Safety Issues Involving Workers on Building Construction Sites in Nigeria: An Abuja Study

ABSTRACT: The term Building Worker refers to any personnel engaged in the physical construction of a building. Just like every other occupation they are faced with challenges in performing their duties. The safety of building construction workers on sites is key to achieving success in any project, when these workers are physically healthy work can go on smoothly as virtually all works on site are dependent on the workers for implementation. Numerous building projects are situated in Abuja, Nigeria with little or no attention being paid to safety issues. This research looked into the level of safety implementation of the Construction companies and the level of safety awareness of the workers in Abuja city. 80 questionnaires were issued, 69 (85%) copies were retrieved. The findings revealed that building site workers in Nigeria lacked the requisite trainings needed to perform their trades. The Construction company’s practice of not providing the basic safety materials and facilities was also exposed. The older workers were aware of their rights as employees on site. Lack of safety training was the major cause of accidents among the workers with minor injuries being mostly experienced. The Unqualified laborers were most frequently engaged in accidents on the sites. Accidents mainly occurred among workers less than 20 years of age. The Governmental agencies need to step up their enforcement activities in order to adequately protect these workers, the available safety regulations need updating and if possible solely Nigerian regulations should be designed. Keywords: Safety, Building Construction Workers, Nigerian Construction Industry. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………