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OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY IN SCOTLAND : AN OVERVIEW: OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUES IN S

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Title: OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY IN SCOTLAND : AN OVERVIEW: OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUES IN S


1
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTHAND SAFETY IN SCOTLAND AN
OVERVIEW OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUES
IN SCOTLAND
  • Andrew Watterson
  • Occupational and Environmental Health Research
    Group
  • University of Stirling
  • Scotland

2
Outline
  • (1) General occupational health and safety
    problems
  • (2) The Scottish context
  • (3) The record according to HSE and
  • CCA and the related challenges
  • (4) Possibilities

3
(1)GENERAL OCCUPATIONAL
HEALTH AND SAFETY PROBLEMS
4
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5
The state of play in UK occupational health in
the UK - Securing health together recent
official policy view
  • By 2010 interested parties will work together to
    achieve the following targets
  • a 20 reduction in the incidence of work-related
    ill health
  • a 20 reduction in ill health to members of the
    public caused by work activity
  • a 30 reduction in the number of work days lost
    due to work-related ill health
  • everyone currently in employment but off work due
    to ill health or disability is, where necessary
    and appropriate, made aware of opportunities for
    rehabilitation back into work as early as
    possible and
  • everyone currently not in employment due to ill
    health or disability is, where necessary and
    appropriate, made aware of and offered
    opportunities to prepare for and find work.

6
  • HSE apparently consider health, safety,
    productivity and health inequalities are all
    priorities yet-
  • days lost through work-related illnesses are
    rising
  • minor issues such as stress and
    musculo-skeletal problems have an impact on
    efficient working
  • HSE are for closer worker involvement on OHS (
    Sandra Caldwell Director HSEHD. IOSH Conference
    2003)

7
  • HSE announce in 2003 the non-replacement of their
    Medical director thus breaking the link with Sir
    Thomas Legge from early 1900s. Snashall the
    previous HSE Medical Director had been a
    part-time appointment

8
  • Past problems with UK (and Scottish) occupational
    health and safety
  • Large scale toll of workforce in disease and
    accidents
  • Lack of political commitment of staff, resources
    and enforcement to raise occupational health and
    safety standards
  • Lack of focus in past on labour trend changes and
    workplace organisations that impact upon
    occupational health and safety , neglect or
    ignorance of problems created by psychosocial and
    physical stresses, aggressive and poor
    management.
  • Lack of time in governmental and business
    services for the subject

9
(2) THE SCOTTISH CONTEXT
10
The Scottish economy in the 21st Century
  • a. Workforce size
  • b. Employment breakdown

11
Scottish figures demographic and employment
  • Total population c 5 million
  • Economically active 2,543,000
  • (seasonally adjusted ILO figure 2,39,500)
  • ( references Scottish Economic Statistics 2003.
  • Scottish Executive Fact sheet
    2003)

12
Breakdown of employment by sector June August
2003.
  • Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing
    1.4
  • Energy and Water -
    1.9
  • Manufacture
    - 12.0
  • Construction
    - 5.6
  • Distribution, hotels
    - 23.2
  • Transport
    - 5.7
  • Public admin, health, education - 27.6
  • Banking, Finance, Insurance - 16.9
  • Other
    - 5.7
  • (ref Scottish Executive Fact Sheet 2003)

13
Breakdown of Scotlands employment by employee by
sector 2001
  • Sector Employees
    Enterprises
  • Agriculture,forestry,fisheries 62020
    25055
  • Mines - 46440
    2145
  • Manufacture - 307980
    14735
  • Construction - 142120
    38165
  • Retail and trade - 241600
    24320
  • Hotels and restaurants - 177,630
    16995
  • (Reference Scottish Economic Statistics 2003)

14
Scottish facts and figures Enterprises - 2001
  • Total enterprises 243,000
  • These break down as follows
  • O employees 149,000
  • 1-49 employees 88,305
  • 50-249 employees 3500
  • 250 employees 2345
  • (Reference Scottish Economic Statistics 2003)

15
Scottish facts and figures service sector
  • 1.8 million employees work in Scottish service
    sector
  • ( 80 of all Scottish jobs)
  • 6 times as many employees in service industries
    as in manufacture
  • ( ref Scottish Executive Fact Sheet 2003)
  • This raises major issues for enforcement in
    both policy and resources

16
Percentage of employee jobs which are part-time
by sector, 2001
17
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21
Distinctive battlefield features in Scotland?
  • Typical range of employment and enterprise
    activities
  • - whisky offshore oil industry
  • Fishing? Tourism? Forestry
  • Challenges of rurality and remoteness and access
    to information, advice, enforcement action
    questions of social and legal justice
  • Cultural issues? Attitudes of government and
    employers rather than culture of workplace health
    and safety a critical factor
  • - reward construction and engineering companies
    that kill workers with honours and PFI contracts!

