- January 20, 2019
- Posted by: Sage Shield Safety Consultants
- Category: Overseas Occupational Health And Safety News
The United States Government shutdown is now the longest in history, and with every passing day there are more pressures on frontline employees and systems that are going unpaid and unfunded. Last Friday marked the first pay day to come and go without checks sent out, and there are reports that in some locations employees anticipated to appear without pay are contacting ill. What does this mean for public health and security? Some of the impacts are readily visible, others are harder to see.
Airport Security
While you may have found out about TSA officers hiring sick due to the fact that they don’t wish to work without pay, that’s not the only element of airport security that’s been interrupted due to the shutdown.
Routine behind the scenes evaluations have actually been cut back, and in many cases airlines are having to postpone bringing airplanes back into rotation after maintenance or repairs since there’s nobody to check and accept them.
“Every day that goes by that the federal government is shut down, security is going to be compromised,” nationwide president of the Expert Air Travel Security Specialists, which represents safety inspectors who are furloughed, informed the New York Times.”Every day that goes by, something might occur that causes a crack in the system.”
Pressure to plug the spaces saw the Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday revise the number of important employees, increasing those needed to turn up to work without pay from simply 216 to 3113. The move is hoped in enhance safety as the closed down stretches into its 4th week.
Food Security
It has actually widely been reported that the FDA had stopped bring out safety assessments in food processing plants and of high-risk foods like seafood, raising issues about public health and food safety across the United States. While meat and poultry evaluations continued under the USDA, all other food evaluations, the obligation of the FDA, were compromised by the shutdown. As with air safety, as the deadlock has dragged on, the FDA has attempted to begin examinations again. Like the FAA, it is counting on workers who will not be paid up until the standoff is over.
Cyber Security
Those lacks could cause genuine problems, either now or down the roadway, for government websites and cloud storage. A number of the issues that could occur due to understaffing throughout the shutdown may not appear till much later, but involve potential risks like information breaches, hold-ups in finding security compromises and other serious issues. There’s also the possibility that personnel who find themselves off work indefinitely will seek new opportunities in the economic sector, leaving these government firms short-handed longer term.
Disaster action and preparation
It’s harder to quantify how these areas of federal government are impacted by the shutdown, as some of the furloughed employees are currently dealing with cyclone preparedness, with that season not due to begin till June 1. But training and modeling delays might have an impact down the track.
The firm that keeps track of volcanoes and earthquakes is staffed at approximately half its usual level, and the director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network says, “We simply have our fingers crossed that if we have a genuine issue here that we do not have a real issue here, since we’re not confident that our backup will be effective!”
Workplace Safety
Since it’s a partial shutdown, not all government departments are impacted. OSHA, which is funded by the Department of Labor, is not currently subject to the furlough. That suggests it’s business as usual for work environment inspectors, as the firm continues to run as regular.
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