Work at almost 500 sites halted due to health and safety breaches

The Occupational Health & Safety Authority (OHSA) has conducted 3,724 inspections over the course of the year, during which it stopped work at 478 workplaces.

The OHSA issued 689 fines with a value of €256,750, and initiated 112 cases in the Maltese and Gozitan courts for breaches of occupational health and safety laws.

OHSA fines are imposed on various people, including company directors, employers, self-employed clients, and project supervisors on construction projects.

Although most of the workplaces where deficiencies were noticed were construction sites, there were also other places such as printing works and factories. “In addition to a lack of protection of health and safety in general, a lack of risk assessment and signs of health and safety, fire-fighting measures and evacuation of workers were also found,” the OHSA said.

Accidents at construction sites have recently been under the spotlight after an injured migrant worker was dumped on a Mellieħa kerbside, revealing once again a world of racialised inequality inside parts of Malta’s construction industry.

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