Construction group Leighton Holdings (ASX: LEI) has warned that more workers will be killed on building sites if the government does not make an overhaul of occupational health and safety laws.

Leighton Holdings senior executive Stephen Sasse spoke out about the issue in a speech to Infrastructure Partnerships Australia last night and admitted that “we are injuring people at an unacceptable rate” and that the rate of deaths on sites is increasing.
Mr Sasse pointed out that the fatality rate in the construction industry in Britain was almost half that of Australia and trending down.

The admission by Australia’s biggest construction contractor that safety standards in construction are getting worse and need to be addressed is more evidence the Federal Government need to make safety in construction its priority, the CFMEU said today.

CFMEU Construction National Secretary Dave Noonan said the Federal Government spent $35 million per year on the ABCC which persecutes unions and workers and only a pittance on the Federal Safety Commissioner.

“They have got their priorities wrong - workers lives are more important than corporate profits,” Mr Noonan said.

Mr Noonan said the comments by Mr Sasse backed up the experience of union officials trying to improve safety on construction sites.

“Unions have been fighting almost a lone battle on these issues, and it is heartening to hear these comments from an employer.

“The Federal Government needs to change its priorities from funding the ABCC to getting safety right on construction sites,” Mr Noonan said.