Film Artistes Association Raises the Issue of Safety on Location
Staff working on location of production companies can be at risk by something as simple as absence of a handrail. This issue was highlighted in a recent accident where a woman slipped on wet and slippery steps and since there were no handrails for her to hold, she fell from a height and broke her hip and arm and also suffered facial injuries. Her injuries were so severe that she has not been able to resume work yet.
Paul Kirby, Chair of the Film Artistes Association (FAA), a section of media and entertainment union Bectu, explained that in most of the cases, the basic facilities like toilet, wardrobe and make-up are set up on lorries and large vehicles in which there are stairs leading to the main entrance. Since on location the whole set up is temporary, no one bothers to provide simple safety measures as handrails. This, as stated earlier, has resulted in serious accidents of background artistes.
The FAA has urged union members to see that proper and adequate safety measures are taken in outdoor locations. In addition, workers have been encouraged to report cases where such handrails are not installed by employers as part of the safety measures.
The Health and Safety Policy is a key factor of any organisations health and safety management system; Workplace Law
