English and no Maltese, finding it difficult to communicate among themselves," he said.

Meanwhile, MaltaToday has tried to get a reaction from OHSA over the Seabank accident. However, the authority declined to comment, saying that at this stage they had no comment to make.