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Aneirin -> Health and Safety ? (3/31/2011 6:34:41 AM)
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Health and Safety, that term that appears to influence our lives more and more these days, I ask is actual health and safety being abused by the over use of the term ?
I ask because due to a past employment status of workshop safety officer I was very au fait with the requirements of health and safety and various legislation that was in place, but now out of it and a few years beyond, I am noticing the use of the term Health and Safety has made it into day to day parlance and it is my suspicion that it is being used as a silencing tactic by those who do not wish to be challenged about an issue.
To illustrate my suspicion, I make a habit of when someone tells me something cannot be done because of health and safety, I challenge them to provide the relevant legislation that says why I cannot do what I had asked, so I may check for myself, but quite often, well, so far every time the person I have asked cannot quote the relevant legislation and furthermore does not know where to find it, so I say how can a person say something cannot be done because of health and safety when they themselves do not know the requirement. Often the reason given is they have themselves been told what they know, and so I again ask did they not think to check the legislation themselves or are they content to just parrot what others have said, and how do they know if what they are parroting is right, for people have been known to get things wrong and I have in my past professional capacity come across made up rules used to hinder any challenge, which when checked, plainly do not exist, but it seems the term health and safety has that stopping power that can stop questions dead in the water, therefore I believe the term is open to misuse and it is being misused.
The sad fact of this misuse, is that real health and safety issues will come to be ignored, as the crying wolf syndrome has done it's worst.
Has anyone come across the misuse the term Health and Safety, does anyone else feel it is being overused ?
But what seems to be forgotten by those who happily parrot health and safety, is that people bear personal responsibility, they cannot and should not be wrapped in legal cotton wool for all that does is erode freedom.
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