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| Hard hat anyone? |
That seems all to change; under the influence of the EU the whole of Europe is gradually being standardised, and I realise I'm always banging on about it but I can see the west influencing Poland more and more on a daily basis. Well today was one of those days. However, if Poland wants to follow in the footsteps of it's Western neighbours when it comes to health and safety, there really is a long way to go. Today's presentation was irrelevant and impractical, even comedic; it was nothing more than a selection of youtube videos supported by no introduction or explanation and we given absolutely zero advice on how to deal with any of the issues that were raised in the clips. Some of the videos were so ridiculous that I've really got no idea how the woman presenting them managed to keep a straight face and I can't believe she got paid for it.
Unfortunately though, having to endure this attempt at a health and safety presentation shows the direction Poland's going in and although I still have no idea where the first aid box is kept at work, I fear I may soon find myself in another country where I have to worry about being sued if I do the wrong thing. Oh, just another minor thing we were missing today, does anybody have any idea what the emergency number is in this country?
Unfortunately though, having to endure this attempt at a health and safety presentation shows the direction Poland's going in and although I still have no idea where the first aid box is kept at work, I fear I may soon find myself in another country where I have to worry about being sued if I do the wrong thing. Oh, just another minor thing we were missing today, does anybody have any idea what the emergency number is in this country?
BHP (safety and hygiene of work) talks are old tradition in Poland (from communism times), the law says the first day at work a new worker has to hear such talk.
ReplyDeleteNobody really take this seriously - people rely on common sense more than on law, and treat this as useless bureaucracy.
Emergency numbers are:
997 - for police
998 - for firefighters
999 - for hospital
112 - all of above combined - this number is for cellphones, the above are for stationary phones.
Well I've worked in this job since September. It was a very strange talk, there was no information, no tips, no guidelines, like I said not even the.emergency numbers! Just a string of videos. I like the concept of common sense, it's a shame people aren't allowed to use theirs in England.
ReplyDeleteEmergency numbers are teached in primary school, so people assume you know them already (which, as more foreigners will come to Poland, will be less and less true).
ReplyDeletePoland has it's share of accidents because some people common sense is different, but stupidity cannot be cured by law, really.
The point was that they didn't give us any practical information. Very true about your last statement!
ReplyDeleteWell, I guess it all depends, too. I got through several emergency trainings at every level of school and most of them were quite good, I've learnt a whole lot of practical information; what to do in a case of an accident, for example. We eve got to practice CPR. But on the other hand, BHP at my university was handled by Internet and it was rather pathetic. So, like I said, it depends. But I agree, we should standarise those talks just a little bit, so the extremities like in your case don't happen. I think it will get to that eventually, as people adapt more and more the Western tendency to sue everyone over everything. ;)
ReplyDeleteCiao,
Amy.
PS. You've been tagged!
http://amythewicked.wordpress.com/2011/02/24/meme-time/
I had my first H&S talk yesterday as well.
ReplyDeleteWeirdest thing is the legal obligation that if someone is injured, you are liable to be prosecuted if you don't help them. Buuut, if your first aid ends up finishing them off, you're not liable!