Opinion

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    Truth and honesty as the base for safe working

    There are obligations and responsibilities when operating as a charity that do not necessarily bear on every individual or organisation in the public eye.

    By Lawrence Waterman OBE on 11 July 2019

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    Climate change: learning from the asbestos story

    There can’t be many people with responsibility for or interest in workplace health and safety unaware of the risks to health from inhaling asbestos fibres, or of the terrible toll of thousands of lives shortened by the diseases caused including its unique cancer, mesothelioma.

    By Lawrence Waterman OBE on 01 June 2019

    Radical simplicity

    I think most of us agree that reality is complex. Whether we are trying to understand work, politics or health, the world we live within is a vertiginous mix of ideas and structure, the past and the present and millions of individuals, each with their own idea of how the world should be.

    By Mike Robinson FCA on 01 April 2019

    Lawrence Waterman, Chairman Of The British Safety Council

    Not a man’s world

    If you look in your purse or wallet, there’s a good chance you will find a picture of Jane Austen – the result of a campaign initiated and led by Caroline Criado-Perez OBE when Elizabeth Fry, the Victorian prison and social campaigner, was replaced by Winston Churchill on the £5 note, leaving only men’s images celebrating achievement. 

    By Lawrence Waterman obe on 01 April 2019

    Accentuating the positive!

    I have recently been involved in reviewing the applications for the British Safety Council’s International Safety Awards for 2019, which have attracted in excess of 550 submissions across all sectors and from the UK and other countries.

    By on 01 March 2019

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    Building an inclusive workforce

    There are many misconceptions around disability. Often people picture the familiar image of a wheelchair user and assume that disability must be present from birth.

    By on 01 March 2019

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    For better, not for worse

    Unless you’re a political junkie or have been living on another planet in recent times, there is a sense of weariness about the apparently endless shenanigans surrounding the UK voting in a referendum to leave the world’s largest multicountry trading bloc and the way in which that is being haltingly translated into action by Members of Parliament.

    By Lawrence Waterman OBE on 01 March 2019

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    Control means the ability to regulate effectively

    For over four decades, the EU has been the final safety net for workers in the UK. With their rights enshrined in EU law they knew that whatever domestic government policy objectives, there was a minimum standard below which their rights could not fall. This has not only cemented employment laws, but also workplace, product and industrial safety.

    By Mike Clancy on 01 March 2019

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    Preserving the values of a robust system

    With the date for the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU looming, future relations remain to be agreed; but as matters currently stand, what can we say about the likely effect of departure on health and safety law in the UK?

    By Laura Cameron on 01 March 2019

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    Be very careful not to lose what works

    While the UK’s current reputation abroad is far from its zenith, it’s good to know that, by and large, our safety performance remains the envy of the world.

    By Paul Reeves CFIOSH on 01 March 2019