Will atypical working patterns become typical in the UK: What are the implications for occupational health and safety?

2016 ◽  
pp. 1649-1654
Author(s):  
H Beers
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Health ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Health And Safety ◽  
The Uk

scholarly journals COVID-19 in the UK and Occupational Health and Safety: Predictable not Inevitable Failures by Government, and Trade Union and Nongovernmental Organization Responses

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 86-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Watterson
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Occupational Health ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Health And Safety ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Personal Protection Equipment ◽  
International Agencies ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
The Uk

This commentary examines the occupational health and safety issues faced by the UK workers in the COVID-19 pandemic, against the background of government cuts in health care and in occupational health and safety budgets, and a deregulatory climate. The UK government has been obsessed, blinkered, and distracted by the desire to leave the European Union (Brexit). The state of knowledge about the virus, especially from international agencies that identified pandemic threats and strategies to combat it, is outlined. UK politicians, government bodies, medical and scientific advisors, and employers periodically ignored or abused that knowledge. Regulatory and ministerial inaction and errors on the workplace virus risks emerged. In contrast, several trade unions, health professional bodies, and nongovernmental organizations identified COVID-19 threats from poor personal protection equipment, working practices, and knowledge gaps and offered solutions for health care workers, social care workers, production workers, and service workers in “essential” occupations.

scholarly journals Voice and resistance: Coalminers’ struggles to represent their health and safety interests in Australia and New Zealand 1871–1925

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 513-531 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Walters ◽  
Michael Quinlan
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Occupational Health ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Health And Safety ◽  
Mine Safety ◽  
Regulatory Oversight ◽  
Jel Codes ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Uk

The activism of coalmining unions in Australia, the UK, the USA and elsewhere securing improvements in safety including better legislation in the 19th and 20th centuries, has been widely researched and acknowledged. However, a relatively neglected aspect of this history was a campaign to secure worker inspectors (check-inspectors). These began in coalmining a century before similar measures were introduced for workers more generally as part of overhauling occupational health and safety laws in the 1970s/1980s. We document this struggle for mine safety in Australia and New Zealand, and the activities of check-inspectors in the period to 1925. Notwithstanding strong opposition from coal-owners and conservative governments, check-inspectors played an important role in safeguarding coalminers and improving the regulatory oversight of coalmines. Check-inspectors not only gave coalminers a ‘voice’ in OHS, but they also provided an exemplar of the value and legitimacy of worker’s ‘knowledge activism’. This system remains. Furthermore, the struggle is relevant to understanding contemporary debates about collective worker involvement in occupational health and safety. JEL Codes: J28, J51, J81

scholarly journals The Implementation of the POPMAR (Policy, Organising, Planning and Implementing, Measuring Performance, Audit and Reviewing) Model in Occupational Health and Safety Risk Management in an Indonesian Batik Company

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 420
Author(s):  
Fandita Tonyka Maharani ◽  
Zena Lynch
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Risk Management ◽  
Occupational Health ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Health And Safety ◽  
Hazard Identification ◽  
Population Exposure ◽  
Safety Hazards ◽  
Model Risk ◽  
The Uk

Introduction: In 2009, UNESCO declared Batik Indonesia as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This study examines the occupational health and safety hazards and risks that arise in a Batik company based on a case example of a Batik company in Surakarta, Indonesia. In Indonesia, Batik is categorized as traditional attire. Two kinds of Batik are produced - Batik tulis (traditionally handcrafted) and Batik printing, which uses specific printing tools. The UK Health Safety Executive (HSE) risk assessment framework is referred to in this study, which consists of: hazard identification, population exposure, risk evaluation, precaution development, recording findings, and regular appraisal of systems. Methods: Both observation and interviews (of workers) at the Batik company were utilized for this study as well as an independent risk assessment. Results: The findings highlighted physical, ergonomic, chemical, mechanical, and biological hazards, originating from the materials, tools, and working methods utilized in the batik production. Conclusion: Many of the issues highlighted by this study can be addressed via in-depth risk assessment, using the POPMAR model to frame the activities. This approach can create a positive pathway, leading to a continuous cycle of improvement which puts the workers’ health at the forefront of the business activities.Keywords: Batik, workers, hazard identification, HSE Model, risk management

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