Day 127 - 23 May 95 - Page 32
1 A. They are, yes.
2
3 Q. In other words, they work less than 39 hours a week; is
4 that right?
5 A. That is right.
6
7 Q. What I am interested in is, how do you inculcate the right
8 attitude or the right culture about health and safety in
9 people who may come and work for a few weeks and then go
10 away again?
11 A. Well, part of it is giving them the training from
12 Day One on health and safety, but, also, part is what their
13 managers will be saying to them day to day; for example,
14 when they have rap sessions, when crew get together and
15 discuss any problems they have, that they are given an
16 opportunity to talk about safety; again, with crew
17 meetings, that managers address them about safety and
18 update them on things like changes in procedure.
19
20 Q. Do you ever come across cases where a manager may be a bit
21 lax or sloppy, where attitudes and standards in relation to
22 health and safety may slip in the restaurant generally for
23 a time; does that happen?
24 A. I do not think I could say that it never did happen.
25 Certainly, in my experience, some managers are so zealous
26 with safety, and others just take it as part what they do
27 day to day. There is that variation, but it is a normal
28 human being variation.
29
30 Q. Do you recognise that common human failing, if you
31 like: "Oh well, it is all very well, but it couldn't happen
32 to me"?
33 A. There is a little bit of that, I am afraid. But,
34 again, as I have said before, it is something that I,
35 personally, have suffered from sometimes, and it is very
36 difficult to get over, particularly when they can quite
37 easily turn round and say, "Well, up to now it has not
38 happened." For anybody that has not come across risk
39 assessment before, it is a new concept that needs a little
40 time to explain.
41
42 Q. I will go on in this memo, if I may.
43
44 "The company has a policy, and that policy basically
45 states that if you have not been formally trained to carry
46 out any work to an electrical system or piece of
47 equipment 'DO NOT TOUCH IT'. The law says the same thing.
48 This includes changing a 13 amp plug, replacing a
49 fluorescent tube or even the batteries in a torch."
50
51 Pausing there, is that really right, Mrs. Barnes, that the
52 law does not allow you to change the batteries in a torch
53 unless you are properly qualified?
54 A. I think Keith would argue it from a pedantic
55 standpoint. I think, in being practical, I doubt that
56 particular interpretation.
57
58 Q. "There are people in the UK at the moment facing
59 manslaughter charges for ignoring these relations. The
60 company corporate is not liable, individuals are. 'THE
