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Safety Cuts Already Evident Due To Economic Downturn

As expected, the economic downturn is witnessed by reductions in money being spent on health & safety.

Some will argue that any excuse is good enough for many companies, but whatever the reality, this month two surveys have concluded that H&S cuts are already clearly evident.

Research conducted for PPE product manufacturer 3M found the downturn is encouraging some construction companies to skimp on the cost of personal protective equipment (PPE).

Cuts in PPE becoming evidentThe Safety in Construction survey involved interviews with 226 workers and 127 health and safety managers in November and December 2008. It found that 8 per cent of workers in the South claimed to have been given cheaper PPE because of the downturn. One in five Scottish workers (20 per cent) said they were being fobbed off with cheaper gear.

The survey also found only a little over half of all workers (56 per cent) get regular PPE training, even though health and safety managers think that training is the most important method of ensuring workers comply with PPE rules.

The report concludes there needed to be a shift in the general perception of health and safety managers being just 'bureaucratic clipboard carriers' if they are to be taken seriously.

A second survey found health and safety has become less of a concern to the nation's employers as a result of the recession. The poll of 109 employees by National Accident Helpline found that 62 per cent believed that their employer was placing less emphasis on health and safety. The remainder - 38 per cent - believed that their employer remained as committed to workplace safety as ever.

The Management Today website commented on the survey by National Accident Helpline:

" So we can now add occupational health to the long list of downturn casualties, which already includes advertising budgets, expenses accounts and, as of today, the uniforms of female members of staff on National Express trains (which have been handed back because the thin material is too see-through).

This somewhat negative view of employers' provisions seems to back up widespread fears that the harsher economic climate would lead to a drop in spending on safety initiatives. Indeed, when your bean-counters are scratching their heads over columns that refuse to add up, little signs saying ‘caution: very hot water' above the tepid hot-water tap may well seem more expendable all of a sudden."

It adds further:

"The figures come just days after the Health and Safety Executive revealed that 34 million work days are lost annually as a result of work-related illness or injury. That's 1.4 days for every British worker. Understandably the National Accident Helpline is citing this in its argument that the cutting of health and safety budgets constitutes a false economy.

It may be cheaper to knock the thermostat down a few notches, but when that means your staff then all cry off for a couple of days with the sniffles, it doesn't really make sense. And that's not to mention the myriad legal responsibilities and chances of compensation claims. That's a peril that few employers are in a fit state to risk."

Source: Risks / Management Today



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