Inadequate training, limited use of safety equipment and a lack of government oversight contribute to deaths and injuries among construction workers in the rapidly developing Persian Gulf region, a University of Texas, Dallas study has concluded.

Researchers analyzed a sample of 519 incidents and interviewed safety experts to understand the types of construction accidents prevalent in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The most common kinds of accidents involve workers falling or being hit by objects, which are also the most common types of construction accidents in other parts of the world.

The most common types of accidents involve workers falling or being hit by objects. Image credit: Pixabay.However, the causes are different. A key factor driving construction accidents in the Gulf states is that firms operate with limited safety regulations and enforcement.

“Construction is one of the most dangerous occupations in the world,” says Dr. Simon Fass, associate professor of public policy. “In that part of the world, there’s a confluence of several factors that likely make it worse. They have no unions, no advocacy groups, no one to fight for stricter enforcement of safety regulations.”

The study found that nearly all the workers come from other countries, drawn by plentiful work in recent years due to the fast pace, high volume and large scale of construction on some of the world’s tallest skyscrapers.

“They are working in groups that might have five or six nationalities and two or three languages, and they’re supposed to be working as a cohesive team,” Fass says. “But they cannot communicate effectively with a supervisor or each other, so that’s really raising the risk of bad things happening.”

In recent years, concern has grown for the risks these construction workers face, especially the treatment of migrants on construction projects with high external visibility, such as stadiums for international sports events. However, construction firms have little incentive to make job sites safer given the region's history of weak regulation and enforcement, Fass says.