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Last Updated: Thursday, 8 April, 2004, 04:25 GMT 05:25 UK E-mail this to a friend Printable version Olympic workers 'risking lives'
Contractors deny that workers are being put at risk A Greek union leader has warned that construction workers are risking their lives to try to get Athens ready for this summer's Olympic Games. Georgios Filiousis - president of the Greek construction workers union - told the BBC that 13 workers involved in Olympic projects had already died. He compared this to one death in the run-up to the 2000 Sydney Games and he blamed it on companies cutting costs. Mr Filiousis fears that more workers will die as the deadline draws nearer. The union claims average working hours are being pushed up from five to seven a day, to between seven and 12 hours a day - partly as construction firms allegedly seek to finish ahead of schedule and claim early completion bonuses. Five of the workers are said to have been killed at the Olympic village alone. Contractors have denied that health and safety is being sacrificed for speed and insist that protective gear is available at the sites for workers to use. | |
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