Making safety dangerous again
Safety controls are being undermined at work, and it's the official
safety watchdog that is responsible. As the UK drops down the world's
safety rankings, Hazards looks at the dangerous thinking behind
its policy shift.
Hazards 88, October-December 2004
Unions reject government safety
plan
Unions have said a resounding “no”
to the government’s strategy for workplace health and safety and have
called for a greater emphasis on enforcement, more rights for safety
reps and more resources for the Health and Safety Executive. Introducing
the main health and safety motion at TUC Congress this month, GMB
general secretary Kevin Curran said union safety reps were “the success
story of the last three decades” and added: “It’s a genuine mystery
to me why this fantastic contribution to society goes unrecognised
by government.” TUC
Congress 2004, 25 September 2004 update
HSC hands-off safety plan in total
disarray
The government's hands-off, business-friendly workplace safety plans
are in disarray after all its key points were rubbished by a top all-party
parliamentary committee.
Hazards 87, July-September 2004
Getting away with
murder
Every week an average of five
workers are killed at work. Almost all of these are the result of management
failures, and all of them are avoidable. Frances O'Grady, TUC's deputy
general secretary, says bosses guilty of safety crimes must face justice.
Hazards 87, July-September 2004
Sold out
The government has billed HSC's new safety blueprint as a "radical
new strategy." Business loves its hands off, no hassle, no commitments
language. But for you and me, the new strategy offers nothing new and
abandons hard won protections, warns Hazards editor Rory O'Neill.
Hazards 86, April-June 2004
News updates
Global:
Strong enforcement action is the key to safety
A real threat of enforcement
action by official safety agencies is the best way to secure improved
safety standards, a major international review has found.
Risks 184, 27 November 2004
Britain:
TUC call for new powers to save workers' lives
A further rise in workplace deaths and injuries exposes Britain's failing
safety enforcement regime, says the TUC. TUC general secretary Brendan
Barber said: "The fact that deaths and serious injuries at work
have risen again this year is a damning indictment on the levels of
safety and the enforcement regimes in British workplaces."
Risks 183, 20 November 2004
Britain:
HSE board "eroding safety" say inspectors
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) frontline staff say cutbacks and a
move to leaflet rather than legislate pushed through by senior management
is eroding workplace safety. In a devastating indictment of top HSE
bosses, 96.4 per cent of HSE inspectors, scientists and other professionals
supported a "no confidence" motion in HSE's board.
Risks 183, 20 November 2004
Britain:
HSE report shows a dramatic drop in enforcement
Health and safety enforcement dropped off dramatically last year according
to latest Health and Safety Executive (HSE) figures. Total HSE enforcement
action last year - prosecutions taken or HSE enforcement notices issued
- dropped by approaching 1,000.
Risks 183, 20 November 2004
Britain:
Commissioner calls for 50 more HSE inspectors for Scotland
A top union official is warning
that any cuts to the Health and Safety Commission's budget could leave
Scottish workers without the protection they deserve. Danny Carrigan,
Amicus assistant general secretary, who represents Scottish workers
on the Health and Safety Commission, told the TUC's safety conference
this week he would be seeking an increase of 50 inspectors in Scotland
to deal with the growing number of migrant and temporary agency workers.
Risks 182, 13 November 2004
Britain:
TUC urges government to "give us the tools we need"
The TUC has called for dramatic
improvements in the UK's approach to safety. Speaking at a TUC conference
to mark 30 years of the Health and Safety at Work Act and the setting
up of the Health and Safety Commission, TUC general secretary Brendan
Barber outlined the four key requirements for healthy workplaces: resources;
enforcement; rehabilitation; and consultation.
Risks 182, 13 November 2004
Britain:
Health and safety "strong but failing," says GMB
GMB general secretary Kevin Curran
has accused the government of having "spurned" another opportunity
to improve health and safety in the UK. He warned that the government
risked "sounding the death knell for tripartism, a departure from
regulation and a further step towards supporting the pursuit of profit
whatever the cost."
Risks 182, 13 November 2004
Britain:
HSE union spells out the flaws in HSC safety plan
A briefing from HSE inspectors'
union Prospect has spelt out point by point why the government is wrong
not to accept the Work and Pensions Select Committee's call for more
resources for HSE, more enforcement and more rights for safety reps.
