Staff need to be actively involved in implementing good heath and safety measures within the workplace, the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) has stated.
Speaking at the annual lecture in honour of the former Acas chairman Sir Pat Lowry, the HSC's chairman Bill Callaghan stated that, while safety at work is a matter of efficient management, it is not a management prerogative but rather is an issue for the whole workforce to address.
"Health and safety needs to re-discover its roots, re-discover the art of the possible, rather than pursue the ideal of the perfect," Mr Callaghan said.
"The human relations and health and safety communities need to work more closely together to achieve this goal."
In addition, he took the opportunity to praise the partnerships developed between trade unions and employer and trade organisations within some industries, including the construction and quarrying sector, though stressed that more still needs to be done to effectively link self-regulation and worker involvement in safety within the workplace.
The HSC's comments come as the secretary of state for work and pensions, John Hutton, announced the government is to undertake a comprehensive review of the health of the UK's workers and set benchmarks against which to assess workplace conditions.
