HSE promises action on migrant safety
HSE promises action on migrant safety
Migrant workers are facing higher workplace accident levels because they are concentrated in more hazardous jobs without adequate training and are working longer hours and shifts, research for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has found. The findings have prompted an HSE promise to step up inspections and enforcement in sectors 'where vulnerable workers are most likely to work.' The study on the experience of migrant workers in England and Wales, carried out for HSE by London Metropolitan University, was presented at a South East Region Trades Union Congress (SERTUC) conference. HSE commissioned the research, which involved interviews with 200 migrant workers, after it suspected elevated accident risks to migrant workers were not being reflected in official statistics. The study found that migrant workers may be experiencing higher levels of workplace accidents because they are more likely to work long hours, to work shifts and to have limited understanding of health and safety. It said contributory factors included communication difficulties and lack of familiarity with the jobs where migrants were finding employment. Jeremy Bevan, HSE programme manager on migrant workers, said: 'We are already taking action to implement the research's key findings, in particular we are continuing to target inspections and enforcement in sectors where migrant workers and other vulnerable workers are most likely to work, and are currently reviewing how best to reach these workers and their employers with key health and safety messages.' He added: 'We are also working with other government departments to stem the problem of illegal employment at source, by detecting and deterring those who, as employers, seek to evade regulation by government.'
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