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Lift plunge death sparks safety pleas
A BUILDING worker has plunged to his death in Kingsway.
He was found dead at the bottom of an office lift shaft in Catherine’s House at the Aldwych junction yesterday (Thursday). The victim, contracted to specialist joinery and fit-out contractor Swift Horsman, “fell from a great height,” a Metropolitan Police source said.
The unnamed worker was the third to die in London on construction sites in as many weeks and union officials last night some contractors’ attitudes to health and safety.
Frank Westerman, regional officer for manufacturer’s union Unite, said: “Too many workers are still being killed at work where action by managers could have saved lives. This week alone four construction workers have been killed in the city. Unite will continue to fight to get the right corporate manslaughter legislation to ensure that if companies do not take health and safety seriously they will face the most severe consequences.”
Alan Ritchie, general secretary of the building workers’ union Ucatt, said: “This latest tragedy underlines the unacceptably high level of deaths in construction. Many companies remain blasé about health and safety.”
A spokesman for Swift Horsman confirmed that a “horrible accident” occurred.
He said: “We are committed to achieving excellent health and safety performance throughout our operations and continuing to develop a positive health and safety culture.”
Eight-storey St Catherine’s House, formally home to the General Register Office, was sold as part of a £100 million development last year. |
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