HEALTHCARE

Health and Safety Responsibilities at Work

Health and Safety Responsibilities at Work

Introduction

The formation of regulations covering safety and health in the construction industry is generally under the influence of a government organisation. In the United Kingdom, HSE i.e. the Health and Safety Executive is responsible for supervising health and safety concerns and making these set of laws known in England, Wales and Scotland, while the Northern Ireland's HSE is accountable for industrial safety and health concerns in that country. A number of other countries have their own related agencies (Barling, 2003, p.11). Some very common physical risks in the construction industry consist of falling down from elevated places, being hit by falling items, puncture injuries from screws and nails, falls and slips on rough surfaces, and eye injuries from speedy and flying objects. The workers or employees can be electrocuted, a number of them have been poisoned when mining work has punctured pipes of gases, and few of them have contracted tumours and cancers from handling or using carcinogens for instance asbestos. A few of these dangers are common in other industries; however a great number of them are exclusive to construction industry only (Quinlan, 2000, p.84).

Discussion

As workplace safety is a concern of great significance to workers or employees all over the world, the construction industry is of special concern due to the intrinsically hazardous nature of a number of the tasks involved. Prior to the twentieth century, hundreds and thousands of workers all over the world died on a regular basis or were critically wounded in workplace accidents, especially in construction. And at the beginning of the 21st century, fatalities and accidents in the construction industry remained among the uppermost of all professions.

Thus, construction is considered as a high risk industry that includes an extensive range of activities relating to construction, repair and alteration. Some of the most common examples are bridge erection, residential construction, excavations, roadway paving, large scale painting tasks and demolitions. Construction workers are usually engaged in a number of activities that can expose them to severe dangers or hazards, for instance falling from high buildings, being hit by weighty construction equipment, unguarded machinery, silica dust, electrocutions and asbestos.

As per the principles of the World Health Organisation , the United Nations and the International Labour Organisation 'each and every inhabitant of this world has a right to safe and healthy work and to a work atmosphere that allows him/her to live an economically and socially productive life. However, only a small number of citizens are afforded this right, as evidenced by the high numbers of occupational illnesses, diseases and fatalities in most countries. The International Labour Organisation calculates that more than two million individuals die each year from occupational diseases and accidents, some two hundred and seventy million individuals suffer severe non-fatal damages every year and an extra one hundred and sixty million fall sick for longer or shorter periods due to work-related causes. In economic terms the loss of capital and associated expenses caused by work-related and ...