Falls from heights cause 40% to 50% of serious accidents in the construction sector, says Ekaterina Asenova, head of the General Labour Inspectorate. She spoke at a meeting held by the Chamber of Builders in Bulgaria in Sofia. During her talk, she showed a presentation on "Safety and health during construction work – a priority for the Labour Inspectorate". She looked at why injuries happen, common rule breaks, and recent inspection data.
Asenova said the main cause of these accidents is unprotected holes in walls, floors, elevator shafts, and roofs. She added that construction is high-risk not just because of the work itself, but also because of undeclared work. Data from the Agency shows that of the 2,600 workers found without contracts in Bulgaria during the first nine months of this year, over 1,080 work in construction.
The presentation included ways to cut down on accidents during digging or from electric shocks. It also gave advice on how to organize construction sites.
Labour Inspectorate data for the construction sector during the first nine months of 2026 shows:
- Labour inspectors carried out over 5,800 checks in construction and found more than 27,300 breaches of labour law.
- Nearly 20,000 of these breaches involve health and safety, while 7,190 involve labour contract issues.
- Of the 2,600 workers found without contracts across Bulgaria, more than 1,080 are in construction.
- Inspectors ordered sites, machines, and equipment to stop working over 660 times in this sector. For comparison, they used this tool to prevent serious accidents over 770 times across all sectors.
- Inspectors wrote 2,703 reports for rule breaks in construction. Fines and settlements total almost 1.7m euros.
- Inspectors investigated 65 construction accidents, 14 of which resulted in death.