Dave Joyce National Health, Safety & Environment Officer continues to alert USRs and branches of the thereat to the health, safety and welfare of working people that the Tory policies on health and safety deregulation pose. Writing in his latest letter to branches, LTB251/10 entitled "Health and Safety - Reducing the burden": Latest Tory Attack on Health and Safety Published, Dave says; "With just 45 days to the General Election, the Tory attack on Health and Safety continues. This time it's the turn of the Employers, right-wing "Policy Exchange" 'think-tank' organisation who have published a report entitled "Health and Safety: Reducing the burden". Describing some of the detail of the report, the LTB goes on: " The Better Regulation Executive has described it as 'one of the fastest growing business to business sales sectors in the UK'. It's no surprise that all that the CBI and Institute of Directors are praising the report. In fact the author of the report is from the Institute of Directors and he says that Britain is the safest place to work in the EU but something has gone wrong and there's an enormous amount of uncertainty
about health and safety legislation which has led to a culture of over-compliance and health and safety consultants aren't well qualified. The LTB concludes by quoting
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber as saying: Brendan continues; "There is not one shred of evidence that there is any over-compliance. Research has shown that over half of all small businesses have not even done a basic risk assessment as required by law. "We now have less than half the number of regulations than 35 years ago, and they are generally simpler and clearer. Yet businesses spend, on average, less than four minutes a day on health and safety - hardly a major burden. "There is no place for any lowering of standards or reducing regulation. Instead we need more support for those businesses that want to do the right thing, and more enforcement action against those that do not." This weeks HR Review website covers the news item and quotes Corin Taylor, a senior Policy Advisor at the Institute for Directors and author of the report as saying: This theme was of course continued by Lord Young at IOSH 10 Conference this week and shows a systematic campaign amongst business and the Troy party to decimate health and safety culture within the UK. Lord Young Blames IOSH For Health And Safety Crisis Download the full Tory Think Tank report from the E-Library here Source: CWU / HR Review / TUC
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