Day of Action for Health and Safety

The TUC is organising a Day of Action to defend health and safety. This will be held on 28 April 2012, which is International Workers Memorial Day when we traditionally remember the dead and fight for the living. Never has that message been more important than now.

Let's ensure that we make it clear that we want clear commitments and action from those who should be protecting us.

Click here to download the Campaign Poster and Leaflet for your workplace

HOORAY FOR UNION H&S REPS

One of the principles behind Britain's health and safety laws is the belief that the involvement of the workforce is crucial to achieving good standards of health and safety, and that health and safety systems work best when trade unions and employers work together.

It cannot be disputed that better standards of health and safety are achieved in unionised workplaces than in similar non-unionised ones. At the core of this are health and safety representatives. This group of unpaid volunteers make a massive difference in the workplace. In recent years they have saved countless lives, and helped stop millions of workers from being injured or made ill by their work.

Yet their work seems to go unnoticed and unrewarded by many employers and by the government. In fact a number of proposed changes will either make it more difficult for health and safety representatives to do their job, or give them an even bigger workload.

There are around 150,000 union health and safety representatives appointed and supported by trade unions. A DTI paper published in January 2007, Workplace Representatives: A review of their facilities and facility time, estimates that safety representatives at 2004 prices save society between £181m and £578m each year. It estimates safety representatives prevent between 8,000 and 13,000 workplace accidents and between 3,000 and 8,000 work-related illnesses.