"Lunch on a Skyscraper" is one of the most famous photographs of Charles C. Ebbets, a classic of the posters that you are usually in decorating shops, libraries etc. The image was taken in 1932 during the construction of complex commercial buildings Rockefeller Center, on the ground 69 of the General Electric Building and published in the New York Herald Tribune in the Sunday supplement. It see how 11 workers (apparently, Mohawk Indians and Irish) are resting sitting on a steel beam at a height of 244 m, with the city and the space under your feet. Security measures are conspicuous by their absence, having no or networks, or harnesses, helmets even where the workers take the risk as normal, risking their lives every moment, without any protection and it seems without less concern on your part.
Resting on a Girder, this time lying down taking a nap. The photos caused a huge impact, served to expose the precarious working conditions of workers in that period of depression in the United States. Most are not prepared photos are real and correspond to everyday scenes of the workers who participated in the construction of skyscrapers. They are images that do not surprised by what happens in them, but more impressed you what can happen.
Charles Ebbets (photographer) was born in Alabama (1905-1978) and was passionate about photography, at age eight he bought his first camera at a local store, carrying amount in that his mother had opened, which earned him a good punishment, but ultimately it did not return and got away with it. In the 30's and had published his photos in major U.S. newspapers and was well known for his graphic work, so he was hired as director of photography at the Rockefeller Center to document the construction of the complex.
These scenes of yesterday, unfortunately still be found without the need to go far, it's easy to find someone standing on a roof, or scaffold, without any fear or protection that can prevent an accident.
Last week was the International Day for Safety and Health (April 28) and has served for the cold statistics of the year above, where despite the downturn in economic activity and the lowest number of employees, fatal accidents increased over the previous year. The main cause of death by accident in construction during 2008 were falls in height (42%), followed by shock and crushing deaths (22%). Among the remaining 36% are for the most part, the abuses and deaths caused as a result of electric shock.
The entry into force in February 1996 of the Law on Prevention of Occupational Risks assumed progress regarding the integration and updating on the Promotion of Health Safety and Workers' incorporating a preventive philosophy in the treatment of Occupational Hazards and becoming a Statutory Instrument to improve working conditions.
The hopes raised by this legislation have not only been fulfilled but that our country continues to maintain the upward trend in the numbers of workplace accidents despite the improvement over past decades.
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