The serious accidents, some of them fatal, that have taken place on construction sites over the past weeks indicate that the authorities and those having an interest in the industry are not giving enough importance to safety, Malta Labour Party spokesman on construction Charles Buhagiar said.

At a time when construction projects were growing bigger and more complex, one expected the authorities to legislate and enforce regulations to make sure that risks were limited.

The structures for this to exist were already in place, Mr Buhagiar said. A Labour government had set up the Building Industry Consultative Council to provide a forum for all stakeholders to discuss issues such as safety and come up with recommendations and proposals for the government to consider.

The Building Construction Industry Department had also been set up to enforce construction regulations, while the Occupational Health and Safety Authority had been set up to monitor the implementation of such regulations. But little seemed to have been done to ensure safety, Mr Buhagiar said.

The Nationalist government was not giving priority to enacting legislation on this matter, and the entities concerned were not being given enough resources to carry out their work, he added.