The collapse of a concrete beam at an expressway construction site near Rama II Road on Saturday, which killed six workers and injured 20, is further proof that the government has failed to address the repeat issue of onsite accidents effectively.
Like previous accidents on this road, Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit followed the same old script. He offered a heartfelt apology, vowed to learn from this lesson and again promised to use a "contractor's report book" to force state concessionaires to comply with safety standards or face being blacklisted.
Mr Suriya lost his temper on Monday after the media asked when his contractor's report book project would come to life, a year after he first mentioned it.
He then shifted the blame to the Comptroller General's Department (CGD), saying his project was delayed because CGD spent too much time drafting the related organic law required to give it legal weight.
The CGD, under the Ministry of Finance, which supervises state procurement laws and payment, has just finished the draft law and will submit it to the cabinet for reading soon. If it becomes law, ministries hiring contractors to build roads or public infrastructures will give legal measures to lower the grade of contractors with bad records or even have them blacklisted.
In the past, the Thai government never recorded contractors' safety records or blacklisted them. Therefore, contractors can still bid for state projects despite poor safety records.
But amid all this, the reality is the government already has legal tools to deal with contractors who cause accidents. There are many laws that government and state bodies -- such as Section 109 in the Public Procurement and Supplies Administration Act 2017 -- can use to penalise or even blacklist bad contractors and bar them from bidding on state projects.
The question is why ministries and state agencies have not used these laws to control contractors who win state projects. If these ministries have not tried to tackle irresponsible contractors in the past, how can they be trusted to do anything effective on this matter in the future?
The solution may not be the contractor's report book. It may best be found in a neutral public safety body that investigates accidents professionally and impartially.
March last year, Prof Suchatchawee Suwansawat, a specialist in construction technology and deputy leader of the Democrat Party, proposed a relevant draft law. The law called for forming a national committee for safety inspections staffed by experts in civil engineering, the environment, health and consumer rights who would monitor public construction and inspect accidents.
Currently, 3,000 people have signed to endorse this draft. To be tabled in parliament, it needs 7,000 names.
Lawmakers and the government should not wait. Our government can fast-track this draft law. A solution exists, but political courage is needed to make it happen.