Politics, health and working conditions

Why globalisation and the market economy are the biggest threats to occupational health and safety in the transport sector

Summary:

Changes in working practices brought on by the market economy and globalisation are a bigger threat to transport sector safety than inadequate fitness-for-work assessments, argues occupational physician Dr Ørn Foss

Safety first! Who would trust a bus or train driver to be responsible for bringing your family home safely if they had been declared unfit to drive following a health assessment by the occupational health (OH) service? And who would trust the OH physician who has approved as fit a driver or pilot who falls asleep and gets involved in an accident two days after their medical examination? In my opinion, you shouldn’t worry so much about the quality or the outcome of the health assessment – other factors that result from political decisions made outside the confines of the OH clinic constitute a much more imminent threat to safety in the transport sector.…

Author: Foss O

Tags accidents fitness for work health and safety international outsourcing

Occupational Health at Work April/May 2019 (vol. 15/6) pp16-20

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