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BT Launches New USR Database In Partnership With Its Trade Unions The BT Health and Safety Team and Safety Coordinators from the CWU recognise the value and benefit of providing a suitable and sufficient amount of time to the Union Safety Representative [USR] to carry out safety related activities and have been working together for a year on a new database to help in the allocation of USR time and organisation of workplace inspections. The existing system was old and not easy to maintain whilst the general health and safety consultation arrangements were no longer fit for purpose with hugely inconsistent data. The new system has been designed to be accessible by all BT employees, keep data current, and support the wider health and safety agenda with agreed standard documents via the intranet. It will hold a current and accurate store of USR names and the buildings or areas they have responsibility for. There will be a template for safety inspections which will give consistency across all USR's irrespective of which particular BT building they are resposible for. The joint approach is to encourage constructive dialogue between USR and their managers whilst raising the profile and importance of the USR role demonstrating the added value of USRs to BT overall and why they are appreciated by BT senior management.
“We have been working with the Senior Employee Relations Manager at BT and BT Safety Managers on this new system for over a year. It demonstrates that such partnership working makes the best policy; we now have a vibrant, modern and live system that will benefit all in making the workplace safer”. The new website pages can be found on BT’s Intranet, accessable only by BT Employees with special access permission, and is fully safeguarded to ensure no unauthorised access is possible. BT’s commitment to working in partnership with both BTU Trade Unions and their safety reps is perfectly summed up in the introduction in the user guidance document entitled ‘Union Database - Union Safety Co-ordinators’: ‘BT, CWU and Prospect recognise the value and benefit of providing a suitable and sufficient amount of time to te Union Safety Representative (USR) community to carry out safety related activities. The database will address one particular element of that time which will tend to make up the bulk of the regular time off a USR will require– building inspections and the associated travel time.
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Derek Maylor the Coord Chair said: 
The system has been designed to :-