FEATURE
federation secured the submission of an early day motion (EDM) in the House of Commons in November 2014. The motion, which was sponsored by Labour MP Jim Sheridan, called on MPs to support the use of the Registered Safety Suppliers Scheme and to recognise the consequences of long-term latency illnesses. It was signed by 63 Members of Parliament.
Fast forward to 26th March 2015, though, and the Deregulation Bill received Royal Assent and was passed into law. The political reasoning behind the health and safety portion of the bill was to “cut the red tape” so often associated with the industry. For many stakeholders in the sector, a little red tape is necessary to save thousands of lives every year. Alan commented: “You come into this job thinking people should be proud to be safe, but you find that the legislators still believe health and safety is a burden.”
He added: “What we at the BSIF are responsible for is making sure people are proud of the UK’s safety record
rather than it being a lazy and cheap excuse for not doing something, usually providing good customer service.”
Alan acknowledged that there are “WHAT WE AT THE BSIF
ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR IS
MAKING SURE PEOPLE ARE PROUD OF THE UK’S SAFETY RECORD RATHER THAN IT
BEING A LAZY AND CHEAP EXCUSE FOR NOT DOING SOMETHING”
firms in the UK that do take pride in looking after their workforce: “Large businesses are usually very proud of their safety and health record. Whether it’s about corporate social responsibility or not, they’re very caring for their workforce and staff.”
However, in light of the Deregulation Bill and the exemptions it provides, Alan said: “The issue I think we face medium term is that SMEs are a growing
segment, along with the self-employed, and they’re the most difficult to reach.”
In an effort to instil this pride in protecting the health and safety of workers into more businesses, the BSIF is running its awards programme for the 11th time this year. The scheme rewards excellence in customer service, product innovation and demonstrable improvements in occupational health and safety across all industries. The winners will be announced at the Safety & Health Expo in June.
Alan concluded with a message of hope for the industry: “One day the UK might be proud of its safety and health record rather than being embarrassed about it or seeing it as a burden.”
As a proponent of health and safety, the BSIF is a proudly supporting Health and Safety Week.
bsif.co.uk
www.tomorrowshs.com
21
Photo credit: Rubber Dragon / Source / CC BY-SA
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50