Launch of safety reps charter
October 1st 2008 The TUC has announced a
new charter to enhance the
role of safety representatives
in the workplace.
The Safety
Representatives Charter,
launched to coincide with
the 'European Week for the
Healthy Workforce'
campaign, makes the case
for better communication
with safety reps giving
examples of how they have
made a real difference and
how, by not involving them,
workers have been injured or
even killed.
The charter points to
research from around the
world that consistently links
consultation with workers to
reduced injuries and disease
at work.
Recent Government
statistics found that safety
reps prevent between 8,000
and 13,000 workplace
accidents and between
3,000 and 8,000 workrelated
illnesses each year in
the UK.
"Union safety reps have a
proven track record in
reducing an organisation's
serious injury record,"
comments TUC general
secretary Brendan Barber. "A
major extension of their
role could therefore be the
most significant a
development in
occupational health and
safety since the 1974
Health and Safety at Work
Act.
"The proposals in our
charter will help employers
to consult with their
workforce on health and
safety issues. Most of these
simply involve enforcing
the existing legal
obligations on employers
which at present are often
ignored."
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