Government Rethink On Health And Safety Required Says IOSH
At the end of this month, the Tory-led ConDem(ned) coalition Government’s Employment Minister are due to receive from Professor Ragnar Löfstedt, his second review which will assess the Government’s handling of the first review, released in November 2011, which declared health and safety laws broadly ‘fit for purpose’.
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) said in their submission to Professor Ragnar Löfstedt regarding his second review, that some of the recommendations are conceptually flawed and the overall approach has been too hasty, often portraying health and safety in a negative and unhelpful light.
In their press release issued end of December, IOSH head of policy and public affairs Richard Jones said:
“We’d like to see the Government reconsider the way it is implementing the Löfstedt review, as it is going much further than was recommended, or intended. We don’t believe the case has been properly made for a number of the proposals – quite the opposite – they offer no real benefit and introduce unnecessary human and financial risks.
At times this year, we’ve seen our world-respected health and safety system being negatively portrayed. Some Löfstedt-related changes have been incorrectly announced as major and necessary reforms to relieve burdens on business. This negative message is damaging and could result in confusion and poor decision-making in our workplaces, putting lives at risk.”
The Institution says it wants to see a more balanced approach by the government, with a shift in focus towards the real problems that unfairly tarnish the good name of health and safety.
“We urgently need better guidance and education on risk, as well as a curb on aggressive claims management marketing, which fuels fear and risk aversion. Coupled with that, we’d like the Government and others to do more to explain the business and economic benefits of good health and safety management,” Mr Jones added.
Just as was stated in Löfstedt’s review, IOSH believes there is room for improvement in Britain’s occupational safety and health system. But this is not about removing duties – it’s about helping businesses to comply and strengthening requirements in some cases.
While the Institution supports the streamlining of regulations and simplifying of guidance, the current speed and scale of change could be eroding standards. It is also concerned that new shortened consultation periods announced by the Government in July 2012 could damage outcomes.
Mr Jones said:
“Rushing the process is unhelpful – people need time to comment and provide proper analysis. It’s not our health and safety laws that are the problem, but situations where they’re misinterpreted or misapplied.”
IOSH supports several areas for change:
1. Consolidation and removing of redundant areas of regulation
2. Trialling an agreed national enforcement code to help consistency
3. Continuing with the ‘myth-buster challenge panel’
4. Improvements to guidance and clarity of regulations, without lowering standards
5. Better public communications and risk education
IOSH also recently submitted an alternative 10-point action plan to improve RIDDOR.
“Our safety record compares well in Europe, but we are still failing too many workers. Figures show that in 2011-12, 173 people were killed at work, 1.1 million people suffered from a work-related illness and there were 212,000 serious injuries – this illustrates just how crucial it is to keep good health and safety as the cornerstone of all our working lives,” Mr Jones added.
Of course many believe that IOSH ignores the true scale of work place injuries and deaths, and the list above is in fact not far from what the Government itself claimed it wanted to do; whilst of course its true aim is the destruction of all health and safety protection for workers, along with all employment protection. In essence it wants to create a 'United Kingdom of America' when it comes to any legislation which impinges upon business. It prefers the US approach of doing nothing until someone is injured or dies!
Source: IOSH
Download the true scale of workplace injuries and deaths statistics from GM Hazards (Hilda Palmer) here
