Health and Safety

Photo source Jerome Boddey

Health and Safety the new fangled word or phrase to protect us from getting injured or killed by everything or anything around us.

Back in my day it was called common sense.

Great big hole, do I walk into it?

No! I walk around it!

Why?

Because I don’t want to fall in to it!

There are starving people all over the world. There are homeless people starving in every city and yet restaurants throwing away food?

Why?

Because of H.S.

These poor souls might get sick.

You reckon? Don’t think they might enjoy a bit of chicken, lamb, beef, pork or even rice? Maybe even bread or even the cakes that didn’t sell.

NOPE we don’t want make them sick! They could sue!

So you would rather they starve?

Better than getting sick!

But if they are hungry they are going to get sick anyway.

Well err that maybe but at least they can’t sue.

What do you do with the excess food?

Goes in the rubbish.

So who forages in the rubbish?

Well rodents like rats and mice and foxes.

Anything else? ANYONE ELSE?

Err homeless people looking for food.

So you won’t give homeless food; excess foods that will be thrown away in to the rubbish but you are ok with them getting it out of the rubbish?

No! No! No! If they get it out of the rubbish they can’t sue us if they get sick or die.

Well if their dead they can’t sue anyway.

Precisely! That’s why we have occupational health and safety. So we can look after people.

But these people have no jobs, no home and are hungry how is denying them this food looking after them.

Well they won’t get sick will they?

Isn’t it common sense to properly disperse excess food to the homeless thus not wasting it by throwing it into the rubbish where rat and rodents can thrive and go about the city spreading diseases? Is it not common sense to look after those in need?

See! Now see here! This common sense is for old school people it is no longer necessary because we have health and safety now. It protects every man woman and child from injuring themselves.

My god next you will be wanting to put fences along all the beaches!

Why would we do something like that?

Well some might accidentally fall into the sea and drown.

Oh my! That is a good point! I will bring it up at the next HS meeting.

Author Steve Boddey