Look after your staff, says HSC
15 Jan 2000
The UK Health and Safety Commission has launched a major drive to tackle occupational ill-health. `It is good news that workplaces are getting safer, but what is not good news is that they are not getting healthier,' comments HSC chairman Frank Davies.
Every year, almost 2.2million people in the UK suffer health problems which they believe have been caused by their working conditions. `We have estimated that occupational ill-health costs the economy and society between £4billion and £5billion per year,' says Davies.
Problems include the potentially lethal effects of asbestos, cancer and asthma. The HSC has made tackling these problems its major priority during 1997, and expects industry to follow suit. `Managing health risks need not be difficult or expensive, especially compared with the costs of doing nothing,' Davies notes.
