Glynn,
Yes I agree with you.... I have told Jay to speak to them about the
1992 Health & Safety Act .. (We have to look at such material in
accessible design to make such there are no codes being broken
so to speak...) Anyway Jay is a very polite person and hates
conflict, therefore tends to except the answers given to him by the
authoritative bodies at his work place. He has told them about the
DDA, Part M, Health and Safety, etc.... and even offered to sit
down and discuss his concerns and the fact that all toilets are
located on the stairs between floors, oh there is one accessible
toilet of which he was given a key. It's on the ground floor (he is on
the 14th), in the back, near the loading docks, down a long narrow
corridor, and the door can not shut with a wheelchair in it. So how
they can call that an accessible toilet I don't know. Jay doesn't use
a wheelchair yet, but will need one in the, maybe near, future.
You see because he is 4' 9" tall, and appears not to be a dwarf
person, but just a short man, most people don't recognize that he is
disabled. He has arthritis, a left knee that dislocates when he
bends it (so that mean every time he walks/sit/drives) and lower
back problems. He is also a very fit person in that he trains his
upper body in the gym and therefore doesn't look ....well for lack of
words dwarfish with mobility problems except somedays he limps
more then others.
I don't know if this is to much detail but I'm just painting the picture
for you. :-) You can check out our webpage if you like to see him.
www.hometown.aol.com/Judescoots/main.html
Now what is funny is that I brought this up on the list yesterday and
Jay came home last night to say "Hey personal have finally gotten
back to me about my concerns and want a meeting next week." I
do hope they listen to him. Maybe there is new staff involved and
he will get somewhere this time.
Thanks for the help. :-)
Take care,
Jude
Date sent: Wed, 12 Jul 2000 17:36:08 +0100
Priority: normal
Subject: Re: access not accessible
From: "G.D.Williams" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Send reply to: [log in to unmask]
Hi Jude,
1. Maybe a housing association property with special interest in
disability issues might help.
2. With regard to fire- risk assessments my guess is that your
husbands employers need to think this one through again.
An informal chat with the local fire-brigade to suss out
their opinion? Suggest you also have a look at the
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regs 1992,
Approved code of practice, Reg 3, para 4 and 5.
3. When the Human Rights Act '98 becomes adopted by the
U.K promised for Oct. 2000, then employers need to be
aware of the potential powers and remedy on offer to
those being discriminated against. It is always better
I feel though to get people to co-operate by goodwill
rather than having to be confrontational.
All the best, Glynn.
Judith M. Irving BSc Arch.Envir.
Research / PhD Student
S U R F A C E
Salford University Research Focus on AcCessible Environments
Bridgewater Building
Salford University
Salford, M7 9NU
England
Tel:0161-295-3194
http://www.scpm.salford.ac.uk/surface
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