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Posted By Paul Ritchie
We are in the construction industry and are looking to start taking migrant workers from an agency. The agency have assured us that they will be pre-screened to assess their english language skills. As most people are aware, the construction industry is quite quite high risk and I would like to be reassured that not only can they speak and understand to a good standard of english, but that they can also understand the basic health and safety information on a construction site i.e. what each colour of sign means and certain H & S phrases. Does anyone out there have such a package or any realisitic ideas that we can possibly use.
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Posted By Bob Youel
Strongly managed they can work well and in my 30 years experience [working throughout Europe for ~20 years]] I found they tend to obey and work to rules easier than average Brits
Trust the agency as you would trust the average politian e.g. double check everything
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Posted By M J Matthews
Hi
My company have just started to bring in agency workers (mainly Polish) I have used the HSE web site to download Polish translations of all the documents to use in my H&S Inductions, because I use the documents as part of my usual inductions I can pick out the relevant sections / information and ensure that our agency workers understand the information. I have found that in the main the workers with some engineering experience have knowledge of the main safety signs. But as already stated in the forum be wary of agencies and how the interpret the level of English some of their clients speak.
Regards
Mick M
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Posted By Rob T
And the reason for not employing Brits (who can understand the language) is? They cost more! If some company's weren't trying to do everything on the cheap, then they wouldn't have this problem. It's funny that the construction industry is the only industry whose average pay is going down. Pay the rate get the competence. Safety standards will fall otherwise. In my experience, when they cut wages, they also cut everything else e.g. cheaper tools etc.
(A few of my friends now cannot afford to work in that industry for, in a lot of cases, lower than the minimum wage).
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Posted By R Joe
For information - may be of some interest. The Food & Drink Specialist Group is doing a related project in this area - multicultural working.
Ruth Thorpe, the SG Manager at the Grange will be able to point you in the right direction.
RJ
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Posted By Colin Reeves
Rob said "And the reason for not employing Brits (who can understand the language) is? They cost more!"
Whilst a little off topic, in a previous job I was involved in the Company investigation of a fatality. The person concerned was a Spaniard working in an English speaking environment.
Despite investigations by the authorities (not in the UK), no prosecution occurred as far as I am aware. My own report showed that, despite a number of insignificant faults in themselves, the totality ended up in a fatality. All these minor faults, in my view, stemmed from a single underlying cause, that of lack of understanding of the working language.
This Spaniard was supplied by an agency who certified that his English was adequate for purpose.....
Colin
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Posted By Paul Ritchie
Guys
thanks for the response, I do however, have some concerns regarding the trusting of the agency. I do trust the agency, but, should a migrant worker (God forbid) have a serious accident because they did not understand warning signs etc. who is liable? Us as the site controller / employer or the agency? Because at the end of the day the agency are paying them but they are working on our site?
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Posted By M J Matthews
Hi (Again)
When I was informed that I had the first migrant workers arriving on our site and that I was to carry out the H&S Induction, I asked our HR for all the agency paperwork,on reading through it it stated "the employer must carry out a full H&S induction prior to the worker commencing work" it also stated and that they both spoke and understood English.
Point 1
To my thinking as the employer who carried out the induction we have a legal and moral duty to ensure that the workers understood the information and instructions, as should anything occur we would be held responsible, I am sure that I have seen some case history where this has occurred, where the injured person did not understand instructions, (English as a second language)
Second Point
The person at agency who sent them must have thought that "good morning" was enough English to ensure that their clients could understand enough to walk straight into a very busy manufacturing company, not only to start work but also to be able to understand quality requirements as well as health and safety policy and procedures,
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Posted By M J Matthews
Hi
Just received by email this months SHP see the article where the company has been fined £35,000 for an injury to a migrant worker who did not speak any English, Ladies and Gents I think we have to Tighten our restraints it looks like being a bumpy night
Mick M
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Posted By paul sykes
A funny thing happened when i was on a site tagged out a fuse panel put a sign on it DO NOT REPLACE FUSES WORKING ON RINGMAIN put fuses in pocket empty holders in panel started doing the kitchen lights
when suddenly the kitchen 2ndry lights came on the polish joiner couldn't see upstairs and put some fuses in so he could do his job.
lets just say he saw the error of his ways
now if i am on site i wrap phase tape around as well and have a picture of a hand with a hammer above it so it does not happen again
but as for polish tradesman very professional good workers
i wish some of the brits were as good
just we need to comunicate better sometimes
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Posted By Paul Ritchie
Re: the company getting fined. I usually advise the Site Managers that if a new foreign employee / subby turns up for induction then if they cannot understand some basic conversational english with them there and then, i.e. name, where have you travelled from, blah blah, then it would be unwise to allow them to work on that site.
It sounds cruel and may even be bordering on the realms of discrimination but surely if you cannot guarantee the safety of that individual through his lack of understanding of basic safety instructions, signs, site rules etc then that has got to be the best all round regardless of how good a plumber or sparky he is? At least he goes home alive and in one piece. If ever there was an incentive to learn the language sufficiently to get employment then that could be it.
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