CIOB Research Shows No Effect of Recession on Health and Safety
The CIOB, which has always taken a strong stance on health and safety issues in the construction industry, has come up with some interesting conclusions after its latest research on workplace health and safety.
Of the 1,260 construction professionals of the senior level category that took part in the research, more than 80% reported that health and safety policies in their companies have not changed for the worse during the recession. Rather, the stand of their companies on these issues has remained the same as it was before the recession.
Among the respondents, 35.7% claimed that over the past one year, their organization has increased expenditure on health and safety (including training) instead of curtailing it.
Only 12.6% of the respondents claimed otherwise.
Proper attention towards health and safety is being given by companies, believe 69% of the respondents. However, a quarter of the employees stated that their organizations are yet to prioritize health and safety.
As regards improvement of health and safety standards in different organizations, the respondents said that continuous training and awareness campaigns within organizations are necessary to improve conditions in this regard.
A majority of the respondents believe that HSE should be equipped with more resources than it presently has, so that it can address health and safety issues more effectively. Regular advice and support from HSE has been called for by most respondents, including more site inspections to check whether health and safety norms are properly adhered to by companies.
Most respondents were in favour of surprise visits by HSE inspectors to check health and safety standards.
For training and support for organisations in attaining their health and safety objectives, click on NEBOSH Distance Learning to learn about the importance of promoting a positive health and safety culture in the workplace environment and for information on the web-based training programme from Workplace Law leading to the award of the NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Safety and Health.
