Trucks slam into construction workers… TWICE!

Inside this issue...

-    Do you know the only two ways to postpone an arbitration?
-    COSATU labels the incident “disgusting”

Dear reader,

I realise everyone’s in a flurry to ensure everything’s ready for June this year, including the new alterations and improvements to our national roads. The egg we South Africans will have on our collective face if some tourist disappears down a pothole isn’t an option. But, unlike Robespierre, the ends STILL don’t justify the means and losing countless lives now just so we can make some extra money in a few months is not acceptable.

Take the horrific story I read on News24.com last week…

Trucks slam into construction workers… TWICE!

According to Jeff Wicks at Netcare 911, a truck carrying plastic piping lost control on the bend near Town Hill and struck a worker, killing him.

This happened around midnight, and the lane was closed to clear the debris. Just after this, two trucks, one carrying fish and another steel, ploughed into the rest of workers who continued working in the closed lane after the first incident!

“The fish truck veered off the road and struck the steel truck. That one then hit the plastic piping truck, which was still on the road.”

COSATU labels the incident “disgusting”

COSATU secretary in KZN, Zet Luzipho, said the workers should have stopped working after their colleague was killed.

“The second accident could have been avoided. How do you force people to continue working immediately after their colleague has been killed right in front of them? They were still traumatized.”

Mr. Luzipho raises an excellent point. Granted, there are deadlines to consider, but stress will affect an employee’s job performance and output so chances are if those trucks hadn’t killed the remaining workers, they might have struggled to meet their targets anyway.

Read “7 ways to assist your employees in dealing with stress” on page S08/006 (Stress in the Wokrplace) of your Health and Safety Advisor Handbook, to ensure you’re caring for your employees’ mental and emotional wellbeing, as well as their physical health.

In the name of safety,

Christel Fouché
Editor-In-Chief: Health and Safety Advisor