The majority of workplace deaths occur in sectors officially excluded from unannounced HSE inspections, according to a new study by Rory O’Neill, professor of occupational health policy research at the University of Stirling
. O'Neill used a series of Freedom of Information requests and analysis of over 20 HSE reports to compile a list of at least 37 sectors now excluded from proactive HSE inspections. The list includes agriculture, quarries, plastics, electricity generation and supply and other industries acknowledged by the HSE to be ‘higher risk’.
His analysis of official fatality data shows that more than half of all fatalities in HSE-enforced workplaces were in sectors excluded from the HSE’s unannounced inspection programme. From 1 April 2011 to 31 October 2012, there were 258 fatalities in HSE-enforced workplaces, with 137 deaths (53 per cent) occurring in sectors exempt from proactive inspections. In sectors still subject to unannounced inspections O’Neill found there were 104 deaths, accounting for 40% of the total. He said the situation was worse in Scotland, where, of the 33 worker fatalities in the same period, 20 (60%) were in uninspected sectors. The remaining deaths occurred in jobs where the enforcement situation is unclear, said the report, ‘Low Life: how the government has put a low price on your life’, published in Hazards.
In response, the HSE said that there is the option for proactive inspection in any sector should there be evidence of poor performance, and priorities for action have, historically, changed from year to year and these are factored into inspectors’ work programmes.
