Delivering higher standards of workplace health and safety in Scotland:
a role for Scottish Higher Performers
At present some 40 people die and 14,000 are seriously injured annually in work accidents in Scotland, over 200,000 suffer ill-health conditions caused or made worse by work and 2.6 million work days are lost. The human cost cannot be quantified. The annual cost to the Scottish economy is in the range £80-140 million.
In March 2007 the Scottish Government published the 'Scottish Action Plan on Health and Safety' this action plan seeks to compliment the work of PHASS and other collaborative work in Scotland, such as that of the workers' Safety Advisers project undertaken by the STUC. The plan identifies future collaborative actions in pursuit of Scotland's common goal: to help reduce preventable fatalities, injuries and work-related ill health to employees and members of the public arising from work activity.
The RoSPA Scottish Higher Performers Forum is recognised within the Action Plan as a partner in delivering progress; element 7.4 'For business, by business' challenges higher performers to work alongside CBI Scotland, Federation of Small Business and the Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives (SCHWL) to develop a model and programme for business to business mentoring, to be funded by the Scottish Government.
Element 10 Occupational Road Risk involves RoSPA and the SCHWL working in partnership to better support employers in addressing the management of occupational road risk, and raise its profile as a major occupational health issue. It is estimated that approximately 100 people die each year on Scotland's roads whilst going about their work, a figure that is roughly three times greater that quoted figures for accidental deaths occurring in the workplace.
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RoSPA is a registered charity: Registered Charity No: 207823 Patron: Her Majesty the Queen RoSPA Head Office: Edgbaston Park, 353 Bristol Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B5 7ST, UK |
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