Britain: Unions reject government safety plan

Unions have said a resounding "no" to the government's strategy for workplace health and safety and have called for a greater emphasis on enforcement, more rights for safety reps and more resources for the Health and Safety Executive.

Introducing the main health and safety motion at TUC Congress this month, GMB general secretary Kevin Curran said union safety reps were "the success story of the last three decades" and added: "It's a genuine mystery to me why this fantastic contribution to society goes unrecognised by government."

He said government foot-dragging was because "our demands are at odds with the deregulatory agenda which this government seems determined to pursue."

Curran added that rather than opt for greater safety rep involvement, better inspection and stronger enforcement, "the government is systematically undermining the health and safety system to reduce so-called burdens on business. And sadly, the chair of the Health and Safety Commission seems unable or unwilling to oppose this folly."

Curran said there were two straightforward choices - deregulation, or "a system - funded by a compulsory levy on employers - of support for safety reps, effective inspection and enforcement of strong laws that will deliver a reduction in deaths, injury and disease." Union delegates to Congress voted for the latter route, which will now form the basis of a union campaign strategy to be headed by TUC..

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GMB speech for Composite 19 on
health and safety at work

"KEVIN CURRAN, GMB, DELIGHTED TO BE MOVING COMPOSITE 19 ON HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK.

"DELIGHTED BECAUSE THE TRACK RECORD OF TRADE UNIONS ON HEALTH AND SAFETY IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO BE PROUD OF.

"IN MY VIEW, UNION SAFETY REPRESENTATIVES ARE THE SUCCESS STORY OF THE LAST THREE DECADES:

• THOUSANDS OF ACTIVE REPS, TRAINED BY THEIR UNIONS AND THE TUC, PROTECTING HEALTH AND SAFETY IN WORKPLACES ALL OVER BRITAIN.

• INDEPENDENT RESEARCH PROVES THAT WORKPLACES WHERE UNIONS ARE PRESENT ARE TWICE AS SAFE AS UNORGANISED ONES.

• EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT PEOPLE JOIN UNIONS SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE OF OUR RECORD ON TACKLING HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUES.

"UNION SAFETY REPS - REDUCING RISK AND PROTECTING PEOPLE.

DELIVERING FOR PEOPLE AT WORK.

SO IT'S A GENUINE MYSTERY TO ME WHY THIS FANTASTIC CONTRIBUTION TO SOCIETY GOES UNRECOGNISED BY GOVERNMENT.

WE CONTRIBUTE SO SIGNIFICANTLY, AND ACHIEVE SO MUCH SUCCESS IN REDUCING INJURY AND DISEASE - IMAGINE WHAT WE COULD DO IF WE HAD MORE SUPPORT!

YET THE THINGS THAT WE KNOW WOULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE - EVERY IMPROVEMENT WE SUGGEST, OR INCREASED RIGHT THAT WE ASK FOR, IS TURNED DOWN FLAT!

• ROVING SAFETY REPS, SO THAT WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO REPRESENT OUR MEMBERS EFFECTIVELY;

• THE RIGHT TO STOP THE JOB;

• THE RIGHT TO ISSUE PROVISIONAL IMPROVEMENT NOTICES;

• THE RIGHT TO PRIVATELY PROSECUTE NEGLIGENT EMPLOYERS ON BEHALF OF OUR MEMBERS.

"SO, WHY THIS RELUCTANCE TO ENSURE THAT WE CAN FURTHER INCREASE OUR CONTRIBUTION TO PREVENTION?

"THE ANSWER IS, THAT DESPITE THE PROVEN SUCCESS ACHIEVED BY UNIONS, OUR DEMANDS ARE AT ODDS WITH THE DEREGULATORY AGENDA WHICH THIS GOVERNMENT SEEMS DETERMINED TO PURSUE.

