Unite, the UK’s construction union, has launched a construction guide to help ensure the safety of construction workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ‘Construction Sector: Covid-19 Guide’ is specifically aimed at Unite’s construction representatives, but can be utilised by all workers.
This is launched just as COVID-19 cases on construction sites see a rise, thought to be due to worsening weather and a subsequent lack of social distancing.
The industry’s existing safety measures have also been questioned following the belated realisation by ‘experts’ that a great deal of construction work is not conducted outdoors, dramatically increasing transmission risks if mask wearing and social distancing are not observed.
Unite said its guide is far more comprehensive and stringent than the industry’s Site Operating Procedures, which have been heavily criticised for failing to make masks compulsory when social distancing cannot be maintained, and which allows workers to work face to face for 15 minutes at any one time.
The guide also advises on travelling to and from site, and guidance on how the COVID-19 pandemic can have an impact on workers’ mental health.
Jerry Swain, national officer at Unite, said: “The guide provides easy to follow and vital information that workers need to stay safe on-site. Unlike other guides, Unite’s is solely focused on workers safety.”
Ian Woodland, also a Unite national officer, added: “With cases of COVID-19 surging, and with a vaccination still many months off for most workers, it is imperative that there is not only no let up on-site safety, but further measures are taken to prevent the virus being transmitted.”
