A rally to protest against proposals to scrap tower crane regulations will take place this Tuesday lunchtime outside the Department for Work and Pensions office in London, reports Construction News.
The union-backed Construction Safety Campaign has called for the rally in support of the Notification of Conventional Tower Cranes Regulations 2010, whose abolition was proposed by the Lofstedt review of Government regulations. The regulations require firms to notify the HSE whenever a crane is installed.
The demonstration coincides with the end of the Health and Safety Executive’s consultation on the abolition of the rules, which were introduced after a member of the public was killed by a falling crane in Battersea, south London.
Meanwhile. Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn has tabled a motion in parliament in support of maintaining the regulations, which expresses “strong concern that recommendations contained in the Government’s Lofstedt report put in jeopardy the safety regulations relating to tower cranes and working at height.”
In related news, a survey by Constructionline has found that fewer than one third of construction buyers rate health and safety accreditation as their number one priority when appointing firms.
The survey of 105 buyers, who work for local authorities, housing associations, universities, the police and health authorities, found that only 29 percent put health and safety as their priority, while the majority (49 percent) said cost was the main factor.
Safety Schemes in Procurement chairman Paul Reeve said the survey results showed that “the construction sector has been hit very hard by the recession, so it’s understandable that everyone in the industry is closely monitoring costs.”