"RATHER THAN A REGIME BASED UPON:

• INCREASED RIGHTS AND MORE INVOLVEMENT OF UNION REPS;

• VIGILANCE BY A WELL FUNDED, PROPERLY RESOURCED AND EFFECTIVE INSPECTORATE;

• AND STRONGER ENFORCEMENT OF THE LAW

"THE GOVERNMENT IS SYSTEMATICALLY UNDERMINING THE HEALTH AND SAFETY SYSTEM TO REDUCE SO-CALLED BURDENS ON BUSINESS.

"AND SADLY, THE CHAIR OF THE HEALTH AND SAFETY COMMISSION SEEMS UNABLE OR UNWILLING TO OPPOSE THIS FOLLY.

"THE RECENT SELECT COMMITTEE REPORT PRESENTED A TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO GOVERNMENT, AND DEMAND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ITS WISE AND SENSIBLE RECOMMENDATIONS.

"TO DEMAND THE TOOLS, THE SUPPORT, AND THE RESOURCES NEEDED TO TACKLE THE FAILURE OF EMPLOYERS TO PROTECT THEIR WORKFORCES.

"TO SUPPORT A REPORT THAT RECOGNISED THAT DECISIVE ACTION IS NECESSARY IF WORK-RELATED DEATHS, INJURIES AND DISEASE ARE TO BE REDUCED.

"BUT THE INK WAS BARELY DRY ON THE REPORT BEFORE THE CHAIR, WITHOUT EVEN CONSULTING THE TUC COMMISIONERS, DECLARED AGAINST IMPROVED RIGHTS FOR SAFETY REPS!!

"AND HE DID THAT AT A PRESS CONFERENCE CALLED TO ANNOUNCE AN INCREASE IN DEATHS AT WORK. HOW IRONIC.

"THE GOVERNMENT AND THE COMMISSION FACE A SIMPLE CHOICE.

"TO PURSUE, TO THE DELIGHT OF NEGLIGENT EMPLOYERS, A STRATEGY THAT WILL REVERSE HEALTH AND SAFETY GAINS ACHIEVED OVER THE LAST THIRTY YEARS. A STRATEGY WHICH THE SELECT COMMITTEE EXPLICITLY REJECTED, AND WHICH THE UNIONS ARE FIRMLY OPPOSED TO.

"OR, ADOPT A RADICAL AGENDA FOR IMPROVING HEALTH AND SAFETY THAT WILL DELIVER FOR PEOPLE AT WORK - AN AGENDA THAT SHOULD BE RESOURCED BY A WORK ENVIRONMENT FUND THAT EVERY EMPLOYER MUST CONTRIBUTE TO.

"AN AGENDA BASED UPON INCREASED INSPECTION, VIGILANCE AND ENFORCEMENT, THAT ENSHRINES THE INVOLVEMENT OF UNIONS.

"CONGRESS, THAT'S THE CHOICE.

"THE GOVERNMENT IS AT THE CROSSROADS ON HEALTH AND SAFETY.

"DOWN ONE ROAD - DEREGULATION.

"OR A SYSTEM - FUNDED BY A COMPULSORY LEVY ON EMPLOYERS - OF SUPPORT FOR SAFETY REPS, EFFECTIVE INSPECTION, AND ENFORCEMENT OF STRONG LAWS THAT WILL DELIVER A REDUCTION IN DEATHS, INJURY AND DISEASE.

"IT'S AS STRAIGHTFORWARD AS THAT.

"IT'S BLINDINGLY OBVIOUS WHICH PATH NEEDS TO BE FOLLOWED.

"AND WE NEED STRONG LEADERSHIP FROM THE HSC TO TAKE US DOWN THE ANTI-DEREGULATION PATH.

"DEREGULATION DOES NOT REDUCE WORKPLACE RISKS.

"DEREGULATION WILL NOT PREVENT DEATHS AND DISEASE.

"DEREGULATION CAN NOT DELIVER FOR PEOPLE AT WORK.

"CONGRESS, I MOVE."

