The death of a construction worker on Thursday was described by Moviment Graffitti as “another senseless death caused by lawlessness in the building sector.”
The NGO was referring to the death of a construction worker on Thursday morning in Cospicua. The man, who is yet to be identified but believed to be foreign, died after a boundary wall in the construction site he was working in collapsed onto him.
Expressing shock at the “umpteenth death on a building site, the activist group condemns the authorities’ complacency in introducing tighter regulations on the sector,” a statement by the group read, going on to say that this “very avoidable death is the result of sacrificing decency at the altar of private profits.”
Read more: Construction worker dead, another injured after Cospicua wall collapse
This tragic accident comes in the wake of the death of Miriam Pace just a few months ago, the home collapses of 2019, and dozens of accidents in construction sites throughout the years.
“Faced with all this, both Government and the Malta Developers Association (MDA) have repeatedly stated they want to see better regulation of the sector, however the status quo is clear for everyone to see,” Moviment Graffiti said.
“Moreover, government incentives for the construction industry to buy new machinery add insult to injury. Not only has the concept of tighter regulations gone out of the window, but the government is now using public funds in a shocking display of servilism to a private lobby. Machinery should be upgraded across the board as a rule, and this should be financed by the developers themselves not by the taxpayer.”
“This is another senseless death of a worker who woke up this morning with nothing else to do but earn his keep, probably a miserable salary that allows him to just pull through. We wonder whether he leaves any family behind, and whether justice will be served for this death,” the group said in its statement.
Read more: Work accidents: Increase in reporting by media fuelling wrong perception – OHSA CEO
“While we have grown accustomed to the MDA and the construction lobby shedding crocodile tears after accidents like these, we’re not holding our breath about them even paying lip service to a worker. Those who are exploited by construction magnates score very low on the lobby’s scale of importance.”
Moviment Graffitti called on the Prime Minister to take the necessary steps to rein in this sector, “which arrogantly believes it is above the law, and to introduce much-needed legislation to protect the rights of workers and residents alike.”