One of the key ways that workers in Britain and elsewhere are better protected on the job is by having periodic inspections.
Unite, Britain’s biggest union, recently urged the government to increase funding for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as a series of spot checks which took place throughout September revealed that almost half of the construction sites visited failed the checks.
Since the Tory-led government took power, health and safety laws and regulations have come under attack. By the end of Parliament the Health and Safety Executive will reportedly have seen its budget slashed by 35 percent.
Sizable Number of Safety Breaches Found
During September the HSE took part in unannounced safety checks on construction sites across the UK to identify poor standards and reduce the number of injuries and deaths. The inspectors found material breaches at just less than half of more than 1,000 sites inspected.
Material breaches of health and safety law require inspectors to issue a written notice to the contractor, which can include notification, an improvement, a prohibition notice, or prosecution.
The breaches add weight to the growing demands to increase capacity and funding for the HSE. Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail noted, “The HSE’s spot checks throughout September are proof that the Executive needs more capacity and funding. The extent of the breaches uncovered also shows why trade union health and safety committees are so important in the construction industry and why we need more.
Author Michael B. Stack, CPA, Director of Operations, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is an expert in employer communication systems and part of the Amaxx team helping companies reduce their workers compensation costs by 20% to 50%. He is a writer, speaker, and website publisher. www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com. Contact: mstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.
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“The ending of the spot checks will be manna from heaven for the worst employers and unfair to employers who work with unions to get it right. The government’s attack on health and safety must be reversed.”
