Explosion in Coal Mine in Turkey, Kills over 300.
The explosion in the Coal Mine in Soma, Turkey demonstrates the importance of health and safety management, in the workplace, in particular in higher risk environments like coal mines, petro-chemical works, etc.
These workplace environments have the potential to kill large numbers of people, in a single major accident.
The Turkish government are now in turmoil as a result of this incident as they are being blamed due to recent privatisations within the Turkish mining industry.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-27459912
Our modern health and safety laws in the UK were born from similar coal mining accidents, in which numerous coal miners were killed in single incidents.
Fatal accidents in coal mines were seen as a price which had to be paid to mine this precious commodity.
The Gresford Colliery disaster which occurred in 1933 was one of the worst. 266 coal miners men and boys were killed in very similar way to the coal miners in Turkey.
The Senghenydd Colliery Disaster was the worst coal mining accident in the UK, 439 coal miners were killed. This was again caused by an explosion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senghenydd_Colliery_Disaster
Imagine the uproar if similar incidents happen in Britain today!
The term "Reasonably Practicable" which became the basis of the Health and Safety at Work Etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA) came about from a famous test case "Edwards vs National Coal Board", which happened in 1949.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwards_v_National_Coal_Board
When the Health and Safety at Work Etc. Act 1974 became part of UK Law 40 years ago, around 800 people a year were killed in the workplace. Up until this point Health and Safety had focused in on only Safety in factories, coal mines and similar institutions.
Health affects of work activities were not really considered in a great level of urgency. When you think about it though the health effects of inappropriate working practices have a far more reaching effect on our country than safety. People who are killed do not need looking after for the rest of their lives and do not claim benefits!
Over the 40 years since the HSAWA the fatality rates have dropped from around 800 a year to last years figure of 148 (2012-2013). The health effects of workplace activities have seen a similar reduction in work related harm, since the act came into force.
In the late 1970's and early 1980's when Coal Mining in the UK was at it's strongest, fatality accidents were rare, often involved just one or two people, not hundreds. Coal Mining fatality rates did increase after mines were privatised but never to the extent that they were in the Pre-HSAWA days.
The Gleision Colliery disaster (South Wales) on 15th September 2011 killed 4 miners and made national News. It was one of the biggest UK mining accidents to have happened in the modern era of Health and Safety.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gleision_Colliery_mining_accident
As of June 2014, the company MNS mining and the Manager of the company have been prosecuted. They have just been found not guilty of manslaughter.
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/gleision-colliery-trial-pit-boss-7114212
We in the UK take it for granted that work places are relatively safe compared to the Pre-Health and Safety at Work Act Britain.
Numerous articles are published by the press in which Health and Safety is used as an excuse or explaination for some rather stupid decision made by a school, council or other public body.
Modern Health and Safety is a part of the criminal justice system and without doubt the criminal justice system is not perfect. It is man made after all and we all know that anything designed or made by a human is flawed. People get away with criminal activities and a very few are convicted who are innocent but not as many as the press publicise.
One thing I always tell my students is to ask themselves what would happen of we were to abolish the whole criminal justice system or even just the Health and Safety part of it?
Well ask yourselves this? If that did occur what would happen to fatality and accident rates, in the workplace? Would they go up or down? Would the number of robberies rapes or murders go up or down? The country would be in mayhem, within weeks, in my opinion.
Undoubtedly crime would rise in the very unlikely event of this ever happening. Workplace fatality rates would probably very quickly go up to the Pre-1974 levels.
Our Criminal Justice System is the envy of the civilised world. Most democracies in the world use our Criminal Justice System as a template for theirs!
So what should we do? Carry on letting our "imperfect" Criminal Justice system evolve, improve and continue to reduce crime, fatal incidents and harm to our british citizens health and safety. Or abolish it?
It's a no brainer in my opinion! Why would you not want it?