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DECISION, TUC Congress, September 2004

Composite 19: Health and safety at work

Congress welcomes the long overdue acknowledgement by the Health and Safety Commission, in its Statement on Worker Involvement and Consultation, that the involvement of trade union safety representatives leads to higher levels of compliance and better health and safety performance.

Congress believes that this evidence of the positive benefits of workers’ involvement should be integrated into the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) assessment of an employers’ health and safety ‘management system’. Congress calls upon the General Council to campaign for this change to inspection policy, and calls upon its own representatives at the Commission to insist that its focus should return to one of enforcement.

Congress is concerned over recent declarations from the Health and Safety Commission that they are directing the HSE to move away from enforcement to encouragement.

Congress also notes a series of failures to introduce, or call for, measures designed to protect workers such as:

i) action on corporate killing;

ii) regulations or code of practice to tackle stress;

iii) action to support the introduction of roving safety reps;

iv) action to introduce an upper limit on working temperature;

v) action to improve the rights and functions of safety reps;

vi) action to make violence to workers a reportable event; and

vii) action to support an end to the individual opt-out in the UK from the Working Time Directive.

Congress welcomes the report from the Department of Work and Pensions Select Committee calling for the number of HSE Inspectors to be doubled and HSE funding to be increased. Congress calls on the Government to accept these findings, which are in line with evidence submitted by the TUC and Prospect.

Although Congress welcomes the allocation of £3m public funding over three years for the Workers’ Safety Advisor Challenge Fund, Congress believes this is totally inadequate to help reduce the estimated £15-17 billion that poor occupational health and safety standards cost the British economy each year. Congress further believes that the primary responsibility for providing the funding for initiatives to prevent accidents and ill-health lies with employers, whose management failures are mainly responsible for the occupational injury and disease suffered by their workers.

Congress recognises that where flagrant health and safety crimes are committed the case for punitive action is unquestionable. Congress notes that there are too many deaths at work, and believes that such tragedies as Tebay and Morecambe Bay once again highlight the urgent need for corporate manslaughter legislation. Congress is appalled that despite repeated promises the Government have still failed to act, and calls on the TUC to campaign to ensure that death at work caused by employer negligence is a crime that does not pay, through the promotion of full criminal responsibility and sanctions for employers whose action (or inaction) jeopardises, injures or kills workers.

Congress calls on the General Council to undertake a review of the functioning of the HSC, including the accountability mechanisms of the TUC commissioners, over the coming year, with a view to improving its effectiveness in protecting the health and safety of working people.

Congress therefore calls upon the General Council to mount a sustained campaign aimed at persuading Government to develop a new and comprehensive strategy for reducing occupational deaths, injuries, and disease. This strategy should be based upon increasing the involvement of trade unions, and generating funds for prevention from employers, and should include:

a) enhancements to the function of safety reps including amending the appropriate legislation, specifically including Regulation 8 of the Safety Representatives’ Regulations, to give trade unions the legal right to appoint ‘roving safety representatives’ who need not be employees of the company employing the members that they represent;

b) introducing a ‘work environment fund’ (WEF) to generate resources for a wide range of health and safety purposes, paid for by a payroll-based levy on employers, with the WEF under tripartite control;

c) proper funding and direction for the Health and Safety Executive to ensure enforcement of all health and safety legislation;

d) the Government enacting the recommendations of the Works and Pensions Select Committee report on the HSC and introducing legislation in the forthcoming parliamentary term on corporate manslaughter, so that companies and their directors in both the public and private sector can be held to account; and

e) recognising that violence against frontline workers constitutes a substantial proportion of workplace injuries - the strategy should encourage the police and the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships to give greater priority to working with employers and unions to minimise risks and deal with persistent offenders.

Mover: GMB

Seconder: Napo

Supporters: Amicus

Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers

Public and Commercial Services Union

Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union

Prospect

National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers

National Union of Mineworkers

Full list of TUC Congress 2004 decisions