Construction worker
 A Carpenter, working on the construction of Douglas Dam in the United States, bores a hole with a hand drill. (June 1942) | |
| Occupation | |
|---|---|
Occupation type | Vocation |
Activity sectors | Construction |
| Description | |
Fields of employment | Construction sites |
Related jobs | Labourer; see Construction trades |
A construction worker is a tradesperson, laborer, or professional employed in the physical construction of the built environment and its infrastructure.[1]
Description
The term construction worker is a generic term and most construction workers are primarily described by the type of work they perform (their trade). Construction workers may also colloquially be referred to as "hard hat workers" or "hard hats",[2] as they often wear hardhats for safety.
Construction workers often work under a construction foreman.
While most construction workers learn on the job as an informal apprentice to an experienced tradesman, formal apprenticeship programs are common, particularly in developed countries with trade unions.
Trades
The division of labor of construction encompasses a diverse range of skilled and manual labor.
Among the most common construction trades are those of carpenter, electrician, heavy equipment operator, ironworker, laborer, mason, plasterer, plumber, pipefitter, sheet metal worker, steel fixer (also known as a "rodbuster"), and welder.[3]
Safety
Construction safety is very important to ensure a safe environment for the workers. All construction workers need to be educated on safety at each construction site to minimize injury.[4]
Controversy
In 2008, a Human Rights Watch report described unsafe and unfair working conditions and failure on the part of the Chinese government to enforce labor standards in the construction industry.[5] The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimated that, at the end of 2006, 90% of the 40 million construction workers in China were migrant workers. Many of the migrant workers turned to construction work after their farming communities collapsed into poverty.[5]
In the United States, illegal immigrant labor is prevalent in the construction industry. Because of the questionable legal status of these workers, employers often have the ability to commit crimes such as wage theft and violation of workplace standards without fear of facing consequences.[6] Similar abuse of immigrant labor is also a problem in Qatar during the lead up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup where workers mostly from poor countries in the Indian Sub-continent are forced to work in desert conditions for as little as €6.20 a day.[7]
Images
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Ironworkers erecting the steel frame of a new building at the Massachusetts General Hospital in the United States
A steel fixer wears protective gloves while handling a coil of rebar, which will be embedded in a reinforced concrete column to strengthen it
Workers wearing reflective vests, hard hats, and other protective clothing at a work site in New York City
See also
- Civil engineering
- Construction
- Construction site safety
- Dirty, Dangerous and Demeaning
- Index of construction articles
- List of construction trades
- List of topics on working time and conditions
- Outline of construction
References
^ "Construction worker definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary". www.collinsdictionary.com. Retrieved 2018-06-09..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ "hardhat". Wordnik.com.
^ http://www.prospect360.co.uk/uk-construction-trade-list
^ "Tool to Design for Construction Worker Safety". Journal of Architectural Engineering. 3 (1): 32–41. 1997-01-01. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)1076-0431(1997)3:1(32). ISSN 1076-0431.
^ ab Richardson, Sophie, ed. (12 March 2008). One Year of My Blood: Exploitation of Migrant Construction Workers in Beijing (Technical report). Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
^ "Construction Booming In Texas, But Many Workers Pay Dearly". National Public Radio (NPR). 2013.
^ "Qatar construction workers earn 55c an hour". Irish Times. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
External links
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