CCA calls on members to ensure safe facilities for workers

THE Cebu Contractors Association (CCA) has called on other contractors to check on their own temporary facilities in the wake of the collapse of a bunkhouse in Barangay Lahug that killed five construction workers and critically injured four others at dawn on Tuesday.

“As we await the findings of the cause of this incident, we would like to encourage all contractors to review and assess the structural integrity of your respective temporary facilities and bunkhouses,” the group said in a statement.

“Even if this is not part of the project on hand, safety and security should be part and parcel of each contractors endeavors,” the group further said.

The four-level bunkhouse made out of metal scaffolding in Barangay Lahug, Cebu City, that collapsed shortly before 3 a.m. on Tuesday was owned by J.E. Abraham C. Lee Construction and Development Inc. (ACLI) and housed 163 workers.

The CCA added it was also looking into providing assistance to families of those who died in the accident.

ACLI, an active member of CCA, said in a statement it would cooperate with investigations into the incident and was taking “full responsibility over this incident, we shall continue to serve the community as a responsible contractor.”

At the same time, it said it would review their safety policies and practices in all their project sites.

The Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP), meanwhile, denounced the failure of the contractor to ensure the safety of its workers.

“The death of the construction workers and the injury of several others in Cebu City show the wanton habit of contractors to cut costs and project owners to save expenses by giving substandard sleeping quarters and inadequate resting facilities at the expense of the safety and health of workers,” said Gerard Seno, executive vice president of the ALU-TUCP, in a statement.

“We call on the LGU (local government unit) and the DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment) to be pro-active in the enforcement of building and construction regulations, particularly the health and safety of workers,” Seno said.