Embuild, the professional federation of the construction and installation sector, has analyzed the most recent figures from Fedris, the federal agency for occupational risks. This shows that the number of accidents that lead to at least one day of incapacity for work is structurally decreasing. In 2018 there were 9,182 accidents. In 2022 there were still 7,867. The number of fatal accidents in construction has also decreased sharply in the same period, from eighteen in 2018 to eight in 2022. No figures are yet available for 2023.
“And furthermore, we ask the next federal government to impose minimum costs for safety in a public tender. We also ask that these safety costs do not count in determining who is the cheapest.”
Niko Demeester
CEO Embuild
There was only an increase in 2021, but that is because there was no construction work for a while due to the corona crisis in 2020, which distorted those figures. The good news is also that the number of accidents in construction is falling faster than the average across all sectors. In construction, the number of accidents fell by 5.7 percent in one year, while the decline in the entire economy was only 3.7 percent.
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Reasons for the decline
Why is the number of occupational accidents in construction decreasing relatively quickly? “Because there is a lot more focus on safety, for example by investing in cameras on the yards, so that workers can better see whether someone is nearby,” says Niko Demeester, CEO of Embuild. “Workers who have to work at heights are also more tied down than before. And more use is being made of sensors that automatically send a signal when someone steps outside the safety perimeter on the site. But that does not alter the fact that 7,867 cases is still a lot. That number must be reduced.”
“Ten percent of all occupational accidents still occur in construction. And of all fatal industrial accidents, 22 percent occur in construction.”
Maartje De Schutter
secretary construction sector ABVV
Maartje De Schutter, secretary for the construction sector at the socialist trade union ABVV, also thinks so. “Ten percent of all occupational accidents still occur in construction. And of all fatal industrial accidents, 22 percent occur in construction,” says Maartje De Schutter. “In addition, there are the self-employed and seconded employees (i.e. foreign workers who temporarily work at a shipyard in Belgium, ed.) are not included in the figures. In reality, the number of construction accidents is higher.” In the Belgian construction sector, approximately 10 to 12 percent of the workforce consists of seconded workers.
Maartje De Schutter — © Patrick De Roo
Measures for more safety
Niko Demeester lists two measures that he believes can further reduce the number of occupational accidents in construction. “Since April 2023, it has been mandatory to organize a mandatory training course in basic safety of eight hours at every construction site,” says Niko Demeester. “That happens in different languages. And we also ask the next federal government to impose minimum costs for safety in a public tender. We also ask that these safety costs are not included in the determination of who is the cheapest. So if one company is cheaper than another only because it spends less on safety, that one company is not allowed to win the public tender.”
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