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The head protection regulations were scrapped from last Saturday as a result of the Lofstedt Review which recommended their deletion. UCATT strongly argued against scrapping the regulations citing that since they were adopted the average number of construction workers dying as a result of a head injury has fallen from 48 a year to 14 a year. The number of non-fatal major head injuries had fallen from 165 a year to 135 a year.
Despite UCATT's arguments the Health and Safety Executive Board decided to press ahead with scrapping the regulations, as they accepted the argument that the much less prescriptive Personal Protective Equipment Regulations were all that was necessary.
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UCATT's argued that construction was a non-compliant industry and that extra measures were needed to ensure that the scrapping of the regulations would not result in construction workers being placed in danger.
Professor Lofstedt seemed to accept this and in his update to his original report, he said about concern that head protection may no longer be worn: "HSE is planning to mitigate any such risk by targeting publicity at smaller companies that head protection must still be provided and worn."
On investigation UCATT has discovered that the HSE is not doing what Professor Lofstedt stated. Instead they have said: "HSE is seeking support from industry to deliver the message about the continuing need to provide hard hats on construction sites and ensure they are worn. CONIAC (the construction industry advisory group) are asked to consider what help they can provide in publicising the messages about the continuing need to provide head protection and ensure it is worn on construction sites."
Steve Murphy General Secretary of UCATT, said: "Construction workers are being placed in danger by the scrapping of these regulations. Many construction companies will use the scrapping of the regulations as an excuse not to provide life-saving protective equipment."
(CD)
