Lobbying the Minister

An edited version of a letter sent to Peter Hain following the construction safety forum in September

To: The Rt Hon Peter Hain, MP Secretary of State at the Department of Work and Pensions

18th September 2007

Dear Mr Hain,

I write to you with some suggestions that I hope may be of interest, if not help.

The debate on the health and safety record of the construction industry has been with us for forever. The problem has not been finding potential solutions – but finding a government that will act on those findings.. I would like to add London Hazards Centre’s voice to the debate.

Enforcement
The HSE’s construction blitzes show that generally between a third to a half of sites visited have work stopped - and this is after the HSE has gone some way to publicise they are coming, why and when. This shows the poor regard for the inspectorate by employers.

There should be more inspectors with a much tougher enforcement regime. If the inspectorate could visit sites as frequently as parking inspectors and issue tickets on unsafe working at height, say £500.00 per offence, we would see falls from height in construction almost disappear. We certainly do not feel the industry can be trusted to regulate itself.

Crime and punishment
While I understand responsibility for this issue falls to another government department it is essential to mention it. Breaches of health and safety laws are regarded too often as a misdemeanour rather than crimes committed by criminals. While there has been some progress, cases involving fatal incidents are still heard in the lower Magistrates Court, rather than the higher courts. Some cases still receive fines of under £20k, even under £10k, where there has been a loss of life.

There have been larger fines issued by the courts, in the main but drops in the ocean compared to the guilty’s turnover or profit. The government’s failure to pass manslaughter laws that place clear responsibilities on directors and senior managers that could lead to imprisonment is deeply regrettable. The Health and Safety and Work Act must be strengthened to include prison as a penalty for directors and senior managers who must also face the prospect of large personal fines if convicted. The moral arguments for this are incontrovertible and would make employers much less likely to take risks with other people’s lives.

Public contracts
Public contracts have been and are awarded to companies with more than one conviction, sometimes several convictions. We do not believe companies with poor safety records should be awarded public contracts.

Safety reps
We know they save lives… So it was with great sadness we saw the HSC recently rejected improving their lot following a consultation… We are very pleased to see your commitment to safety reps, and would like to suggest some improvements.

Firstly the Australian system where reps can issue PINs (Provisional Improvement Notices) which initiate a procedure for dealing with disputes between the rep and employer leading to the formal involvement of the enforcement agency. One of the biggest complaints of safety reps is that the employer ignores their concerns.

Secondly to allow for roving safety reps, especially in industries like construction.

Thirdly for full protection against victimisation and the right to reinstatement if found to be unfairly dismissed over a heath and safety issue.

While I accept this only covers the tip of the iceberg, taking the steps above would lead to a safer and healthier work environment, save lives and save a huge amount of money in the NHS, benefits, compensation, insurance etc. These issues are all the more urgent now with the disastrous upturn in construction fatalities and the advent of the Olympics project.

yours sincerely,
Mick Holder, for London Hazards Centre

For information on other health and safety issues visit the London Hazards Centre web site at: www.lhc.org.uk

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