Safety regulations are often not upheld at the Storstrøms Bridge construction site, and many workplace accidents go unreported. This is revealed in a new DR documentary, “På statens regning” (On the State’s Account).
The Storstrøms Bridge, a key part of the Fehmarn Belt preparatory work, has faced problems from the start. Last week, employees from Tekno Fire were sent home due to wage fraud allegations, and now further revelations have surfaced about unreported accidents.
In the documentary, Romanian worker Ionut Hriscu recounts falling five meters from a construction site in 2022. He was transported to Nykøbing Hospital shortly afterward, having landed on asphalt without safety equipment. However, the site supervisor allegedly claimed at the hospital that Hriscu had fallen only 15 centimeters from a curb, a claim recorded in his medical records.
This is just one of many cases of unreported accidents at the Storstrøms Bridge.
Significant Underreporting
Charlotte Hooper Overgaard, a postdoc at Aalborg University’s Center for Labour Market Research, has studied migrant worker conditions in Denmark for years. She notes that unreported accidents among migrant workers are widespread.
– We estimate that only one in five workplace accidents involving migrant workers is reported, leaving a significant underreporting issue, she says.
Migrant workers make up 12-13% of the construction workforce, yet they account for only 6-7% of reported accidents. Overgaard highlights a stark contrast with fatal accident data, where migrants are significantly overrepresented, making up 37% of fatalities in the sector.
As part of her research, Overgaard interviewed 84 migrant workers. Only nine were satisfied with their working conditions, while the rest described dangerous conditions, threats of violence, and harassment. Supporting research from Switzerland shows that 66% of injured construction workers were foreign nationals, despite being a minority in the workforce.
Declining Trend in Reported Accidents
Recent data from the Danish Road Directorate shows a declining trend in reported accidents at the Storstrøms Bridge construction site. In 2021, the accident frequency peaked at 28.1 per million working hours, while the figure for the first three quarters of 2024 is 11.3.
However, Overgaard remains skeptical about the reliability of these figures.
– It looks promising if we are confident the numbers reflect reality. But we must remain skeptical because our research shows significant underreporting in both the EASY system and hospital data, she explains.
Itinera’s Response
Itinera, the Italian contractor managing the construction, was banned earlier this year from participating in Norwegian projects for three years due to repeated cases of underpayment and social dumping, including incidents on the Storstrøms Bridge.
Itinera claims the issues highlighted in the documentary are outdated and unrelated to their current Danish projects. Following an internal review, all Tekno Fire employees have returned to work.
– Based on Itinera’s understanding, the events referenced in the documentary relate to activities outside Denmark and are unrelated to our projects in the country, says Barry Crouchman, Nordic Area Manager at Itinera.
Accidents on the Storstrøm Bridge
Year Work Accidents Accident Frequency (accidents per 1 million working hours)
2019 7 Not reported
2020 16 21.2
2021 21 28.1
2022 24 23.0
2023 40 17.3
2024 17 (three quarters) 11.3
Source: Danish Road Directorate. The frequency is calculated as the number of accidents per one million working hours.
