Calls for more and better building site inspections by construction unions have been met with pushback within the sector.
As accidents and thefts rise on construction sites, the Construction Confederation and the ACV trade union have urged for stronger safety measures.
These include a badge system to identify people present on sites and more inspections. They call on additional labour auditors to improve safety.
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But according to Jean-Pierre Waeytens, managing director at construction consultancy Bouwunie, those proposals "are only useful after an accident and have no preventive effect at all."
Waeytens expressed concern that an increase in inspections would mostly affect smaller sites and result in "more red tape" for construction enterprises.
Bouwunie consequently proposes "effective solutions," such as communicating safety standards in the language of the construction worker and establishing a separate inspection service for larger building sites.
This comes after a consultation session with social partners shortly before the summer, but according to Bouwunie, no consensus has been reached within the sector.
