Andrew Watterson Occupational and Environmental Health Research Group University of Stirling

1. OCCUPATIONAL HEALTHAND SAFETY IN SCOTLAND : AN OVERVIEW: OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUES IN SCOTLAND • Andrew Watterson • Occupational and Environmental Health Research Group • University of Stirling • Scotland

2. Outline (1) General occupational health and safety problems (2) The Scottish context (3) The record according to HSE and CCA and the related challenges (4) Possibilities

3. (1)GENERAL OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY PROBLEMS

5. The state of play in UK occupational health in the UK - “Securing health together” : recent official policy view By 2010 interested parties will work together to achieve the following targets: • a 20% reduction in the incidence of work-related ill health • a 20% reduction in ill health to members of the public caused by work activity • a 30% reduction in the number of work days lost due to work-related ill health • everyone currently in employment but off work due to ill health or disability is, where necessary and appropriate, made aware of opportunities for rehabilitation back into work as early as possible; and • everyone currently not in employment due to ill health or disability is, where necessary and appropriate, made aware of and offered opportunities to prepare for and find work.

6. HSE apparently consider health, safety, productivity and health inequalities are all priorities yet:- • days lost through work-related illnesses are rising • ‘minor’ issues such as stress and musculo-skeletal problems have an impact on efficient working • HSE are for closer worker involvement on OH&S ( Sandra Caldwell Director HSEHD. IOSH Conference 2003)

7. HSE announce in 2003 the non-replacement of their Medical director thus breaking the link with Sir Thomas Legge from early 1900s. Snashall the previous HSE Medical Director had been a part-time appointment

8. Past problems with UK (and Scottish) occupational health and safety • Large scale toll of workforce in disease and accidents • Lack of political commitment of staff, resources and enforcement to raise occupational health and safety standards • Lack of focus in past on labour trend changes and workplace organisations that impact upon occupational health and safety , neglect or ignorance of problems created by psychosocial and physical stresses, aggressive and poor management. • Lack of time in governmental and business services for the subject

9. (2) THE SCOTTISH CONTEXT

10. The Scottish economy in the 21st Century a. Workforce size b. Employment breakdown

11. Scottish figures – demographic and employment • Total population – c 5 million • Economically active – 2,543,000 (seasonally adjusted ILO figure – 2,39,500) ( references: Scottish Economic Statistics 2003. Scottish Executive Fact sheet 2003)

12. Breakdown of employment by sector June – August 2003. % • Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing – 1.4 • Energy and Water - 1.9 • Manufacture - 12.0 • Construction - 5.6 • Distribution, hotels - 23.2 • Transport - 5.7 • Public admin, health, education - 27.6 • Banking, Finance, Insurance - 16.9 • Other - 5.7 • (ref: Scottish Executive Fact Sheet 2003)

13. Breakdown of Scotland’s employment by employee by sector 2001 • Sector EmployeesEnterprises • Agriculture,forestry,fisheries – 62020 25055 • Mines - 46440 2145 • Manufacture - 307980 14735 • Construction - 142120 38165 • Retail and trade - 241600 24320 • Hotels and restaurants - 177,630 16995 (Reference: Scottish Economic Statistics 2003)

14. Scottish facts and figures Enterprises - 2001 • Total enterprises – 243,000 • These break down as follows: • O employees = 149,000 • 1-49 employees = 88,305 • 50-249 employees = 3500 • 250 + employees = 2345 (Reference: Scottish Economic Statistics 2003)

15. Scottish facts and figures – service sector • 1.8 million employees work in Scottish ‘service’ sector • ( 80% of all Scottish jobs) • 6 times as many employees in service industries as in manufacture ( ref : Scottish Executive Fact Sheet 2003) This raises major issues for enforcement – in both policy and resources

16. Percentage of employee jobs which are part-time by sector, 2001

21. Distinctive ‘battlefield’ features in Scotland? • Typical range of employment and enterprise activities • - whisky; offshore oil industry • Fishing? Tourism? Forestry • Challenges of rurality and remoteness and access to information, advice, enforcement action – questions of social and legal justice • Cultural issues? Attitudes of government and employers rather than culture of workplace health and safety a critical factor: • - reward construction and engineering companies that kill workers with honours and PFI contracts!

