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Welcome to the North West EditionWelcome to the North West Editionof UNISONs Health & Safety Newsletterof UNISONs Health & Safety Newsletter

UNISON Health & Safety

NewsletterIssue 1Issue 1January 2011January 2011

Lord Youngs Review of Health & SafetyThe last few months have been particularly troubling for those ofus active within Trade Unions involved in health and safety. Wehave seen a prolonged attack in this area over a number of yearsbut this has culminated in two events recently. Firstly the

publication of the Common Sense: Common Safety report byLord Young of Graffham, and secondly the announcementstemming from the Comprehensive Spending Review of 35% cutsto the HSE over the next 4 years.

Lord Young outrageously said People Occasionally get killed. Itsunfortunate, but its part of life. He only allowed three weeks forresearch into the issue and took about ten weeks to prepare hisreport.

The result of his deliberations were a number of recommendationsthat do nothing to improve the quality of health and safety in

Britain, and in the areas where UNISON are active, have thepotential to substantially weaken it.

He proposes that we should see offices, schools and shops aslow risk. As such they would not require detailed riskassessments but rather we should adopt a more mechanisticapproach tick box forms!! These are starting to appear on theHSE Website and from what I have seen fall well short of what wewould want!!

He wants to exempt employers who have staff working from homeand self employed people from undertaking risk assessments.

In schools, parents will be asked to sign a one off catch all formfor all external school activities such as educational visits, and theintroduction of a simplified risk assessment for classrooms. Healso suggests that there should be a shift from risk managementto risk benefit.

HELLOANDWELCOMEHello and welcome to the firstnewsletter produced by UNISONsNorth West Health & SafetyCommittee. TheaimofthenewsletterismakemembersawareoftheworkoftheHealth&SafetyCommitteeandtoensure that Health and Safety issues

are not compromised within the workplacedespiteallthejobandspendingcuts.

From my perspective Young and the other Con Dempoliticians have, yet again, proved that they know nothingabout the real costs of their policies on working people. In myview the recommendations from Young are a recipe for adisastrous increase in workplace accidents.

This is compounded by the spending cuts. The HSE has

already been hit hard over the last few years and havereached an all time low on inspections and enforcementactivities. This will further reduce this activity and leave us allthe poorer for it. This situation is no better in theEnvironmental Health Departments. Local Authorities arefacing cuts of up to 30%. It is up to each Local authority todetermine how those cuts will be delivered, however theEnvironmental Health Departments are likely to be seen as fairgain, given the Young Report, and therefore ripe for culling sothat other services are given a little more protection..

We as Trade Unionists are in a good position to fight back.Firstly we should all join the UNISON supported HazardsCampaign We didnt vote to die at work get posters and putthem up. Buy and wear the T-shirt, talk to colleagues and mostimportantly recruit them!! Become active in the Union, take onthe role of a Safety Rep and insist on proper riskassessments. Consult with both colleagues and management show them that as far as UNISON is concerned, Health andsafety is important. Let colleagues know what we are doing tofurther the cause of health and safety. Show them that theTrade Union is relevant and important and is determined tofight all the way to ensure that their health, safety and welfare

is not marginalised, trivialised or constrained by a tick boxmechanistic approach that will fall short of providing the properprotection that our Members deserve.

Nick Green Chair of UNISON North West Health & Safety Committee

Lord Young

Read me andpass me on

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28 February - International RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) Day

9 March - National No Smoking Day24 March - UNISONs National H & S Seminar26 March - March in March, Hyde Park, London24 March - World TB Day28 April - International Workers Memorial Day

INT ERNATIONAL WORKERSMEMORIAL DAY

THU RSDAY 28 APRIL 2011

REMEMBER THE DEAD...FIGHTFOR THE LIVI NG

Whatkillsmorepeopleworldwidethanwar?.......work!

Everyyearinthiscountryalone,millionsofpeoplearemade

illby theirwork,up to 50,000dieofworkrelated illnesses,

1,500 to 1,600 are killed in work related incidents and

thousandsareinjured. Almostallofthisillhealth,injuryand

death could be and should be prevented by employers

removingorcontrolling the risks thatcause them,butevery

day,poorworkplaceconditionscreateagreatrisktoourlives

andourhealth. Workplaceswithtradeunionsafetyrepsare

saferand

healthier.

Worldwide,

2.2

million

people

are

unnecessarilykilledbyworkeveryyear. Ensureyoujoininby

marking InternationalWorkersMemorialDay incampaigning

forgood,safe,healthyjobs inallworkplaces,thatdon'tcost

theearthandasocietybasedontheneedofthemanyrather

than the greed of the few. We need to make sure that

workershealthandsafetyisnotcompromisedduringthejob

losses and cuts in services. We need to make safer

workplaces not only for ourselves, but for the next

generation.

Look out on the UNISON north west regional website/NW

TUC

website

nearer

the

date

for

further

details

of

the

Manchester Workers Memorial Day Event or for an event

nearyou:

www.unisonnw.org.uk

www.tuc.org.uk/tuc/regions_info_northwest.cfm.

Contactyour localbranch tosee if theyareholdingaWMD

event. WorkersMemorialDay is a government recognised

day, fly yourworkplace flags halfmast,make sure you tell

yourcolleagues, familyand friends tojoin in. Your lifeand

healthmaydependonit!!