22
Research on record of occupational health and
safety in Scotland
  • The Scottish Safety Anomaly 2000 (Woolfson and
    Beck) revealed worsening occupational fatality
    trends in 1980s and 1990s in Scotland as a of
    those for Britain
  • The Agius observation 1998. Occupational
    fatalities, injuries and disease in some sectors
    and outcomes in Scotland compare unfavourably
    with perceptions of what is acceptable, or indeed
    with statistics from elsewhere
  • Specific examples - problems in the offshore oil
    industry (Woolfson and Beck) still remain
  • Almost feudal attitudes and health and safety
    responses on some larger estates unchallenged and
    unchecked by HSE
  • Accident Problems in fishing industry which
    Aberdeen medical researchers want addressed by
    targeted prevention interventions.

23
(3) THE ENFORCEMENT RECORD
IN SCOTLAND ACCORDING TO HSE AND CCA AND THE
CHALLENGES
24
SCOTLANDS RECORD ON WORKPLACE INSPECTIONS AND
INVESTIGATIONS based on CCA 2003 analyses of HSE
statistics
  • Scotlands record in the early 2000s was good in
    some areas but poor in others
  • Between 1996 and 2001, Scotland saw the highest
    increase in investigations and advice but the 3rd
    largest decline in inspections

25
TABLE Average fines per HSE prosecution action
conviction 1997/8-2001/2 Scotland and GB
Source HSE statistics 2003
26
TABLE Accident reporting levels by HSE Division
based on RIDDOR in
Source HSE statistics 2003
27
TABLE Estimated prevalence and rates of
self-reported illness caused or made worse by
work 2001/2
Source HSE Statistics 2003
28
TABLE . Numbers of Reported and Investigated
Industrial Diseases by HSE Area (1996/7 2000/01)
(Source CCA Analysis 2003)
29
Mesothelioma. Age standardised death rates per
million by region, time period and sex. Scotland
and GB figures with ranking out of 11 regions
in ( )
Source HSE Statistics 2003
30
Local authority enforcement visits for 346 local
authorities
31
Record for HSE Scotland East and West
occupational health and safety investigations,
prosecutions out of 19 HSE Areas in UK for
specific years ( high ranking is good, low is
poor) (1)
  • Amputations investigations Scotland West 15
  • 2000/1
  • Burns investigations Scotland East
    - 18
  • 2000/1
  • Dangerous occurrences
  • investigations 2000/1 Scotland
    East - 19
  • Industrial diseases Scotland
    East - 14
  • investigations
    Scotland West 17
  • 2000/1
  • Prosecuting worker deaths Scotland West
    16
  • 1996/7
  • Prosecutions for major injuries Scotland West -15
  • 1996/7

32
Record for HSE Scotland East and West
occupational health and safety investigations,
prosecutions out of 19 HSE Areas in UK for
specific years ( high ranking is good, low is
poor) (2)
  • Dangerous occurrences Scotland West 17
  • 1998/9
  • Sentences following deaths Scotland East - 14
  • of workers 1996/7 1998/9 Scotland West
    19
  • Sentences following major Scotland East - 17
  • injuries to workers Scotland
    West - 19
  • 1996/7 1998/9
  • Overall ranking Scotland East
    - 13

  • Scotland West - 19

33
  • (4)
    THE POSSIBILITIES

34
  • In Scotland, activity such as SHAW in workplaces
    exists
  • SME initiatives exist
  • Scotland has a small if in parts a distributed
    population with both potentially better and worse
    communication networks

35
  • Lack of full disclosure of information on hazards
    and risks relating to workplaces
  • Lack of commitment to occupational health and
    safety in the recent past and inaction in terms
    of corporate accountability
  • Unbalanced approach to risk management that has
    led to a neglect of hazard identification and
    removal as a the first step in successful health
    and safety strategies
  • Inability to action effective precautionary
    principle strategies to control such problems as
    pollution form endocrine disrupters, asbestos and
    other carcinogens and reproductive health hazards
  • Failure to link effectively workplace and wider
    environmental hazard identification and removal.
  • RESULT data discussed above. We may have
    progressed but we have a long way still to go
    both on workplace safety and health

36
  • SOLUTIONS (1)
  • Pooling resources to raise SME health and safety
    standards
  • Pressing for HSE implementation and extension of
    revitalising health and safety targets
  • Carry forward plans on social exclusion,
    environmental justice, and socio-economic
    influences on health and safety
  • Ensure enforcement of OHS in local authorities,
    not cutting HSE field inspectors or budgets for
    getting publications to workers

37
SOLUTIONS (2)
  • Join up thinking further on occupational health
    and safety
  • end reserved status and link HSE to SEPA?
  • Empower worker representatives in new health
    boards and hospitals to raise agenda on public
    health linked to workplaces and pollution
  • establish occupational health clinics along the
    lines of SOHP and BSTs in Denmark

38
  • SOLUTIONS (3)
  • Use available resources in workforces and trade
    unions more fully to advance health and safety
    practice
  • Adopt wider and more active HSE advocacy roles
    not only at national but also at local and
    workplace levels.
  • We have heard the rhetoric about the HSE being a
    champion in the field. We await the evidence in
    Scotland
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