I rarely listen to BBC Radio Kent and this has nothing to do with the professionalism of the presenters, just the content which seems so trivial, that it could be broadcast anywhere in the world.
Monday morning, since David Cameron had made an issue of Health & Safety, BBC Radio Kent, no surprise devoted the last hour of its Breakfast programme to what I felt was on balance a trivial approach to the issue.
I don’t doubt there is some lunacy attached to some interpretations of Health and Safety but in construction about 50 workers and in agriculture around 25 workers are fatally injured at work each year.
I sent an email contribution as I hadn’t myself heard any reference to the serious side of the issue you can hear the outcome here.
At the end of the day, much of Health and Safety is commonsense, still a clichéd treatment doesn’t help encourage workplace safety.
Just for the record I did ring into the show, so thanks for the offer Mr Warnett*, maybe you could answer if your tough enough.
Richard I agree with you, so much so that I now start my day with the Shipping forecast and the move on to Chris Evans.... Much more cheery way to start your day
ReplyDeleteOn the more important issue of health and safety - rather than the merits or otherwise of Radio Kent - there is a real risk that some very good and essential legislative protection for workers is set aside in a knee-jerk reaction to what some allege - cheaply - is "nannying".
ReplyDeleteYou are right, Tony, that much of it is based on common sense, but without the backing of legislation, that common sense is just that, and has no effective status. It has become standard over recent years to identify examples of over-zealous approaches and the more foolish interpretations of the law to demean the entire health and safety structure. That of course suits those -including some employers - for whom compliance with the law is unattractively costly and who would like to reduce their costs.
There is no real prospect of returning to the days of children going up chimneys or adults made to work with raw asbestos, but accident rates will increase if the legal requirements are relaxed too far. That is the issue here.
On the more important issue of health and safety - rather than the merits or otherwise of Radio Kent - there is a real risk that some very good and essential legislative protection for workers is set aside in a knee-jerk reaction to what some allege - cheaply - is "nannying".
ReplyDeleteYou are right, Tony, that much of it is based on common sense, but without the backing of legislation, that common sense is just that, and has no effective status. It has become standard over recent years to identify examples of over-zealous approaches and the more foolish interpretations of the law to demean the entire health and safety structure. That of course suits those -including some employers - for whom compliance with the law is unattractively costly and who would like to reduce their costs.
There is no real prospect of returning to the days of children going up chimneys or adults made to work with raw asbestos, but accident rates will increase if the legal requirements are relaxed too far. That is the issue here.
"Richard" ?
ReplyDeleteAnon I'm sure that many employers are only to willing to cut corners, unfortunately those lower down the food chain are responsible for safety. Trivialisation such as Radio Kent's makes it all the easier for employers and managers to pressure workers into ignoring safety.
I have personally found myself out of work twice for insisting on necessary safe working practices and this is not uncommon in my industry.
I suspect, Anon (9.41), that those who do lampoon health and safety and suggest that it is all "nannying" are quite unaware of the sorts of real accidents and risks that the legislation is there to address and, hopefully, prevent. But of course it's easy for politicians to court cheap publicity by claiming that it's all unnecessary, or it's all driven by Brussels, or it's all forced by trades unions, and we should sweep it all away. My family history is mining in South Wales, so I am well aware of the necessity of health and safety legislation.
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