Greater Manchester Hazards Centre (GMHC) is a smallvoluntary organisation in existence since 1987, funded bythe Association of Greater Manchester Authorities and theCommunity Fund, plus affiliations, donations and fees.

Affiliates receive a copy of Hazardous Times newsletter. We are a partof the national Hazards Campaign , a network of organisations thatcampaigns for safer workplaces and improvements in workers health,safety and welfare. Our asbestos group has taken the lead in anational campaign to defend the interests of asbestos victims and for

reform of the state benefits system for asbestos victims. We promoteInternational Workers Memorial Day. We also work with sisterorganisations in Europe. One of the current national campaignsrunning at the moment is the We didnt Vote to Die at Work campaign,seehttp://www.hazards.org/votetodie/index.htm for further details.

Information and advice on health and safety in the workplace- GMHCcan provide information on the law, your rights, scientific and technicaldetails and advice on how to tackle problems on health and safety inyour workplace. This service is free to workers, safety reps andcommunity groups in the North West.

North West TUC Safety Reps Network - GMHC run this network of

safety reps on behalf of the TUC. Go to the website and join in thediscussion forum to share info with other safety reps and get help tosolve your workplace H&S problems.

For further details please see our websitewww.gmhazards.org.uk or please ring0161 636 7557

On 26 March 2011 , thousands of people will join the TUCmarch in London, to tell the government that savage spendingcuts are unnecessary and unfair. We don't believe the coalitionwhen they say we are all in this together - their public servicecuts will hit the most vulnerable the hardest.For more information, go to www.unison.org.uk/million

Want to know more about unionhealth and safety courses?check out the websites below:http://www.unisonnw.org.uk/courses/calendar.asphttp://www.unionlearn.org.uk/index.cfm/raot/

Want to see something in this

publication? Send yoursuggestions and ideas toa.lysons@unison.co.uk

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HEALTH & SAFETY REPS

REQUIRED

WE NEED YOU!MakeyourworkplacesafeEveryyearthousandsofpeoplesufferaccidentsandillhealthatwork.

Mostof

this

is

avoidable.

In

asurvey,

most

members

identified

health

safety

as

themostimportantworkplaceissueforthem.

HealthandSafetyinourworkplacesisavitalissueforeachandeveryoneofus.

Youremployerhasalegaldutytoprovideyouwithasafeworkingenvironmentandsafe

workingpractices. Iftheydonot,UNISONisheretochallengethem.

Thejobisimportantandveryrewarding.

Thisworkdependsonushavinglocalsafetyrepresentativesineveryworkplace.

Whynotbecomeone?

CananyonebecomeaUNISONSafetyRep?Yes,ifyouareaUNISONmemberandevenifyouarealreadyasteward. Itdoes

notmatterifyouworkfullorparttime,aslongas:

Youareemployedinthatworkplace

Themembersvoteforyou

TheunioninformsyouremployerinwritingthatyouareaUNISONsafetyrep

Whatdoesthejobinvolve?fyoudecidetobecomearep,yourjobwillbetolookafterthehealthandsafetyneeds

oftheUNISONmemberswhoworkwithyou.

Youwillhavepowersto:

Investigatecomplaintsonbehalfofmembers

Addressproblems

you

notice

or

that

members

bring

to

your

attention

Carryouthealthandsafetyinspectionsofyourworkplaceatleastfourtimesayear

Demandinformationifitaffectsthehealthandsafetyofyourmembers

Havetimeoffwithpaytodoyourjobasahealthandsafetyrepandtoattendtradeunioncourses

Theregulationswhichgiveyoutheserightsalsomakeitveryclearthatyouarenotlegallyliablefor

anythingyoudoorfailtodoasasafetyrep.

Doyouwanttofindoutmore?fyouareinterestedinknowingmoreaboutbecomingahealthandsafetyrep,contactyour

branchsecretaryorbranchhealthandsafetyofficernow. Theycangiveyoufulldetailsthework

nvolved,timeofffacilitiesandtrainingprovisions.

UNISONneeds

as

much

support

as

we

can

get

to

keep

up

the

pressure

for

decent

working

conditionsmorethanever,especiallyinthesetimesofcutbackswhereyourhealthandsafety

snotconsideredapriority. SoifanyofyourcolleaguesarenotyetinUNISON,whynotencourage

themtojoin?

Health&SafetyUNISONscommitmentnUNISON,healthandsafetywillalwaysbeamajorpriority

Welluseourexperiencetocampaigntoensurethatallourmembersworkingconditionsmeetproperhealth

andsafetystandards.

Everyyearwewillbetakinguphundredsofcasesofmanagementneglectintheworkplace.

Ourcommitmenttogoodhealthandsafetywillmakeemployerssitupandtakenotice.

Interested?Forfurtherinformation,askyourbranchsecretaryorbranchhealth&safetyofficerfordetailsorcontact bypostAngelaLysonsatUNISONRegionalOffice,ArenaPoint,1HuntsBank,Manchester,M31UNor

emaila.lysons@unison.co.uk

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If you need to contact a member of the Committee please email a.lysons@unison.co.uk (secretary to the Committee). January 2011

Members of the North West Regional Health & Safety Commit tee are:Nick Green (Chair) Joan Eatock Margaret SerajJimmy Challoner (Vice Chair) John Jones Maureen HowarthHeather Pitman John Mackey Rie HitchmoughJeanette Foster Lesley Anderton