Spotlight on construction site safety

That four children, aged 6 to 10, were killed in an accident at a construction site in Yuanyang county, Henan province, last week was a tragedy in itself. Yet the problems exposed by the heart-wrenching story paint no less a sad picture.

According to the findings of an initial official investigation, the four kids, all from a nearby village, entered the construction site through a broken fence. While playing on the site, they were buried alive by earth dumped from an excavator that was being operated improperly. Eight suspects, including the excavator operator and a manager of the project－which had not received a construction permit－were detained by local police. Two officials were removed from office for lapses in supervision and management.

Yet the fact that the project could be going on under the eyes of local officials for so long without a permit has already given rise to suspicion about possible collusion between some of those in power and the developer. This possibility was given further credence when several reporters covering the event in Yuanyang reportedly were harassed and had their phones taken away from them by people whose identities are as yet unknown in the presence of local officials.

An investigation from authorities at a higher level is needed, as nothing but the truth will repair the damage done to the local government's credibility.

But as well as drawing attention to the issue of illegal construction projects, the tragedy has also once again put the spotlight on the poor safety record of the construction industry.

The construction industry has the highest number of accidents and deaths of any industry, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management, because of the chaotic subcontracting system and the continued failure of contractors to abide by the law and basic safety regulations,

To clean up the construction industry and improve its safety record, there must be strengthened oversight. Stiff penalties must be imposed on law violators to deter illegal projects and prompt contractors to abide by their responsibilities. This would be facilitated by a fundamental change to the current practice whereby different aspects of the work are sub-contracted without any party being responsible for overall site safety. Making the main project contractor responsible for on-site safety would help "police" the subcontractors to ensure the safety regulations are adhered to, as local governments could then conduct regular inspections of construction sites in their jurisdictions and blacklist any main contractors found to have ignored safety regulations.

In closing, it would be remiss of us not to mention another issue that requires more attention, as the tragedy in Henan has once again sounded the alarm for the governments to take all necessary measures to protect the children who are "left behind" when their parents leave their hometowns to work elsewhere, as the lack of parental supervision makes these children especially vulnerable.