UK Puts It’s Own Spin On This Year’s Theme For European Week Of Health & Safety
Launching the two year campaign on Working Together For Risk Prevention in Brussels, the EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, Mr László Andor, alongside Dr Christa Sedlatschek, Director of EU-OSHA and Mr Bo Smith, Permanent Secretary at the Danish Ministry of Employment, called for workers and employees to work together to lay the foundations for a more sustainable risk prevention culture in Europe.
The Working Together For Risk Prevention website is up and running and fully functional and provides all the resources that trade unions and employers will need to be fully involved at workplaces across the country. Click the pic below to access the website direct.
Meanwhile, in the UK, Judith Hacket HSE Chief Executive announced a different slant on the campaign:
“We now move on to working together on Risk Prevention, or in our case in the UK I think it would be better to describe it as working together on Management of Risk.”
Asked what the focus in the UK would be, she said:
“The campaign’s focus is as I said around working together, and it really involves 2 key elements that are inherent in our strategy anyway.
One is about involving the workforce in identifying and managing the risks and findings solutions to risks in the workplace, and the second is about real positive leadership from the top of organisations which by it’s very nature means engagement with the workforce.”
She added:
“We’re very grateful to the European Agency for all of the resources that they have put into these campaigns and the key phrase that we are going to be working with this year is the theme of working together.”
It is interesting that all of the resources are being supplied by EU-OSHA and that despite the name change being promoted by the HSE, all the official documentation and resources bare the campaign title of ‘Working Together On Risk Prevention’.
We will wait and see if the HSE puts out its own UK based resources complete with the change of campaign name.
Whilst many will see it as just a play on words, the UK’s change of title of this year’s theme for the European Week Of Health & Safety from Working Together For Risk Prevention’ to 'Working Together On Risk management'; there are those who will see this change as pandering to the Tory government’s attacks on health and safety at work protection.
Unionsafety web editor, Chris Ingram commented:
“The subtle change to the title can be argued as actually changing the emphasis of the EU-OSHA theme of preventing risk, to the UK government’s attitude that risk is both inevitable and acceptable, but merely needs to be managed, as opposed to being identified, and removed where possible, with the remaining risks being managed.
With UK’s HSE following the government line of less prevention in the form of massively reduced workplace inspections, defining workplaces as being of either ‘low risk’ or ‘high risk’ and placing whole areas of work in one of these two categories; and the slashing of up to 80% health and safety law; it is understandable for commentators within the health & safety community to be pessimistic as to the true value of the UK’s involvement in the European wide campaign.”
Derek Maylor, Chairperson of the NW BTU Health and Safety Co-ord, as in previous years, confirmed the commitment of the co-ord to promoting and being involved in the European campaign, emphasised the need for all employers and trade unions to ensure their full participation:
“It is clear from the many years of study done that when employers and the representatives of workers get involved in the issue of health and safety protection at work, massive savings in terms of both financial and human factors are evident.
Financially to the employer in reducing lost time at work due to illnesses and injuries, and thus increasing productivity and profit margins. For the workforce and their families, less stress and anxiety as workplaces inevitably become pro-active in preventing accidents, injuries and illness.”
He concluded:
“The Co-ord is calling on BT and Royal Mail to start their planning for this year’s event now in order to ensure the full participation of local managers, union safety reps, and the general workforce.”
Source: EU-OSHA / HSE / TUC
