- Conference
- 2012 National Delegate Conference
- Date
- 1 January 2012
- Decision
- Carried
UNISON is appalled by the continued attacks from the ConDem government on Health and Safety protection for workers. These attacks are despite a lack of any evidence from two government funded reviews to suggest any problems in the arrangements and legal protections afforded by the Health and Safety legislation, and European Directives. It is therefore reasonable to conclude that H&S regulations do not impose unnecessary burdens on business.
The measures that have already been introduced include:
1) the designation of large areas of work places as being of low risk and as such; no longer require proactive inspections;
2) the 35% cut in the Health and Safety Executive budget;
3) the move from three day to seven day Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) reporting requirements.
All of the above send a clear message to employers that it is acceptable to treat workers as expendable collateral in the quest for business development and financial growth.
The potential cost of this move to deregulate is a serious increase in incidents of accidents and worse health outcomes among the working population. All workers are put at heightened risk, not only as a result of the measures themselves, but also from the consequences of the additional pressures that these measures will place on those with supervisory or managerial responsibility. Those particularly at risk are our members at the lower end of the pay scale such as home care workers, clerical staff, caretakers/janitors and manual workers to name a few, who, like most low paid workers have little control over their working practises and conditions. These staff are particularly dependant on good management arrangements for Health and Safety to provide them with the necessary protection. However, given the extreme budgetary pressures placed on public service employers, and given the government’s strategy to free organisations from the likelihood of scrutiny from the regulator, they are highly likely to be in the forefront of risk from poor and under resourced policy decisions which will inevitably lead to more accidents and ill-health. An increase in accidents and injuries will undoubtedly arise from this strategy. In turn, this will increase the costs to society in general; through increased health and benefits costs; and the personal costs borne by the families and friends of individuals who suffer the consequences of these accidents.
Such is the extensive nature of the ConDems attacks, that there is an additional threat to the protection of workers, through the government’s stated aims to restrict the activities of trade union reps(activists), in particular, Health and Safety representatives, who perform an essential role in aiding the enforcement of safety legislation. Given the withdrawal of the HSE from proactive inspections, these activists are the last line of defence for workers from unsafe work practices.
Given these challenges, Conference calls upon UNISON to:
a) resolve to work with the TUC, the Hazards Campaign and other organisations at all levels, that share UNISON’s aims and objectives, to oppose attempts to weaken workers’ rights to health and safety protection;
b) challenge any attempts to reduce or redefine the role and scope of the role of safety representatives and other activists, within the trade union movement;
c) work with other TUC affiliated unions to consider appropriate challenges, formerly complain to the European Commission, or, where appropriate, by seeking judicial review when and wherever the government attempts to down grade regulations;
d) continue to challenge the misinformation on which the government have built their arguments for this agenda of deregulation; with an active, well resourced media campaign that keeps our members informed and illustrates the real threats and damage that deregulation poses to workers and the public.