'All must care'
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HEALTH and safety at work are the responsibility of each employee. The attitude that it is someone else's responsibility is wrong and must be changed, said Employment Minister John Selwyn Gummer at the opening of the fourth Health and Safety at Work Exhibition in London.
Four important factors determine success in improving health and safety standards, he said. These are awareness, involvement, legislation, and enforcement.
"We must make sure that people are aware of the potential risks of their work and their responsibilities in seeking to ensure that accidents do not happen," he said. "Everyone has a part to play in getting this message across."
The key lies in the attitude and response of everyone working in the organisation, he said.
"There is a fear that health and safety might receive less attention as industry concentrates on improving productivity," he said. "Any such attitude would be self-defeating."
"Firms which achieve safe and pleasant working conditions are more likely to succeed," he said. "A good safety record and a healthy workforce are prime parts of a productivity campaign."
A total of 107 exhibitors were at the Wembley Conference Centre and attendance figures for the first two days of the fourday exhibition came to 900 and 1,300 respectively.