Health and Safety
We're Here to Make Our Industry Safer.There is no doubt that construction is one of the most dangerous industries in the UK. Every year dozens of people die on site, several thousands get injured or develop work-related health problems. This is why improving health and safety on construction sites plays a key role in UCATT's daily work and ongoing campaigns. We want employers to comply with the existing health and safety regulations, and we want workers to know their rights. Every worker also needs to have a good grasp of major workplace dangers so they can contribute to a better protection. In the section Key Health and Safety Issues you find information about major health and safety issues such as:
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Key Health & Safety Issues
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Friday, 01 August 2008
Safety Representatives
Trade union safety representatives are appointed by trade unions to represent their members (and sometimes the entire workforce) on health and safety issues. There is evidence that workplaces with safety reps and joint union-management safety committees have injury rates less than half of those without such representation.
In workplaces where no union safety rep has been appointed, where the safety rep does not represent the whole workforce and in non-unionised workplaces an employer has to consult the workers directly or through an elected representative of employee safety.
Legal background
Most of the law dealing with the functions of trade union safety reps is contained in the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations (SRSC) 1977 (as amended by the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992) and the Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996.
The Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977 relate to the trade union safety reps, while the Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996 deal with the representation at non-unionised workplaces.
A comprehensive outline of the legal framework is given in the so-called Brown Book. It entails the two above-mentioned main pieces of legislation, Codes of Practice relating to safety representatives and guidance notes (download of the TUC edition is available at www.tuc.org.uk/extras/brownbook.pdf).
The main roles of union safety reps are (see Reg 4-6 of the SRSC):
- representing employees in discussions with the employer on health, safety or welfare issues and in discussions with HSE or other enforcing authorities
- being consulted in good time over a large range of health and safety issues
- being involved with risk assessment procedures
- attending safety committee meetings
- having access to relevant health and safety information
- investigating potential hazards and dangerous occurrences and examine the cause of accidents
- investigating employees' complaints
- consulting with and receiving information from health and safety inspectors.
In order to be able to do so, they need to
- be given paid time off from their normal work to carry out their functions and undergo training
- have access to suitable facilities and assistance.
Safety committees
In addition, if two or more safety representatives request that an employer sets up a safety committee, the employer has to do so within three months following the request. The role of safety committees is to develop and review safe systems of work and safety procedures. As such they should:
- analyse accidents and causes of notifiable occupational diseases
- review risk assessments
- examine safety audit reports
- monitor the effectiveness of health and safety training
- consider reports and information provided by HSE inspectors and Environmental Health Officers
- monitor and review the adequacy of health and safety communication and publicity within the workplace
- continuously monitor all arrangements for health and safety and revise them whenever necessary.
Increasing safety reps’ rights
Developments to increase safety reps’ right stalled in 2007 despite continuous demands from unions, campaigners and safety professionals. The main demand has been that union safety reps get endowed with the right to serve provisional improvement notices (PINs) on their employers. Used in some Australian states they led to better compliance with health and safety and increased worker involvement.
Also the 2008 DWP Select Committee Report recommended that the minister should “set out what steps he plans to enhance the role of safety representatives”.
Protection from Victimisation
Sections 44 and 100 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA) offers protection from victimisation for safety reps and other workers because of health and safety activities. According to the Act a dismissal is unfair if the reason for that dismissal is that the employee:
- carries out or proposes to carry out action as a safety rep
- takes part or proposes to take part in consultations with the employer in elections for employee safety representatives
- brings to the employers' attention circumstances which they believe are harmful to health and safety.
An employee who is victimised for any of the above reasons has a right to take the case to an employment tribunal.
Want to become a safety rep?
As a safety rep you can make a real difference for the health and safety of yourself and everybody else in your workplace. You will
- help to reduce injuries at work
- contribute to the reduction of occupational ill-health
- encourage greater reporting of injuries
- make workers more confident
- help develop a more positive safety culture in your workplace.
If you are interested in becoming a UCATT safety representative please contact your regional office for further information.