The construction industry has the highest industry suicide rate. Photo / RNZ
Warning: This story discusses suicide.
An Auckland couple want mental health support written into Government construction contracts to protect workers who hit the wall.
Construction has the highest rate of death by suicide of any industry in the country: workers are twice as likely to take their own lives than to be killed in a workplace accident.
On average, the industry loses one worker each week to self-inflicted death.
"I was on night shift, and I was talking to the boys and all of a sudden I just broke down. I think God, this is bigger than I thought, what my son did. I thought shucks, that is when I realised, I need help. This is serious," Steve said.
The building industry is under enormous pressure.
RNZ didn't have to look far to find a family like Steve's that has been impacted.
Steve has been in the carpentry business for more than 40 years. He did his apprenticeship in Ōtorohanga and is now a project manager in Auckland for one of the largest construction firms in the country.
Late last year during lockdown their teenage son had thoughts of suicide after his life was flipped upside down because of Covid-19, Steve's partner Lisa said.
"Steve didn't hesitate, he just reached out to his boss. One, he was under pressure from the Covid crisis because he was an essential worker, so that was next level anyway. Steve is used to that, but then you add the family crisis on top of that and it was just one too many things," Lisa said.
Their GP told them to text a support service, but they needed hands-on help.
Steve remembered his work had signed up to Mates in Construction. It is a free anti-suicide programme funded by the construction sector and recently the Government.
Mates field officers are trained in suicide intervention skills, they connect people with suitable professional support, and they provide on-site training, among many other services.
Lisa and Steve's case officer Slade McFarlane, a former Māori All Black, went a step further and made himself available 24/7, and spent time visiting the family.
"I think we just got to have a better connection with everybody and the services out there ... they just kept coming up with a brick wall. I just knew that I had the time to go there and give my time, just to sit with them and have a yarn. It was just trying to create hope and just talk to their situation, it wasn't easy for [the] family," McFarlane said.
He said his organisation was not the only initiative doing the hard yards to bridge the gaps in the mental health system.
"I am definitely no superman, I am just someone who cares," he said.
Mates in Construction chief executive Victoria McArthur said more than 50,000 new homes had been consented in the past year and the Government was set to spend $57 billion on infrastructure.
She said there was an extensive list of pressure points: rampant inflation, a desperate skill shortage, the pandemic, materials shortages, and record demand.
"It's the Government essentially causing the problem by there being so much work out there for the industry, but we've got to look after the people at the end of the day," McArthur said.
She said the Government needed to step up and ensure support for the workers was guaranteed in large construction contracts.
Construction Industry Council executive director Graham Burke agreed the Government had a responsibility to make sure people working on its projects were safe.
"As a client, it is a significant stakeholder in the sector. The Government is something like 20 per cent of the sector. The Government needs to act responsibly as a client," Burke said.
He said that extended to business owners and said "businesses just need to be realistic".
"It is a recipe for disaster to take on work that you just can't finish on time".
Hawkins Construction chief executive Murray Robertson said it was no secret everyone was under huge amount of pressure.
"For many of us the last two years have been the most trying times to run operational businesses. And the balance there is how do we do the best we possibly can for our clients but also for our people, how do we keep everything safe, keeping that balance right," Robertson said.
Victoria, from Mates in Construction, said the scales were already tipping into hazardous territory.
"It's a crisis for our industry. Our workers are often recruited locally so the impacts that are felt onsite often spills into the local communities," McArthur said.
Steve backs Mates' call for the Government to write mental health support into contracts from the get-go.
He said it was only right authorities drew a line in the sand to protect the sector's most important asset: their people.
MBIE Construction Sector Accord director Dean Kimpton said both the public and private sector were taking steps to address the issues of mental health, wellbeing and suicide in the construction industry.
"It's vital for Government and industry to work together to own the issue of mental health and wellbeing across the construction sector. Government contracts have health and safety obligations on suppliers. Suppliers are also showing leadership, underpinned by their legal and contractual obligations for the mental health and wellbeing of their people.
Kimpton said it supported the Government taking action to create a more supportive work environment in the construction sector and the focus on improving mental health and wellbeing outcomes and to help reduce suicide.
"This is exactly why health, safety and mental health is a key focus for the Construction Sector Accord. Construction Sector Accord funding has supported Mates in Construction to expand its suicide prevention work. This alongside our partnership with CHASNZ has been a key focus over the last three years."
Where to get help:
• Lifeline: 0800 543 354 (available 24/7)
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7)
• Youthline: 0800 376 633 or text 234 (available 24/7)
• Kidsline: 0800 543 754 (available 24/7)
• Whatsup: 0800 942 8787 (12pm to 11pm)
• Depression helpline: 0800 111 757 or text 4202 (available 24/7)
• Anxiety helpline: 0800 269 4389 (0800 ANXIETY) (available 24/7)
• Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155
If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
Industrial projects dominate new supply, the study found, comprising 65% of new stock.