gluteus maximus wrote:Thr interpretation as to the Health and Safety Executive is that:
An accident is an unforseen event that results in either bodily injury/damage to property, or both
An incident is an event that has the possibility to cause injury or damage to property.
I am not employed by Royal Mail but i am conversant in Health and Safety legislation.
From what i can see, Royal Mail are reluctant to record any form of accident or injury as it will have a direct affect on performance targets etc.
Royal Mail like any other company has a legal obligation for the welfare of its staff. Accident and incident reporting is a legal requirement so that preventative measures can be put into place to minimise any future possibility of injury.
With a major employer supported by a Trade Union, why is the statutory measure as to Employee Health and Safety being abused with no accountability.. Why is Royal Mail not being prosecuted for these breaches?
One of the main reasons is lack of training by the trade union, Local Safety Reps are given little or no training whatsoever, so do not really understand their role or responsibilities, though some do take it seriously and are good reps but are in the minority
Above the local reps at area level, the Area Safety reps and Area Reps are all usually on full time release from duties, so are on a nice sweet number with agreement from area managers so are very unmotivated to rock the boat and raise safety issues and are very much "in the pocket"
a recent improvement by Royal Mail at director level was to implement an email address to the head office where staff can email direct to "moya's" office this goes over and above area level and usually results in the safety issue being fixed rather quickly as it should
at director level they want to reduce accidents correctly but it as you come down the chain they are trying to hide the true figures to make it look like they are doing their job
