Return to Work Safely Protocol
Minister must immediately clarify what resources are being made available to HSA
In a statement today People Before Profit said that Minister Humphreys must immediately clarify what additional resources will be provided to Health and Safety Authority.
Deputy Bríd Smith said:
“The Minister has said that the HSA will have the authority to enforce the Return to Work Safely Protocol but has not committed any additional resources to it enforcement. The HSA is already stretched and is now being given considerable additional responsibilities.
“In an interview today she said the HSA “will need extra resources” and she will make them available “from existing resources” by using “officers from other departments”. She now needs to tell us what additional resources the HSA will get. How many inspectors? When and how they will be trained and when they will be in place?
“To date during the Covid-19 crisis the state has demonstrated a criminal neglect for workers safety and needs to seriously up its game.
“Without effective enforcement the protocol is not worth the paper its written on. Effective enforcement can only happen with a massive programme of inspections and the allocation of additional resources to the HSA. The Minister must now clearly indicate what additional resources it will get.”
