VANCOUVER –During the 45thanniversary memorial of the Bentall Centre Tower IVtragedyyesterday, the BC Buildings Trades renewed its call for stronger safety measures in the province.
“Every year we gather to remember GuntherCouvreux; Donald Davis; YrjoMitrunen; and Brian Stevenson. We also come together to remember all our sisters and brothers in the construction industry that have lost their lives,” said Brynn Bourke,executive director of the BC Building Tradesin a statement.
On Jan.7, 1981,thefour construction workers plunged to their deaths when aflyform collapsedat the 36th floor of the Bentall building during construction.
The latest numbers fromWorkSafeBCshow that in 2024,24 construction workers died in British Columbia,eightwere exposure-related and 16 were due to trauma.
“Workplace deaths have a profound and permanent impact on families, friends and co-workers,”addedBourke. “We as a province and an industry need to do better.”
Bourke and other construction union leaders are calling for universal access toappropriate equipment, including PPE, increased workplace safety inspections, improved regulations that require comprehensive safety training and more consistent and larger penalties for companies that break the rules.
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