Risks 181, 6 November 2004
Britain:
Directors get off scot free, says CCA
The government's rejection of key recommendations of the Work and Pensions
Select Committee is a "knee-jerk deregulatory" response, says
safety justice watchdog CCA. Risks
180, 30 October 2004
Britain:
Government "green light for killing", says Prospect
The government's dismissal of a select committee call for adequate resources
to safeguard UK workers will give rogue employers the green light to
continue maiming and killing employees, the HSE inspectors' union Prospect
has warned.
Risks 180, 30 October 2004
Britain:
TUC dismay at safety's"missed opportunity"
The TUC has expressed dismay the government's "disappointing"
response to a select committee report on workplace safety, particularly
its rejection of a call for stronger enforcement and more HSE resources
and safety representatives' rights.
Risks 180, 30 October 2004
Britain:
Workplaces are unsafe and unseen
The lives of workers and members of
the public are being put at risk because too few employers are receiving
visits from official health and safety inspectors, according a new TUC
safety survey. The interim findings show almost four in ten (39 per
cent) of the union safety reps questioned by the TUC said that their
workplace had never been inspected by either the Health and Safety Executive
(HSE) or by a local authority safety inspector.
Risks 179, 23 October 2004
Britain: What should the safety
watchdog do?
The Health and Safety Commission has
kicked off the latest stage in its development of an "interventions
strategy" - establishing the main techniques it will use as a regulator.
The move comes amid fevered debate over the UK's future health and safety
strategy, particularly the balance between enforcement and voluntary approaches.
Risks
176, 2 October 2004
HSE
strategy shift threatens lives says Amicus
A sea change in
strategy by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will reduce the number
and frequency of workplace inspections, is reckless and will endanger
lives, says the union Amicus.
Making companies
safe, a new report commissioned by Amicus from the Centre for Corporate
Accountability, reviews the UK and international evidence and concludes
inspection and investigation backed by legislation are most effective
in guaranteeing safety at work.
Yet the HSE are
moving away from regulation and is instead favouring voluntary approaches,
says Amicus. As well as being dangerous, says the union, the change
of direction has been dictated by a lack of resources, which has forced
a recruitment freeze and a reduction in the number of HSE inspectors
and the frequency of inspections. On top of this, a Treasury-led review
is looking at the possibility of conducting "targeted inspection programmes"
that could exempt some companies from HSE inspections altogether.
Derek Simpson,
general secretary of Amicus, said: "There is overwhelming evidence that
the threat of legal action is the key driver for companies to improve
their health and safety standards. The HSE's new focus on education
and information through voluntarism is not enough unless backed by rigorous
and effective enforcement action." He added: "Companies have to be compelled
to act and the current low levels of inspection, enforcement and prosecution
do not provide a sufficient deterrent to those who have little regard
for the health and safety of their employees."
Amicus
news release • CCA
news release • Making companies safe: What work? - introduction,
main
findings and full report [pdf]
Europe:
Dutch unions boycott EU "deregulatory" safety conference Major
union groups have boycotted a flagship European Union (EU) conference.
Dutch union federation FNV and Christian union CNV says the conference,
which took place in Amsterdam from 15-17 September, is a thinly veiled
attempt to push a health and safety deregulation agenda. Risks
174, 18 September 2004
USA:
Dramatic shift away from safety enforcement
The US safety enforcement agency is
planning a dramatic shift towards more "voluntary protection programmes"
(VPP) and away from inspection and enforcement. However, the official
justification for the programme - that it saves lives and money - has
been challenged in official reports.
Risks
173, 11 September 2004
Britain:
HSC pushes forward with its enforcement-lite plan
The Health and Safety Commission (HSC)
is pushing ahead with a controversial plan to provide advice "free
from the fear of enforcement." The approach, criticised at this
month's TUC Congress, is part of a new HSC strategy that has been descried
by critics as "enforcement-lite" and "resource rationing".
Risks
175, 25 September 2004
For latest news and resources on the
Hazards workplace health and safety campaign see Deadly
Business
