The following has been supplied by the TUC:
Health and safety minister
Chris Grayling has been criticised for intending to use 'rubbish' stories
invented last week by the tabloids to justify an attack on workplace safety
rules. The criticism by the TUC came after
comments included in a speech released by the minister, scheduled for delivery
at an 18 April Policy Exchange conference. Mr Grayling was intending to say:
'It baffles me that at a time when we face a huge jobs challenge across Europe,
that someone thinks it is sensible for the EU to be spending time legislating
to ban high-heeled shoes in a hairdressers.' The minister opted to remove the
contentious sentence after a pre-emptive criticism from TUC head of safety Hugh Robertson was posted on TUC's Stronger Unions blog an hour before the minister was set to deliver
the speech, and which revealed the European Commission has no intention to do
anything of the kind. 'What is happening is that discussions are taking place
between the employers' and workers' representatives at European level through
the organisations Coiffure EU and UNI Europa Hair & Beauty over proposals that they want to put to the
European Commission on improving the appalling occupational health issues in
this industry,' Robertson wrote. 'These proposals have not gone to the
Commission yet and there is no suggestion from them that they plan any kind of
legislation. Also the proposals do not mention high heels. They do mention
preventing skin disorders, musculoskeletal diseases and the needs of pregnant
workers. Having read the proposals they make some genuinely positive proposals
around issues like substituting dangerous chemicals and protective equipment.'
As far as footwear goes, all the draft says is: 'Workers shall wear suitable
clothes for their activities or workwear clothing and, in particular, shoes
with non-slip soles.' Robertson says it took less than five minutes to
establish the press reports were 'rubbish'. His blog posting concludes: 'The
problem is not that health and safety has gone mad, it is that employers are
able to destroy the health of their workers with impunity because those who are
meant to be protecting us are no longer willing to stand up for us. As a
result, when sensible groups of employers, like those in hairdressing, are
prepared to put their head above the parapet and say that they want to do
something about it they will be far less likely to do so in the future for fear
of getting ridiculed.'
