38 | MAY 2020
Installer Support
Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
In an industry where two construction
workers take their own life every
single working day and where 20%
of all work absence is due to poor
mental wellbeing, a pandemic
such as Covid-19 is always going
to have a devastating impact.
That’s why it was encour-
aging to hear from Business
Secretary, Alok Sharma that
our country and our economy
needs the critical contribution
of our construction workforce
right now. This workforce is
responsible for building our
schools and homes, our energy
plants and ensuring our infra-
structure supports everything
we do in our daily lives. Things
that our society often takes
for granted without perhaps a
thought about the pressures
behind working in this sector
even on a ‘normal’ day.
Today, these same builders,
plasterers, groundworkers,
electricians; plant operators,
the list is endless; are building
temporary hospital wards for
our country, installing com-
plex and life-saving oxygen
systems and improving the
infrastructure that we need
to function in this current
climate.
My proposal to Mr Sharma
is one that could have con-
siderable political capital. In
2018/19, *£54.5 million in fines
were issued to duty holders
found guilty of health and
safety offences across all
business sectors. A large pro-
portion of that will have come
from construction companies.
The single largest fine was £3
million and 36 cases received
fines of £500,000 or more.
This revenue goes straight into
the treasury. Surely, it’s not
beyond the realms of possibil-
ity that during these extraor-
dinary times that some of this
revenue could be ring-fenced
and diverted to our cause? I
have always thought that this
money should be returned in
some way back to those that
need it the most, but now it’s
critical. As a charity we already
have the processes in place to
manage this and I’m certain
that this proposal would re-
ceive widespread support by
the construction industry. It
would make headline news. I’m
awaiting for a reply.
As CEO of the Lighthouse
Construction Industry Charity,
we have a moral obligation to
ensure our workforce and their
families aren’t left to cope
alone in a crisis and I have al-
ready written to Mr Sharma to
highlight the critical situation
for our charity and our con-
struction community. Given
that over 50% of our work-
force in construction are either
self-employed, agency workers
or on zero-hour contracts we
are finding it impossible to
keep up. Many of these work-
ers are only one or two pay-
days away from poverty and
need our immediate help.
Our 24/7 Construction
Industry Helpline is still fully
operational but we are already
being overwhelmed with re-
quests for help.
step in to provide a lifeline
‘ to we those
workers that are falling
through the safety net ’
Calls are increasing by 25%
each week and it’s going to get
worse before it gets better. For
individuals there are difficul-
ties in accessing the support
they need. One desperate
caller to our helpline told us
that he was number 22,000 in
an online queue to get access
to Universal Credit.
Brian Berry, Chief Executive
of the Federation of Master
Builders (FMB) has also said
that small construction busi-
nesses are having difficulties
accessing the Government
funding they need. 10% of
their members applications
have been rejected and 84%
were still waiting for a re-
sponse.
The systems in place simply
cannot cope with the demand.
Thankfully, this is where we
step in to provide a lifeline to
those workers that are falling
through the safety net. We’re
providing emergency financial
aid so that they can buy food
for their families and mak-
ing sure they can keep the
heating and lights on. We’re
also providing mental wellbeing
support, but tragically we don’t
reach everyone in time. We’ve
just heard from the partner of
a worker who was already hav-
ing problems with debt before
the pandemic. Being laid off
was just too much to cope with
and he took his own life in the
family home. His partner found
him and she is now attempting
to deal with the horror of what
*Source; Enforcement statistics in Great Britain, 2019 https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/enforcement.pdf
has happened. He leaves two
young children.
Finally, and on a positive
note; with your support and
the construction community
pulling together, no matter how
unpredictable the future feels
at the moment, we will get
through this and be stronger
as a result.
Stay safe.
Bill Hill
Charity CEO
of the Lighthouse
Construction Industry Charity