Last week there were at least two accidents resulting in injury at Central Park caused by the icy conditions. One involved a vehicle, the other a pedestrian. Almost everyone seemed to be slipping and sliding.
At least one hazard report had been raised on this issue before Xmas, and UNITE had reported on it in the newsletter of 18th December. Sadly, this did not result in the company taking action which was effective in preventing the accidents.
For every death at work there are a larger number of injuries, and for every injury there are a larger number of near misses or dangerous occurrences. Health & Safety problems are like a pyramid with the most serious at the top – tackling the less serious matters effectively reduces the size of the whole pyramid and helps avoid deaths and serious injuries.
The key to improving the health and safety of people working here is for all of us to play a part by reporting hazards, dangerous occurrences and accidents, as well as using 7733 to get routine maintenance issues dealt with.
Because we have union recognition, staff at Central Park have the advantage of elected and properly trained Health & Safety Reps who are independent of the company. Your safety reps can assist you in raising concerns with the company, so please keep them informed. In addition, safety reps have the power under the 1977 Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations “to investigate potential hazards and dangerous occurrences at the workplace (whether or not they are drawn to his attention by the employees he represents) and to examine the causes of accidents at the workplace”. Following an investigation by one of our Health & Safety reps, a report on last week’s accidents has been submitted to the company. This found that the gritting had not been effective. The company is using the UNITE report as input to their own investigation and we look forward to their response.
Ice Accidents at Central Park
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