IOSH issues health and safety warning

Migrant employees in the UK are often not receiving sufficient levels of health and safety training, it has been claimed.

The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has issued a warning that a number of foreign workers are not receiving sufficient levels of training in health and safety issues, as instruction is often provided in English, which non-English speakers will not understand, reports Personnel Today.

"Migrant workers are entitled to the same protection as other workers," said Richard Jones, policy and technical director at the IOSH, an organisation established in 1945 and operated on a not-for-profit basis.

"We are very concerned about cost-cutting employers who are gambling with the lives of their workers."

Indeed, in a recent poll of 26 firms by the IOSH, 50 per cent confirmed that health and safety training did not address the needs of employees unable to speak English.

The IOSH has a worldwide membership base of 31,000.