All Party Group Condemns "Irresponsible"Behaviour
Video clips showing various incidents of horseplay on construction sites - which are being displayed on the Youtube website and elsewhere on the internet - were the subject of a debate by the All Party Parliamentary Building Services Engineering Group at its meeting on 13 March 2007.

“In recent years, the building services engineering sector has enjoyed an excellent - and continuously improving - reputation for its commitment to health and safety,” commented group chairman Claire Curtis-Thomas CEng MP.
“ Irresponsible and potentially dangerous behaviour such as that portrayed in the video clips has no place in today’s construction industry.

"All steps must therefore be taken - by both employers and employees - to stamp it out." This sentiment was echoed by Bill Belshaw, chairman of the Heating and Ventilating Joint Safety Committee, membership of which comprises representation from employers and the trade union Amicus.

"I have good reason to believe that the incidents highlighted are by no means representative of the sector, and that, by and large, building services engineering contractors take site safety very seriously, in every situation and at all levels of the workforce," Mr Belshaw insisted.

And he confirmed that the companies involved in the incidents in question were taking appropriately rigorous disciplinary action against the individuals involved.

ends

Note to Editors:
1. The All Party Parliamentary Building Services Engineering Group exists to raise awareness of the principal issues involving the sector, and to assist in the formation of policy, especially in relation to sustainability within the built environment.

2. The Heating and Ventilating Contractors’ Association (HVCA) provides administrative support to the All Party Parliamentary Building Services Engineering Group.

3. For further information, contact Gareth Keller at HVCA on 020 7313 4937 (gkeller@hvca.org.uk).