ALMOST $40 million has been paid out to tradies injured on the job in Maribyrnong and Hobsons Bay over the past five years, new figures reveal.
WorkSafe statistics released last week show more than 17,000 injury claims from the construction industry were reported across the state in the past five years, costing almost $1 billion in treatment, wages and other expenses.
In Hobsons Bay, 465 claims worth $28.9 million were paid out from WorkCover, while Maribyrnong had 242 claims valued at $10.1 million.
Tradies and labourers made up four in five injured workers.
Most of the construction site injuries were caused by inadequate planning, poor site housekeeping and a lack of supervision, according to WorkSafe chief executive Denise Cosgrove.
Ms Cosgrove said more needed to be done to make the construction industry safer for workers. “Inspectors visit almost 40 construction sites across Victoria every day and, on average, they find almost 6500 health and safety breaches every year. That’s just not acceptable,” she said. “The number of deaths, injuries and safety breaches prove that everyone – builders, contractors and workers – must do more to ensure workers get home to their families safely every night.”
Master Builders Association of Victoria executive director Brian Welch said safety was an important issue on any worksite.
“There is still scope for improvement when it comes to safety in the building sector,” he said.
In a bid to stem the tide of injuries, WorkSafe has launched a Top Tradie Cup, designed to get tradies and others in the construction industry talking about safety.
The six-week smartphone competition tests tradies on their football and safety knowledge.
“The cup will help to create a culture of safety on site and encourage workers to speak up when they see safety breaches,” Ms Cosgrove said.
Further details: toptradie.com.au
