- Conference
- 2016 Higher Education Service Group Conference
- Date
- 4 November 2015
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes that Health and Safety has not been exempt from the government’s austerity cuts agenda. The continued drive to “cut red tape” has brought changes to both the way work environments and hazardous substances are classified.
Conference welcomes the initiative to standardise substance labelling worldwide and agree that when it comes to health and safety there is no room for error.
Although we welcome any measure that keeps workers healthy and safe, we must ensure that the changes do not compromise the health, safety and wellbeing of our members at work.
Working in the Higher Education sector, employees could come across a number of potential hazards on a daily basis. Many members working in the sector including researchers, lab technicians, grounds staff and cleaners need to be aware of the many potential hazards they will encounter such as;
a)chemicals and products containing chemicals
b)fumes
c)dusts
d)vapours
e)mists
f)gases
g)biological agents – this includes germs, cell cultures and DNA
h)nanoparticles
i)substances which are hazardous solely by nature of being explosive, flammable, or radioactive
However, despite the activities it undertakes, Higher Education is now not seen as a high risk sector and is no-longer subject to proactive inspections from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
Conference recognises the need for our employers and the government to understand that we place enormous value on health and safety and will not sit back and let them destroy our right to a healthy and safe workplace through the relaxation and removal of the measures and provisions provided by excising legislation.
Conference calls on the Higher Education Service Group Executive to:
1)Publicise UNISON’s recently revised safety rep guide on Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) amongst branches with members in Higher Education, recommending its use by safety activists and branch officers to arm themselves in discussions with their employer.
2)Consider working with the wider union to;
A)produce safety rep guidance on other hazardous substances [not covered by COSHH and therefore not in the guide] including substances which are hazardous solely by nature of being explosive, flammable, or radioactive; and perhaps even separate guidance on nanoparticles.
B)Lobby the government to review the decision to exclude Higher Education Institutions from proactive inspection.
3) Encourage branches to undertake a programme of work place inspections including review of risk assessment, training activities and any other documentation relevant to safety in the workplace as identified in the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977.
4) Work with branches to develop case studies demonstrating the benefits of transparency in health and safety in the sector on the whole. Share these case studies with branches and seek their promotion to other higher education employers via the Higher Education Safety and Health Forum (HESH).
5) Ensure that health and safety in Higher Education is a feature at the next health and safety seminar.
6) Develop health and safety materials which are sector specific and encourages recruitment around health and safety.