THE WIFE and three children of a 46-year old Syrian man who died in a workplace accident on Saturday have called on the state for financial support
The man was sole breadwinner for his wife, 22- and 15-year-old sons and eight-year-old daughter. He died on Saturday morning when the cherry-picker he was on collapsed while he and another Syrian man were painting the walls of a Limassol apartment block. The men fell three storeys and were killed instantly.
The 46-year-old’s fellow nationals and neighbours have banded together by contributing the funds for his transportation and burial in Syria. The eldest son said there was no state aid and has called on the public stand by his family.
Authorities are particularly concerned with fatal work accidents, especially in construction.
The Director of the Labour Inspection Department, Leandros Nicolaides yesterday said that “each year 12 to 18 fatal work accidents are recorded”. He added that, “Construction sites are inspected by our office but we can’t have an inspector on every site”
He said Cyprus is lagging behind in terms of determining qualifications for some professions citing the example of operators of lifting machines, who are not required to have special licences and do not receive specialised training”.
Nicolaides said that they will ask the Human Resource Development Authority, to include special courses in its programme.
Nicolaides said that the legislation covers only some of the lifting equipment that the employer is obliged to inspect and maintenance. He was also reassuring as to the way that the inspectors carry out the necessary checks.
The contractor responsible for the building’s construction, the subcontractor who was responsible for the painting and the operator of the telescopic lift were remanded in custody for five days on Saturday and could be facing charges of causing death due to negligence and also illegal employment.
Labour inspectors are investigating the reasons behind the collapse and are checking whether the supports were secured and in place, and whether the platform and the telescopic arm of the machine were suitable for use.
The inspectors said that there should have been a control device on the platform for the workers to use in the event of danger.
