TUC Issue Ten Point Plan Demanding Changes To Coalition Health And Safety Strategy
Since 2010 the greatest attacks on workplace health and safety protection since 1939 have been perpetrated by the current government led by a Tory hatred of employment rights which have been won by the Trade Union movement over a period of over 200 years!
Indeed, the need to prevent workplace injuries and deaths was the catalyst to the birth of the trade union movement in this country; and remains the single most important principle of Trade Unionism ahead even of pay.
Now, the TUC has published what is probably its most important document on health and safety to date, entitled; 'Time For Change - A trade union manifesto for reclaiming health and safety at work'.
Regular safety inspections, a maximum temperature in the workplace and far greater control of carcinogens are just some of the improvements that the TUC is calling for in their new ten point safety manifesto published Friday 8th February.
The report features ten key recommendations which the TUC believes, if implemented by a future government, could help turn around the UK's poor safety record, and prevent a good many of the 20,000 workplace-related deaths which occur in the UK every year.
The TUC is also hoping its manifesto for change will make the case for good health and safety practice, in a climate where safety laws are increasingly seen by ministers as unnecessary burdens on business, and where spending cuts and changes in regulations are making it more difficult to police employers who play fast and loose with their employees' safety.
Time for change says that rather than relaxing health and safety laws as is the trend under the current government, what is actually needed is a variety of changes designed to improve workplace safety and bring the UK more into line with our European competitors.
The UK doesn't have an amazing safety record, says the TUC.
In addition to the 20,000 -plus workplace deaths, last year 1.8 million people were living with an illness or injury caused by their work and another 115,000 employees had hurt themselves so badly at work they needed to take at least three days off sick.
The TUC believes that urgent action is needed to prevent the UK's safety record from getting any worse, and says that the government's approach to health and safety is placing more lives and careers needlessly at risk.
Top of the TUC list is the need for regular safety inspections which, it believes, help keep employers on their toes and much more likely to give workplace safety a high priority if they think a visit from a Health and Safety Executive or local authority inspector is a distinct possibility.
Unfortunately, says the TUC manifesto, the government doesn't seem to agree and from now on only high risk workplaces like building sites or workplaces with poor safety records are to be inspected.
Another important safety change would be the requirement for all workplaces employing more than ten people to have a union safety rep and for that person to be able to call in the appropriate safety authorities if they believe that their employer is ignoring safety concerns.
Time for change says that the UK's 150,000 union safety reps have already proved their worth. As well as helping to save the economy as much as £578m a year they prevent up to 13,000 accidents and 8,000 work-related illnesses a year.
Time for a change also says that all workers should be given access to occupational health services which could help prevent the occurrence of around 450,000 cases a year of conditions like stress, back pain and repetitive strain injury. Very few employees currently have access to such a service - if they did, huge savings could be made, says the TUC. Workers injured or made ill would need much less time off work and would have a greater chance of being able to return to their jobs, rather than becoming dependent on benefits.
There are seven other changes which the TUC believes could improve workplace safety and is calling for:
- The introduction of lower limits regarding dust in the workplace - dust exposure kills thousands of workers a year and can cause lung, throat and nose cancers, as well as chronic bronchitis and emphysema.
- Workers should no longer be exposed to cancer-causing substances at work which would mean removing carcinogens from the workplace completely - perhaps changing production processes or using other materials instead. This may not always be possible - radiographers can't be completely removed from radiation nor bus mechanics from diesel exhaust - but the risk to the worker can always be reduced, says the TUC.
- A new upper limit for a maximum temperature at work which would be 30oC for employees working indoors or 27oC for those involved in strenuous work. This change should be accompanied by a new legal duty on employers to protect staff working outside in hot weather, by providing them with sun protection and a ready supply of water.
- The UK's current safety laws are failing to protect groups of vulnerable workers - for example domestic workers - so the TUC would like to see a strengthening of the remit of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority to cover them.
- A new legal duty on directors which would set out the safety responsibilities of company directors and change boardroom attitudes towards company health and safety.
- Only firms which can demonstrate a good safety record and a commitment to promoting the well-being of their workforce should be allowed to bid for public contracts.
- The UK should adopt and comply with all the health and safety conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The government's failure to ratify key ILO conventions including those on asbestos, dock safety, construction, agriculture, chemicals, home work, mining and domestic workers is compromising the safety of millions of UK workers, says the TUC.
Commenting on the safety manifesto, TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady said:
"Every year 20,000 people die needlessly because of an accident or illness caused by their jobs, and many thousands more are unable to work because of health problems which began at work. This isn't just a national tragedy for the victims and their families, but is also a huge drain on the economy, costing the state billions of pounds a year.
It doesn't have to be this way, but unfortunately ministers seem convinced that despite the high number of deaths and injuries at work, safety regulations are too onerous on businesses and rather than being tightened, need to be watered down or removed entirely. This is completely the wrong approach, when what is needed is tougher enforcement and new safety laws. Our safety manifesto sets out how to do just that."
Unionsafety urges all those concerned about workplace health and safety, USRs, Trade Union officials and Branches to lobby their MPs highlighting the TUC's ten point plan.
Lobby your MP NOW by using this website to find who your local MP is and their contact details.
Click the pic above to download the TUC document or go to the E-Library Database, selecting search category 'Trade Union Reports'.
Source: TUC
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