WEEKLY EDITION FEB 28, 2018
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PPE: What to Do When the Team Says 'Nope'…continued
By PSAI Executive Director Karleen Kos
People don't always comply with what is required. This puts them at risk, and places the company – and its insurer – in a
terrible position. What can you do?
Lucie Ponting published an article on the Health and Safety at Work website regarding the refusal to wear PPE. Her ideas
should be helpful in considering ways to deal with employees who fail to do what they need to do about PPE. She says,
"People sometimes refuse to wear PPE because of religious beliefs or on health grounds but, mostly, refusals
stem from poor management, communication and training. If workers don't understand why they need to wear
PPE or don't have any say in choosing it, they are more likely to refuse to use it than if they are properly trained
and involved."
Refusal due to deep-seated beliefs
There are several examples of refusing to wear PPE due to conflicts with religious beliefs. We cannot be sure how often this sort
of thing comes up in the portable sanitation industry, but especially in racially and ethnically diverse communities, if it hasn't
arisen already it will probably do that eventually.
• Sikh workers refuse to wear protective headgear.
• Hindus may object to cow skin gloves because the cow is sacred.
• Muslims
could shy away from pigskin because they consider the pig "unclean".
• Clean-shaven policies in the workplace can be another source of conflict. Often introduced because beards and facial
hair impede the fit of certain respiratory protection, beard bans can cause problems for workers where facial hair is a
religious requirement.
Other objections based on deeply held beliefs may have their root
in health concerns.
• Some people claim that ear defenders can lead to
infections and that impermeable (waterproof) protective
gloves contribute to dermatitis.
• A warehouse worker was dismissed because his employer
couldn't find an alternative to the safety boots that
aggravated his skin condition.
Sometimes workers refuse to wear PPE for less obvious reasons.
Ian Samson, European training specialist at DuPont Personal
Protection, recalls that some shipyard workers in the 1960s and
1970s refused to wear protective clothing in particular colors due to
local religious and sports rivalries.
