The construction industry is notoriously high risk for accidents, injuries, and deaths, particularly for non-national or migrant workers, who comprise a significant proportion of the workforce. This paper presents an international, qualitative study focused on exploring the challenges which influence the safety of migrant construction workers in Italy, Spain, and the UK. Based on a comprehensive review of the literature, we formulated two research questions about the challenges relating to safety that migrant workers face and the challenges to safety training effectively improving migrant workers’ safety behaviours. We present our template analysis of semi-structured interviews and focus groups with 88 participants from four occupational groups across all three countries. This identified commonalities and differences in interpretations of the primary challenges to migrant workers’ safety, amongst participants from the various occupational groups (workers, site supervisors, safety trainers and safety experts) in Italy, Spain, and the UK. These were associated with: increased use of subcontractors; dilution of safety standards down the supply chain; pressure to breach safety regulations on site; differing safety-related attitudes and behaviours due to national cultural differences, language barriers and issues relating to training (provision, delivery, language, content and transfer). Finally, we summarise the contributions and limitations of our study, arguing further interventions related to safety training are needed, along with ethnographic studies to explore how both macro-level and contextual factors affect safety outcomes for migrant construction workers.

Challenges influencing the safety of migrant workers in the construction industry: A qualitative study in Italy, Spain, and the UK / Shepherd, R.; Lorente, L.; Vignoli, M.; Nielsen, K.; Peiro, J. M.. - In: SAFETY SCIENCE. - ISSN 0925-7535. - 142:(2021), pp. 10538801-10538815. [10.1016/j.ssci.2021.105388]

Challenges influencing the safety of migrant workers in the construction industry: A qualitative study in Italy, Spain, and the UK

Vignoli M.;
2021-01-01

Abstract

The construction industry is notoriously high risk for accidents, injuries, and deaths, particularly for non-national or migrant workers, who comprise a significant proportion of the workforce. This paper presents an international, qualitative study focused on exploring the challenges which influence the safety of migrant construction workers in Italy, Spain, and the UK. Based on a comprehensive review of the literature, we formulated two research questions about the challenges relating to safety that migrant workers face and the challenges to safety training effectively improving migrant workers’ safety behaviours. We present our template analysis of semi-structured interviews and focus groups with 88 participants from four occupational groups across all three countries. This identified commonalities and differences in interpretations of the primary challenges to migrant workers’ safety, amongst participants from the various occupational groups (workers, site supervisors, safety trainers and safety experts) in Italy, Spain, and the UK. These were associated with: increased use of subcontractors; dilution of safety standards down the supply chain; pressure to breach safety regulations on site; differing safety-related attitudes and behaviours due to national cultural differences, language barriers and issues relating to training (provision, delivery, language, content and transfer). Finally, we summarise the contributions and limitations of our study, arguing further interventions related to safety training are needed, along with ethnographic studies to explore how both macro-level and contextual factors affect safety outcomes for migrant construction workers.
2021
Shepherd, R.; Lorente, L.; Vignoli, M.; Nielsen, K.; Peiro, J. M.
Challenges influencing the safety of migrant workers in the construction industry: A qualitative study in Italy, Spain, and the UK / Shepherd, R.; Lorente, L.; Vignoli, M.; Nielsen, K.; Peiro, J. M.. - In: SAFETY SCIENCE. - ISSN 0925-7535. - 142:(2021), pp. 10538801-10538815. [10.1016/j.ssci.2021.105388]
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
1-s2.0-S0925753521002320-main-2.pdf

accesso aperto

Tipologia: Versione editoriale (Publisher’s layout)
Licenza: Creative commons
Dimensione 963.47 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
963.47 kB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11572/312697
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 30
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 23
social impact