22. Research on record of occupational health and safety in Scotland • The Scottish Safety Anomaly 2000 (Woolfson and Beck) revealed worsening occupational fatality trends in 1980s and 1990s in Scotland as a % of those for Britain • The Agius observation 1998. “ Occupational fatalities, injuries and disease in some sectors and outcomes in Scotland compare unfavourably with perceptions of what is acceptable, or indeed with statistics from elsewhere • Specific: examples - problems in the offshore oil industry (Woolfson and Beck) still remain • Almost feudal attitudes and health and safety responses on some larger estates unchallenged and unchecked by HSE • Accident Problems in fishing industry which Aberdeen medical researchers want addressed by targeted prevention interventions.

23. (3) THE ENFORCEMENT RECORD IN SCOTLAND ACCORDING TO HSE AND CCA AND THE CHALLENGES

24. SCOTLAND’S RECORD ON WORKPLACE INSPECTIONS AND INVESTIGATIONSbased on CCA 2003 analyses of HSE statistics • Scotland’s record in the early 2000s was good in some areas but poor in others • Between 1996 and 2001, Scotland saw the highest increase in investigations and advice but the 3rd largest decline in inspections

25. TABLE Average fines per HSE prosecution action conviction 1997/8-2001/2 Scotland and GB [Source: HSE statistics 2003]

26. TABLE Accident reporting levels by HSE Division based on RIDDOR in % [Source: HSE statistics 2003]

27. TABLE Estimated prevalence and rates of self-reported illness caused or made worse by work 2001/2 [Source: HSE Statistics 2003]

28. TABLE . Numbers of Reported and Investigated Industrial Diseases by HSE Area (1996/7 – 2000/01) (Source CCA Analysis 2003)

29. Mesothelioma. Age standardised death rates per million by region, time period and sex. Scotland and GB figures [ with ranking out of 11 regions in ( ) ] [Source: HSE Statistics 2003]

30. Local authority enforcement visits for 346 local authorities

31. Record for HSE Scotland East and West occupational health and safety investigations, prosecutions out of 19 HSE Areas in UK for specific years ( high ranking is good, low is poor) (1) • Amputations investigations Scotland West – 15 • 2000/1 • Burns investigations Scotland East - 18 2000/1 • Dangerous occurrences • investigations 2000/1 Scotland East - 19 • Industrial diseasesScotland East - 14 investigations Scotland West – 17 2000/1 • Prosecuting worker deaths Scotland West – 16 1996/7 • Prosecutions for major injuriesScotland West -15 1996/7

32. Record for HSE Scotland East and West occupational health and safety investigations, prosecutions out of 19 HSE Areas in UK for specific years ( high ranking is good, low is poor) (2) • Dangerous occurrences Scotland West – 17 1998/9 • Sentences following deaths Scotland East - 14 of workers 1996/7 – 1998/9 Scotland West – 19 • Sentences following major Scotland East - 17 injuries to workers Scotland West - 19 1996/7 – 1998/9 • Overall ranking Scotland East - 13 Scotland West - 19

33. (4) THE POSSIBILITIES

34. In Scotland, activity such as SHAW in workplaces exists • SME initiatives exist • Scotland has a small if in parts a distributed population with both potentially better and worse communication networks

35. Lack of full disclosure of information on hazards and risks relating to workplaces • Lack of commitment to occupational health and safety in the recent past and inaction in terms of corporate accountability • Unbalanced approach to risk management that has led to a neglect of hazard identification and removal as a the first step in successful health and safety strategies • Inability to action effective precautionary principle strategies to control such problems as pollution form endocrine disrupters, asbestos and other carcinogens and reproductive health hazards • Failure to link effectively workplace and wider environmental hazard identification and removal. • RESULT – data discussed above. We may have progressed but we have a long way still to go both on workplace safety and health

36. SOLUTIONS (1) • Pooling resources to raise SME health and safety standards • Pressing for HSE implementation and extension of revitalising health and safety targets • Carry forward plans on social exclusion, environmental justice, and socio-economic influences on health and safety • Ensure enforcement of OH&S in local authorities, not cutting HSE field inspectors or budgets for getting publications to workers

37. SOLUTIONS (2) • Join up thinking further on occupational health and safety • end reserved status and link HSE to SEPA? • Empower worker representatives in new health boards and hospitals to raise agenda on public health linked to workplaces and pollution • establish occupational health clinics along the lines of SOHP and BSTs in Denmark

38. SOLUTIONS (3) • Use available resources in workforces and trade unions more fully to advance health and safety practice • Adopt wider and more active HSE advocacy roles not only at national but also at local and workplace levels. • We have heard the rhetoric about the HSE being a champion in the field. We await the evidence in Scotland