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"The most we can do is force workers to trade pay for safety, which they might not want to do." This is a weird way to frame things, as though workers don't re
by nemo 13y ago
"The most we can do is force workers to trade pay for safety, which they might not want to do."
This is a weird way to frame things, as though workers don't really mind being killed or injured on the job. Safety is management's responsibility, not an employee choice.
- yummyfajitas 13y agoThe question is not whether workers mind being killed or injured. The question is which they mind more - lower pay, unemployment, or an increased risk of injury or death. There are many things we could do to reduce your first world risk of death - mandate that all cars are have a mechanically enforced speed limit of 20mph, for example. We choose not to. Why?
- betterunix 13y agoThat argument presupposes that people are not facing a real risk of starving to death if they are unemployed. I am not sure that is something that can be assumed. When there is a gun pointed at your head, you do not have a real choice.
- icebraining 13y agoAre you saying that the capitalists saved (most of) their lives by giving them jobs?
- glenra 13y ago>as though workers don't really mind being killed or injured on the job. It's a matter of probabilities, not certainty. And workers quite often DO prefer to trade off safety against other concerns. Not just pay, either. Convenience is a big one. When I worked at a factory in China, I was told the people using heavy machinery had safety goggles available but often preferred not to wear their googles, because doing so was hot and uncomfortable. Management would nag people to do so but wouldn't require it. In that sort of circumstance, giving workers objectively more freedom and personal responsibility allows them to be less safe - but more comfortable! - compared to how they would be in the US with OSHA breathing down people's necks.
- nemo 13y agoYeah that's why OSHA puts responsibility on business owners instead of employees. People have cognitive biases that cause them to make all kinds of terrible decisions about safety, which is why leaving safety to "personal responsibility" is a horrifying idea with serious negative consequences. OSHA might be frustrating at times, but it didn't appear in a vacuum.