Construction workers need legal protection
Nov 16, 2010
LAST week three people yet again died at a construction site on Entebbe Road after a dune of soil collapsed on them. Every now and then death is reported on construction sites due to unprofessional methods of work.
LAST week three people yet again died at a construction site on Entebbe Road after a dune of soil collapsed on them. Every now and then death is reported on construction sites due to unprofessional methods of work.
On March 8, 2006, 28 people died when City of the Lord Church at Kalerwe, a city suburb, collapsed. The cause of the accident was unprofessional work and the plan of the building had not been approved.
On October 13, 2008, eight people died and one was injured after an excavated wall at the construction site of NSSF pension building on Lumumba Avenue collapsed. The reason was again unprofessional workmanship.
The works ministry made investigations and came up with recommendations but no action has been taken two years later! Before that, on January 30 of the same year, a building had collapsed killing eight people at St. Peters Secondary School Naalya.
The contractor had not used enough cement and was not a qualified engineer. On March 13, 2009, six people died and eight injured when Mirembe Shopping Arcade on Nasser Road in Kampala collapsed. The cause of the tragedy was a deep excavation made next to it.
There is no record of anyone who has been successfully prosecuted for putting construction workers in dangerous working conditions. The labour ministry merely wrings its hands.
The same goes for MPs and the Uganda Institution of Professional Engineers! In the latest incident, Eng Jackson Mubangizi, the president of the institution, promised to carry out “more investigations†into the matter.
Going by past experience, that might be the end of the story! Do construction workers, humble as they may be, not deserve protection at construction sites?. It is time to stop this criminal negligence that leads to senseless loss of innocent lives.
On March 8, 2006, 28 people died when City of the Lord Church at Kalerwe, a city suburb, collapsed. The cause of the accident was unprofessional work and the plan of the building had not been approved.
On October 13, 2008, eight people died and one was injured after an excavated wall at the construction site of NSSF pension building on Lumumba Avenue collapsed. The reason was again unprofessional workmanship.
The works ministry made investigations and came up with recommendations but no action has been taken two years later! Before that, on January 30 of the same year, a building had collapsed killing eight people at St. Peters Secondary School Naalya.
The contractor had not used enough cement and was not a qualified engineer. On March 13, 2009, six people died and eight injured when Mirembe Shopping Arcade on Nasser Road in Kampala collapsed. The cause of the tragedy was a deep excavation made next to it.
There is no record of anyone who has been successfully prosecuted for putting construction workers in dangerous working conditions. The labour ministry merely wrings its hands.
The same goes for MPs and the Uganda Institution of Professional Engineers! In the latest incident, Eng Jackson Mubangizi, the president of the institution, promised to carry out “more investigations†into the matter.
Going by past experience, that might be the end of the story! Do construction workers, humble as they may be, not deserve protection at construction sites?. It is time to stop this criminal negligence that leads to senseless loss of innocent lives.