UCATT Says Black Report Should Focus On All Workers

Construction union UCATT have warned that the Black Report on occupational health has not taken into account the actual realities of the world of employment.

UCATT welcomes the notion that occupational health should work more closely with mainstream healthcare to ensure that levels of ill health and work absence are reduced. However the report only focuses on employees.

In the construction industry many people are classified as workers and have consequently fewer employment rights. There are over 1 million bogus self-employed workers in the construction industry, operating under the Construction Industry taxation Scheme (CIS). These workers are bogus self-employed, in that they are classified as self-employed but have all the employment characteristics of employees. Most of these would be classified as workers and would seem to be excluded from the proposals in the Black Report.

Occupational health is a key issue in the construction industry. Most construction workers are forced to retire before the official retirement age, due to health reasons.

Alan Ritchie, general secretary of construction union UCATT, said: “It is a positive move that occupational health is being taken seriously. To be successful schemes must be able to help those most at risk of injury and illness at work. A narrow definition of who should or should not be entitled to occupational health schemes must be avoided, if the reports aims are to be achieved.”

UCATT also have reservations about the Fit Note proposals. Unless GPs receive far more training in what workers can and cannot do, there is a real danger that workers could be sent back to work and asked to perform tasks, of which they are not capable.

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