Ernie Hasler started working as an engineering apprentice in Scotland at the age of 16. He retired as a health and safety advisor after more than a half-century of work on some big jobs, also becoming the first advisor in Scotland to gain the specialist NEBOSH Diploma in environmental management. Hasler became active in the trade union early in his career and saw many improvements in health and safety during his time. These important improvements stemmed from the Health and Safety at Work Act in 1974, which led to slow but significant increase in worker safety and welfare.In his spare time, he ran a small charity, Plant Tree Save Planet starting women's tree nurseries in poor countries, mostly funded by himself and his two sisters, however, he closed it when due to poor health and age he could not effectively check out recipients. He continues to fund tree planting through Trees for the Future, and helping poor families start agri-forestry farms. He has funded the planting of thousands of trees and shrubs, and he continues to do so, year on year.He has been a voluntary trustee with Emmaus Glasgow for twenty four years, helping take it from an aspirational concept to a functioning community of up to twenty-seven previously homeless people. 75 years of experience has taught him that supporting people with needs on positive pathways is much more productive than punitive sanctions.
