The TUC was on Friday calling on the construction industry to improve its safety record and cut the high number of deaths and injuries among workers.

Last year, 80 people were killed on building sites, more than in any other industry and there were 400 health and safety prosecutions - representing one in three of all such prosecutions. More than 2,000 notices were served by the Health Safety Executive to prevent dangerous practices in construction.

The TUC will make its announcement today ahead of a national construction safety summit which has been called by the Health and Safety Commission and the deputy prime minister John Prescott next week.

An action plan will be submitted by the council which it hopes the industry will adopt. It will call for a range of measures including more site safety representatives, new "roving safety reps", a whistleblowers' hotline and the public naming and shaming of companies whose conduct falls short of safety standards.

General secretary John Monks said: "Unions are already putting real efforts into delivering better safety standards for building workers. We could do so much more if employers and government back our action plan. We want to build a construction industry partnership to prevent further tragedies and to restore the image of an industry tarnished by bad practices and disrespect for the workforce."