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From: Hazards Campaign Charter
Section:
Safety Representatives' Rights
Establish the Right to Recognition, Irrespective of Workplace
Recognition Agreement
The role of safety representatives in establishing and maintaining
safe working environments is integral to both the letter and spirit
of the Health and Safety at Work Act. Recent research confirmed
this by showing that workers are twice as safe in unionised workplaces
where safety representatives are active and have full consultation
rights.
Tory anti-Trade Union legislation effectively removed the right
of employees to elect trade union safety representatives in those
organisations and companies that have denied or withdrawn recognition
to trade unions. The Hazards Campaign demands early legislation
to establish the right of trade union members to elect safety representatives
and establish safety committees on the basis of the 1977 Safety
Representatives and Safety Committees (SRSC) Regulations, irrespective
of whether the employer recognises a trade union for collective
bargaining.
Roving or regional safety representatives are clearly needed in
the construction, agriculture, homeworking, hotel & catering,
and retail industries where workers are widely dispersed. Changes
in the economy, such as casualisation, contracting-out and agency
working mean that roving reps are now needed in many more workplaces.
In an increasingly complex working environment where unions represent
members across multiple employers and where staff work in isolated
and hazardous conditions, the SRSC regulations no longer give unions
the appropriate power to support their members. The Hazards Campaign
therefore demands that the SRSC Regs are modified to reflect this
trend and oblige employers to provide facilities for the appropriate
union representative at branch and regional levels to support all
members of that union wherever and for whoever they work.
Establish "Shared Workplace" Safety Committees
The SRSC Regulations do not provide for safety committees on sites
or in organisations where the employees of more than one employer
are working. This is becoming an increasing problem in the public
sector where the trend towards appointing contractors and the out-sourcing
of services and manufacturing is growing. The Hazards Campaign demands
that the SRSC Regulations are modified to provide for Comprehensive
Site Safety Committees in shared workplaces.
Establish the Right to "Stop the Job"
The Hazards Campaign urges early legislation to establish the right
of elected safety representatives to "stop the job" in
circumstances where an unacceptable hazard or risk of injury is
identified. The latter could be achieved by a clearer definition
of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations.
Establish an automatic right to reinstatement for Safety Representatives
The Hazards Campaign calls for changes in the unfair dismissal
law to provide for mandatory reinstatement of safety representatives
proved to have been dismissed over representation on health and
safety issues and also for the removal on the upper limit to compensation
that can be awarded at an Employment Tribunal.
We also call for automatic re-instatement in cases where Safety
Representatives have been dismissed for "whistle-blowing"
over health & safety issues. The Hazards Campaign believes that
the protections given in the Public Interest Disclosure Act do not
go far enough.
Provisional Improvement Notices originated in Australia where they
are part of the 1985 Occupational Health and Safety Act and give
safety representatives the right to impose a notice to take action
over health and safety breaches, on their employers. It also forces
the employer to justify their decision to the Labour Inspectorate
who arbitrate if the employer refuses to take action after a set
number of days.
HSE research shows that at least 75% of accidents and injuries
are predictable and therefore preventable. Under existing funding,
most workplaces will rarely be inspected.- once in every 17 years.
Although HSE Inspectors or Environmental Health Officers can impose
Prohibition and Improvement Notices, in fact this rarely occurs
until there has been an incident. If safety procedures within the
workplace are not working properly, such that the health & safety
representative feels that workers are at risk of injury or illness,
the Hazards Campaign demands the legal empowerment of the safety
representative to serve 'Provisional Improvement Notice' (PINs)
on their employers. A copy of the PIN would be sent to the enforcement
agency, and requires the employer to act within a specified period.
The Hazards Campaign believes this would radically improve health
and safety and reduce the likelihood of serious accidents and injury.
The demand for UK trade union safety representatives to have the
power to serve PINs, has been adopted by a number of trade unions
and is official TUC policy. The Hazards Campaign calls for urgent
legislation on PINs.
Right for Safety Reps to act on environmental issues
The workplace environment is part of the wider environment, and
many work activities contribute to environmental pollution. Communities
living near sources of industrial pollution suffer adverse health
and reduced life expectancy. It is therefore essential that safety
representatives have the right to investigate and take-up environmental
problems. The Hazards Campaign demands that safety representatives
are included in consultation and negotiation over measures to reduce
the impact of workplace activities that damage the wider environment.
Establish a National Inspection Day for Safety Representatives
After 21 years, the Hazards Campaign believes that Safety Representatives
should celebrate the establishment of the rights and functions in
the Safety Representatives and Safety Committee Regulations. We
call on the TUC and all unions to campaign to establish an annual
National Inspection Day on the anniversary date of the SRSC Regulations,
October 1st each year. This celebratory inspection should
be in addition to those normally undertaken by Safety Representatives
as their statutory right. Where that date falls on a non-working
day for any individual Safety Representative, the inspection shall
be conducted on the first working day following the 1st
October.
Funding for Trade Union Education for Safety Representatives
The Hazards Campaign demands that the SRSC Regulations are amended
to strengthen the provisions for training of Safety Representatives,
and roving and regional representatives, by removing the qualification
"as may be reasonable in the circumstances" in Regulation
4(2)b and making training mandatory. The SRSC Regs. should be amended
to provide for appropriate cover for reps undertaking their duties
and training so they can exercise their right to attend independent
TU Education courses. This right must also be supported by adequate
funding to trade unions and the TUC to establish an expanded range
of courses to provide this independent, regularly up-dated, training
for Safety Representatives on new legislation, latest standards
and good practice. Hazards Campaign demands that the government
provides adequate funding for TU education and urgently sets aside
funding for the training of safety representatives in the use of
PINs.
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