"High-risk industry"
Nov 18, 2019
מאת: שלומי הדר, עו"ד ג'ון גבע הדר ושות' עורכי דין ומגשרים שנת 2019 מתקרבת לסיומה, וכעת ניתן לומר בפה מלא כי זוהי הייתה שנה קשה מאוד בענף הבנייה בתחום הסיכונים. הנתונים מדאיגים; נכון לתחילת נובמבר ועל פי שורת פרסומים, 42 בני אדם נהרגו עד כה באתרי הבנייה ועוד 168 בני אדם נפצעו באורך בינוני עד קשה. יש לציין, כי בשנים האחרונות נפגעו גם עוברי אורח מליקויים בטיחותיים באתרי בנייה ואף קיפחו את חייהם. אי לכך, המלחמה בתאונות העבודה הפכה לנחלת הכלל ולא רק נחלתם של אותם הפועלים העובדים באתרי הבנייה. זאת ועוד, נראה, כי המודעות למצב באתרי הבנייה עולה גם בקרב אוכלוסייה שאינה קשורה באופן ישיר לעבודה באתרי הבנייה שכן, בשנים האחרונות עלה היקף הסיקור התקשורתי בעניין תאונות העבודה והליקויים הבטיחותיים באתרי הבנייה. בנוסף, כדי להעלות את המודעות לנושא בקרב האזרחים ואף לרתום למאבק בתאונות העבודה את כלל האוכלוסייה, פתח המוסד לבטיחות וגהות בקמפיין "זעקת משפחות הרוגי תאונות עבודה". מטרת הקמפיין לרתום את הציבור הרחב למאבק בתאונות העבודה. במסגרת הקמפיין, עומד המוקד הלאומי "קו החיים", אשר בו ניתן לדווח בכל עת על מפגע בטיחותי באתרי הבנייה. כבר במאי השנה, דיווח אזרח על סכנה הנשקפת לעובדים באתר בניה בשכונת קטמון בירושלים, באמצעות שירות "קו החיים". בעקבות כך, הוזעקו למקום מפקחים של המשרד לבטיחות וגהות. 45 אתרי בנייה נסגרו בשל צווים שיצאו בעקבות תלונות של אזרחים ואף ניתנו קנסות. צעד נוסף במלחמה נגד התאונות בענף הבנייה נעשה אף על ידי החשב הכללי במשרד האוצר, אשר הוסיף קריטריונים למאגר הקבלנים הממשלתי, לפיהם קבלן מוכר שניתנו לו שני צווי הפסקת עבודה בעקבות ליקויי בטיחות חמורים או שנהרגו או שנפצעו בהם קשה עובדים, יושעו ממאגר הקבלנים הממשלתי לשנה. כמו כן, במהלך תקופת ההשעיה, הקבלן לא יורשה לבצע עבודות הנדסה בנאיות או לחתום על חוזי ביצוע. לסוגיית הרישיון עשויה להיות כמובן גם השפעה על כיסויים ביטוחיים של יזמים וקבלנים.
By: Shlomi Hadar, Attorney John Geva Hadar & Co. Lawyers and Mediators
The year 2019 is coming to an end, and it can now be said with full confidence that this has been a very difficult year for the construction industry in terms of risks. The data is alarming; as of early November and according to a number of publications, 42 people have been killed so far on construction sites and another 168 people have been moderately to seriously injured.
It should be noted that in recent years, passersby have also been harmed by safety deficiencies at construction sites and even lost their lives. Therefore, the fight against occupational accidents has become a common concern, not just the concern of those workers working at construction sites.
Furthermore, it appears that awareness of the situation on construction sites is also increasing among a population that is not directly related to work on construction sites, as in recent years the scope of media coverage regarding work accidents and safety deficiencies on construction sites has increased.
In addition, in order to raise awareness of the issue among citizens and even enlist the entire population in the fight against work accidents, the Institute for Occupational Safety and Health launched the "Call of Families of Work Accident Victims" campaign. The campaign aims to enlist the general public in the fight against work accidents. As part of the campaign, the national hotline "Lifeline" is located, where you can report a safety hazard at any time on construction sites.
As early as May of this year, a citizen reported a danger to workers at a construction site in the Katamon neighborhood of Jerusalem, through the Lifeline service. Following this, inspectors from the Ministry of Safety and Health were called to the scene.
45 construction sites were closed due to orders issued following complaints from citizens, and fines were even issued.
Another step in the fight against accidents in the construction industry was also taken by the Accountant General of the Ministry of Finance, who added criteria to the government contractor database, according to which a recognized contractor who has been issued two stop work orders following serious safety deficiencies or in which workers were killed or seriously injured, will be suspended from the government contractor database for one year. Also, during the suspension period, the contractor will not be allowed to perform engineering and construction work or sign performance contracts.
The licensing issue may of course also have an impact on the insurance coverage of entrepreneurs and contractors.
Work accidents exact high prices
Undoubtedly, work accidents exact high social costs, families pay a heavy price for the loss of their loved ones, and anyone could be the next victim. This also has an economic impact, as each year the state pays considerable sums in benefits to workers injured in the workplace.
It goes without saying that a construction company that does not have adequate insurance coverage also exposes its shareholders to personal lawsuits, in addition to criminal proceedings.
Therefore, the question arising from the current situation is, what is the most effective and appropriate way to combat occupational accidents in the construction industry and reduce the exposure of contractors?
Is deterrence through legal proceedings, arrests, sanctions, and filing of indictments? Or is enforcement preferable by issuing closure orders and monitoring sites? Is it through advocacy or regulation? It seems that the answer to this is a combination of all of the above tools plus raising social awareness of the issue.
On the legal level, and according to the publications, units like Lahav 433 came into the picture, leading to arrests in the construction industry that served as a deterrent, but there is a danger that these types of procedures and sanctions will be disproportionate and will not take into account the great complexity of the industry, which from the moment the stake is driven into the ground is exposed to risks, some of which are difficult to predict.
On the financial level, of course, adequate insurance coverage can alleviate the situation, but in order to deal with the fear of criminal sanctions and to reduce the risk of insurance claims (and thus the increase in premiums or difficulty in finding a company that will agree to insure), it is appropriate to adopt approaches taken in other legal branches that offer internal and private regulation that each body in the field creates for itself; conducting proactive private audits; building procedures and business thinking that from its very foundations sees the issue of occupational safety as an inherent and inseparable part of the company's DNA, as a condition for its success, professionalism, and survival and the survival of its managers and owners in the industry.
Arrests of construction company owners, as mentioned, can create deterrence, but deterrence without solutions is similar to banning vehicles from entering the center of the country without alternative transportation solutions.
Ultimately, it seems that in recent years, awareness has been rising among the public and among government bodies about the need to address the issue of occupational safety with a strong hand, and precisely for this reason, this is the time to step up and accelerate processes that will put occupational safety and risk management at the center of the construction industry.
מסמכים
