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This, the third edition of the Hazards Charter, was produced following debate at the Tenth National Hazards Conference in Bristol, in March 1999 - nearly two years after the election of the Labour government. It includes additions and amendments made at that conference and sets out an agenda for action in the 21st century.

The Charter is a collective statement of the aims and demands of the Hazards Campaign for a massive improvement in occupational health and safety for all workers in the UK. It is not a finished document, but an evolving document which reflects the current concerns amongst activists regarding the hazards and health and safety problems faced every day by people at work. Major changes since the last edition include the key demand of Trade Union Safety Representatives to have wider powers of inspection and authorisation to impose Provisional Improvement Notices.

Context

Despite the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act and all the recent European inspired Regulations, 4 million workers each year suffer some form of work related ill-health, up to 3,000 are killed in incidents in connection with work and 20,000 die from occupational diseases. Penalties for Health & Safety breaches - even if they kill or maim workers - are still derisory. The rate of workplace inspections carried out by HSE Inspectors is now so low that, on average, companies can expect a visit only once in every 17 years.

The present government has begun to reverse some of the worst acts of the previous 18 years. Funding for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been improved. HSE Inspectors have been reminded of the requirement to consult with safety representatives. The requirement for Inspectors to advise employers in advance of the possibility of an Improvement Notice being served has been removed. The government has clearly stated that occupational safety and health is a priority and that penalties for offenders should be raised. New legislation for the offence of Corporate Killing is also being considered.

Is this enough? We welcome the efforts of the government so far but urge greater speed and a higher priority for all occupational safety and health issues. We call on the government to give serious consideration to this charter and the introduction of our major demands. A major fear of Hazards Campaigners is that the government's efforts to be fair to business and enterprise threaten worker's health and safety, as employers tend to take this as a licence to continue killing and maiming workers in pursuit of bigger profits, economies or targets. The government is very keen on partnership between trade unions and employers. The Hazards Campaign demands the only meaningful partnership that can deliver improved health and safety: a partnership of equals. The government must adopt the demands of this Charter which will enhance and empower the trade union and workers side of the partnership and it must ensure employers compliance with all health and safety law through rigorous enforcement. The government's present philosophy of partnership is the existing abusive partnership that kills, maims and diseases millions annually. The cost of industrial disease and serious injuries at work is not only borne by the victims, their families also pay a terrible price. The cost to the nation and the economy, just in terms of welfare benefits and the burdens placed on the NHS, runs to billions of pounds each year. By comparison, the sums awarded to victims in compensation are insignificant.

This Charter is radical in the sense that it points out that at the end of the 20th Century people in Britain are still dying from causes that could be stopped now with appropriate political will. We know the causes; we know what to do. What is lacking are the resources and clear political will to take action. 1999 is the 25^th anniversary of the Health and Safety at Work Act and the 21^st anniversary of the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations. A great deal has changed in the last 25 years and the assumptions underlying the Health & Safety at Work Act no longer hold true. The legislation does not fit easily with the enormous changes in employment patterns that have occurred since 1974. In 1999 we have a hugely increased number of workers in workplaces not represented by trade unions, mostly small, medium and even micro sized enterprises. We have seen an explosion of the "contract culture" - contracting out, out-sourcing, privatisation - an increase in 'self employment', in homeworking, the casualisation of large groups of peripheral workers through agency work and short term, temporary contracts. A smaller group of core workers are managing to hold onto their higher standards, for the moment. All of this has reduced the standards of health and safety for all workers, but impacted particularly on these marginalised peripheral workers. These developments have led to an increase in insecurity, fear, harassment and bullying, and the stress-related illnesses that follow, for all workers.

The government is presently reviewing safety reps rights and health and safety legislation generally. The Hazards Campaign calls on the government to take this opportunity to revitalise health and safety law by recognising and enhancing the role of trade unions and the trade union safety representative who already save lives, by giving them more powers. We call on the government to give workers more control over their own working conditions and by strict and rigorous enforcement to ensure absolute compliance by all employers with all health and safety legislation NOW.

The National Hazards Campaign

The Hazards Campaign is a national network established in 1988, financed by donations from supporting groups and individuals. It draws together Hazards Centres, Occupational Health Projects, health and safety groups and Trades Union Councils' Safety Committees, specific campaigns and individual health and safety activists. Specific campaign groups include the Construction Safety Campaign, bereaved relatives groups, asbestos support groups, RSI support groups, pesticide sufferers groups, campaigns against hazards affecting black and ethnic minority groups and toxic waste groups.

The campaign works by: sharing information and skills; campaigning on specific issues; acting as a national voice; issuing press releases; holding conferences; establishing national initiatives, including Workers Memorial Day,; lobbying MPs, MEPs and statutory bodies. The Campaign organises the annual Hazards Conference and holds meetings about five times a year which are open to anyone sharing the aims of the campaign.