When did it become alright to put peoples’ lives in danger for the sake of saving money? Every day there are workers putting their lives on the line to perform some of the world’s most dangerous jobs and what appreciation do they receive? They get told that they will now be in even more danger because funds are tight and cutbacks had to happen somewhere.
The Health and Safety ExecutiveDuring the course of an Annual Spending Review, officials concluded that funding cuts had to be made somewhere and decided that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) would be the ones to take the hit. While they don’t think it will have any significant effect, the Union of Construction, Allied Trades, and Technicians (UCATT) say that there is no doubt that these cuts will put lives at risk unnecessarily.
Apparently, just days before this announcement was made, Lord Young had completed a health and safety report. His recommendations stated that there did not need to be any changes to the safety laws that were currently in place for “dangerous industries.” Did the fact that these reports showed no problems with the safety of the construction industry have to do with the decision to cut funding? It’s probably safe to assume so. But on the contrary, if the reports had shown serious flaws within the system, would that have meant more funding to the HSE? It’s probably safe to assume not.
Being Individually Prepared with a Construction NVQClearly the workers whose lives are being toyed with because of money have very little say in the matter, which is both ludicrous and unfortunate. These men are performing dangerous jobs while others sit safely behind a desk where their biggest physical risk is getting a paper cut. Was there really no other possible place to cut funding than from the monies that ensure the safety of the workers who build our homes, businesses, bridges, and all the other structures we take for granted?
Because workers have little say in these matters, it’s imperative that they take the initiative to personally prepare themselves. This means getting any and all safety training and professional certifications available to them. For example, if every roofer made sure to take the time to acquire at least a Roofing NVQ Level 2 they would know that regardless of budget cuts, they are as prepared as possible.
Roofers perform some of the most dangerous work since they are always working at considerably great heights and often in inclement weather. By taking the time to have an assessor watch them on the job as part of their Roofing NVQ certification, and evaluate their skills and competency they are ruling out any possible mistakes they may have unknowingly made otherwise. An NVQ in Roofing is so easy to acquire, and with that and your CSCS card in hand, you are prepared for cutbacks of any kind.
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