An IER briefing explodes the claims that businesses are over-regulated. Instead the evidence points to the opposite: "in fact, the previous government’s desire to reduce the 'burdens' on businesses has emasculated the regulatory system designed to prevent death and injury at work". Steve Tombs and David Whyte show how a "collapse in inspection, investigation and enforcement has dramatically reduced the chances of businesses being detected and prosecuted for committing safety offences".
The data "points clearly to one unequivocal conclusion: that HSE’s regulatory approach has been repositioned to accommodate neo-liberal, business-friendly values to the point that it is now unable to maintain a credible threat of enforcement.
"It is time to rethink how workers can be organised to most effectively fight for health and safety rights."
Read the full report at
http://www.ier.org.uk/system/files/Microsoft+Word+-+Tombs+whyte+briefing+for+website+final.pdf
