IANS

Manama, Jun 23: An overwhelming two-thirds of the workplace injuries reported in Bahrain in 2005 occurred at construction sites, where 75 percent of the workforce comprises Asians. 

According to a survey conducted by the General Organisation for Social Insurance (Gosi), of the 2,398 workplace injuries, some 1,600 occurred at building sites, the Gulf Daily News reported.

Most construction site accidents were caused by shoddy scaffolding and a lack of attention to proper safety regulations, Mariam Al Ansari, labour ministry occupational guidance specialist, was quoted as saying in the report.

Heat strokes and falling objects were other major reasons, the survey found.

An estimated 70,000 people are employed in building and construction works in Bahrain and 75 percent of them are Asians - a bulk of them from the subcontinent.

Employers seem to consider safety regulations a waste of money, but they need to see them as something that will ultimately help the company, Al Ansari told the newspaper.

However, only one percent of the injuries resulted in deaths, while five percent caused disability.

Bahraini laws require all workers to adopt 'necessary' safety precautions, but it is left to the employers to decide what is necessary, the report said.

'Employers need to provide their workers with shaded areas to take breaks and cold water and liquids to keep them hydrated and they also need to organise their work in shifts so that no employees get overexposed to the sun and heat,' Al Ansari said.

'Workers should also be examined for heart and kidney diseases before they are employed because the heat and the dehydration can stress the heart and the kidney.'

Occupational safety officer Aqeel Al Wade was quoted as saying that there was often a problem of communication between employers and workers.