Last week a worker employed by Brown and Mason was killed on the Longannet power station.

According to the union, the worker had not been registered by Brown and Mason for accident and life cover benefit with the B&CE (the not for profit organisation which provides benefits and pensions to the construction industry).

Under the B&CE’s accident and life cover scheme’s standard rate if a member dies at work their family receives £80,000 and if they die while not at work the benefit is £40,000.

Unite is now demanding all workers in the construction industry are covered by the B&CE scheme or an equivalent scheme regardless of their employment status.

Unite national officer for construction, Jerry Swain, said: “This was a terrible tragedy and our first thoughts must be with the victim’s family.

“While no amount of money can ever compensate for losing a loved one, if workers are part of the B&CE scheme, it at least means that the family grieving the loss of a loved one, will have one less thing to worry about.

“It is essential that clients and major contractors take action to ensure that all workers are covered by the B&CE scheme regardless of who engages them or the employment status they are given.

“Deaths and serious injuries remain all too common in the construction industry, with nearly one worker a week losing their lives; this is a real problem, rather than a theoretical issue.

“The question of whether all workers on a site will be enrolled onto the B&CE scheme should be one of the first asked when clients are awarding contacts, companies that answer no should simply not be allowed to operate in construction.

“The failure to enrol workers onto the scheme is unacceptable to Unite and must become unacceptable to the industry in the same way that having the correct PPE (personal protective equipment) is.”