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It is with Great Sadness that The NW BT Unions H&S Co-ord Announces The Passing Of our friend and 'unofficial' member of the Co-ord, Steve Mann.
Steve Mann was the Union's 'convener' of H&S meetings between BT's then Retail Division and the CWU Safety Reps and T&FS national officers involved, and as a result, the concerns of the Unions' safety reps were fully represented and progressed at regional and national level. Derek Maylor, the Co-ord's Chairperson for many years, alerted the co-ord members to the sad news which had been announced this morning by the CWU's General Secretary, Dave Ward via his social media account on Twitter (now known as X):
You can read his tribute on Twitter (now known as 'X' ) further down this page along with other tributes. Derek added in a WhatsApp message to the CWU's North West Health & Safety Forum and the NW BT Unions H&S Co-ord: "Don't know if you've seen, but Steve Mann has passed away. He was always fully supportive of NW Co-ord, attended NW Forum whenever he could, and highlighted our representation at HO, pushed the website above CWU's own safety pages. Knew he wasn't in best of health but a big loss, lovely man."
'Steve’s death was devastating news for us all and for me difficult to take in when I was informed whilst on leave. He told unionsafety: "I have written an obituary for Steve which you are welcome to publish which includes the funeral He opens his tribute to Steve: 'It was with great sadness that I learned of the recent death of Steve Mann, a tireless campaigner
for the health and safety of workers. Our deepest condolences go out to his loved ones, his wife Jennifer, son Kevin, daughter Clare You can learn so much about Steve Mann and the person he truly was, and the humanity with which he led his life: Obituary - Steve Mann CWU Health & Safety Officer Chris Ingram, editor of unionsafety website speaking in a personal capacity; said of Steve Mann:
His work within the T&FS constituency on Health & Safety matters affecting all CWU members was never replicated after his early retirement from the CWU, resulting in the collapse of national representation to the same extent, and because of the impact of the Union's Re-Design project and its total disdain for Health & Safety as a priority issue for CWU HQ. Steve's experience and commitment has been greatly missed, as H&S department has been decimated in terms of resources. Indeed, many believe that if it were not for National Officer, Dave Joyce, with whom Steve worked closely; the H&S Dept would no longer exist. Steve's support for the unionsafety website and the North West BT Unions H&S Co-ord was never lacking and neither was his personal support to me. His was the manner of a sincere and caring gentleman, and as such, will be truly missed in a time where respect and principle is truly missing from today's society and workplaces. I owe a lot to Steve, and his passing has truly shocked and saddened me. My heart goes out to his family and his friends."
You can read about their award here: CWU Wins Major Health & Safety Award Readers of this website will remember that Steve published a book in 2014 entitled 'Sadism, Songs, and Stolen Liberty' about his days in the Royal Navy, which was reviewed in this news item here: The Life Of A Teenager Locked Into 5 Years Of Military Hell and by the CWU national website. But what many won't know is how his passing has resulted in numerous tributes not only from his trade union colleagues but also those who knew him at Hornsey & Friern Barnet Labour Partyand at his beloved football club, Arsenal. Click on the pics below to go to the original tribute.
Further tributes from social media:
See also: CWU's Steve Mann Speaks On Acoustic Shock At Northern TUC Meeting On Noise At Work Obituary - Steve Mann CWU Health & Safety Officer |
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As former health and safety advisor for the Union's T&FS constituency, Steve worked closely with the North West, and attended many of our H&S Co-ord meetings whenever he could.
"Very sad news that Steve Mann, former health and safety advisor for our TFS constituency has passed away. Steve was a great asset to our union over many many years and was very well respected not just in CWU but also for his wider activism across the labour movement. He will be sorely missed by the union and our sincere condolences go to Steve’s family. RIP Steve."
Dave Joyce, CWU's National Health, Safety, and Environment Officer said: 
"Steve was a true gentleman, and someone who showed respect to everyone he worked with. He was instrumental in supporting my involvement with issues of health & safety within BT Call Centres, both at regional and national level. He never had a bad word to say about anyone. 
In 2008, along with CWU's National Health, Safety and Environment Officer Dave Joyce, Steve won an important Health & Safety Award, which this website reported at the time. The award made the CWU, the first trade union to win the prestigious Safety & Health Practitioner/Institute Of Occupational Safety & Heath award; and put the CWU in the limelight for the work the Union was doing on many important areas of workplace health and safety, including Acoustic Shock, Display Screen Equipment and call centre working, along with that of Dangerous Dogs and Working From Heights.
