HONOLULU -- A warehouse worker dies in a fall near the airport and a construction worker dies of head injuries in Hilo. The incidents are not related, except that together they have Darwin Ching, the state labor director, alarmed.

“We are really concerned about the recent deaths from falls from height,” Ching said.

Construction industry sources say five workers have been killed or injured in falls since December. The labor director says he will respond with a renewed campaign of public service announcements on television warning workers to “tie-up” to protect themselves and their family’s future.

Ching said worker safety depends on safety programs and training by construction companies encouraged by their insurance providers. “We have very aggressive advocates in the private industry they are the safety professionals,” Ching said.

But Ching also said companies may be scrimping on safety programs to be more competitive in the weakened economy. “Because of the recession they’ve had their numbers cut back or their positions cut back and I think that is a trend that does hurt the safety programs,” Ching said.

But critics say the state has been reducing its safety enforcement capability at the time it is needed most.

On Wednesday morning, near Honolulu Harbor, not long after interviewing the labor director, KITV documented unsafe conditions as workers renovated the former Weyerhauser building on Nimitz Highway. Several workers were preparing second-floor window openings for new glass.

Three men were on a scaffold, another was perched on a wooden pallet on a forklift while he jack-hammered concrete. None wore helmets, harnesses, goggles or safety straps required for that type of work.

“Our job sites aren’t going to look like that,” said Hawaii Carpenters Union representative Sean Newcamp. He said trade union members are specially trained in safety procedures. He said he believes many companies have cut back on safety and workers feel pressure to skip safety precautions.

“It’s all about profit. Training costs money. They can get up there and do it faster if they don’t have to put the safety equipment on. It’s a shame,” Newcamp said.

Newcamp said in the last six month, Hawaii’s Occupational Safety and Health Agency, HIOSH, has been slow to respond when Newcamp reported jobsite safety violations.

Ching said budget cuts have prevented his department from filling vacant inspector positions. There are currently three vacancies, about 30 percent of the construction inspection staff. There are currently no inspectors at all on Maui County or Kauai.

Jamesner Dumlao, director of HIOSH, said the answering machine where worker safety complaints are received is checked about three times daily. But on days such as Wednesday, when all the inspectors and supervisors were in training, there may be no one to respond.

“We have to do now more with less and we are doing that and we need to rely on our safety partners in the private industry,” Ching said. “In the bad economic times, we can’t fill those positions so we are in a Catch-22.”

Newcamp says the state’s slow response to his complaints is frustrating. “When you have a guy out there in imminent danger you have to have people to react,” Newcamp said.