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Arena Magazine 2008 Issue 1 Spring Arena |
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Safety first
Your question answered.
In our workplace health and safety is determined by the manager. If he thinks it's unsafe or unhealthy, he changes it. But if he doesn't he just calls us a bunch of moaners. Do we have a legal right to set up a safety committee? And do we have to have an accident/report book? If we are ignored what can we do?
It is certainly the manager's responsibility to manage health and safety, but to do the job properly he must listen to workers' concerns. In fact, individual workers do also have a legal duty to report any hazards that they see. And the employer does have a legal duty to keep an accident book or similar system for recording incidents.
Workplaces with the best health and safety record are ones where the management consults with the workforce (and the best way to do that is through trade union safety reps). It can be difficult for an individual worker to raise safety issues, but where the union is recognised we can appoint safety reps who have legal powers to investigate potential hazards, inspect the workplace and take up complaints on behalf of members.
The union can also demand that a safety committee is set up to keep policies under review. And if the rep can't sort the problem out they can call on the help of the full time official. If there is no safety rep where you work, talk to the other union members to see if anyone is interested in taking the job on or contact your local Usdaw office for advice.
The local office can also help to sort out training for anyone who volunteers to become a safety rep.
www.usdaw.org.uk/healthandsafety
While this advice is accurate it is not a definitive guide to the law or your contract. If you have any concerns you should contact your local rep/official or ring the helpline 0845 6060640.
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