Worker deaths

By workers here we mean mainly the huge army of Indian sub-continent labourers and skilled workers who are building the metropolis that Dubai aims to be.
Seven Days today carries a report listing the huge number of deaths that are reported, not all from accidents but also as a result of living conditions as well as previous illness and natural causes.
It has become a bit of a cause célèbre here and to an extent I agree that some measures, especially site safety could be much better, medical cover would also help stop contagious disease spreading in the labour camps. Good contractors today provide these services but there are many bad ones especially on medium and small sites or working for subcontractors.
It is not a job that I could ever do and I doubt many European builders would.
But while site safety is poor in many cases and appalling in others it is actually good compared to the rest of the Middle East as well as other fast growing countries, I have seen some amazing sites in Malaysia and Thailand as well as India and the rest of the ISC. The building of this city has been with cheap labour and providing they are paid and have basic services and safety I kind of agree that this is a market force issue. What is does bring to question is, if this supply of cheap labour is necessary to build the city, why are buildings so expensive, over to you Nakeel et al.
DW