date: 5th June 2002 embargo: Do not use before 00.01 hrs, Saturday, 8 June 2002

Attention: Health and safety media

60% of workplace safety reps not getting the training they need despite legal rights

Full TUC training is vital for safety reps, but under half are getting the training they need, according to a TUC report published today (Saturday). And the lack of training could be leading to thousands of major injuries every year.

The report, Training and action in health and safety, by Professor David Walters and Peter Kirby, shows that the two core TUC training courses (Stage I and Stage II) give safety reps:

• enthusiasm and confidence to tackle problems;

• practical skills, especially in identifying the issues of concern to their colleagues;

• the opportunity to discuss problems with their peers from different workplaces; and

• finding information on health and safety and using it in a methodical way.

A survey of safety reps done for the report found that after attending a Stage II course, 89% of safety reps had initiated health and safety action after returning from the course. But the numbers were far lower for those who had only completed Stage I, so workplaces where the safety reps have not had Stage II training, safety measures are going unimplemented.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal has ruled that safety reps have a legal right to paid time off to attend Stage II courses, but only 40% of the safety reps surveyed by the TUC had undertaken the course - leaving 60% with only a Stage I or other introductory course under their belt.

Writing in the TUC’s weekly online bulletin Risks today (Saturday), TUC General Secretary John Monks said:

'Safety reps make a major contribution to health and safety standards at work. Too many employers are putting their workers’ health and their business’ reputation at risk because they aren’t letting safety reps have the time to get the training they need. Good corporate reputations often depend on good safety reps.'

The TUC will be launching a campaign at its annual Congress in Blackpool this September to ensure that more safety reps take up their right to training. The TUC will also press the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to ensure employers fulfil their legal obligation for release with pay, and to publicise safety reps’ rights to training with pay.

There are 200,000 union-appointed safety reps in workplaces across Great Britain, and Government figures show that workplaces with safety rep systems and joint union-management safety committees have fewer than 50% the major injuries that a workplace without any form of consultation has. So in workplaces where safety reps are not operating at the peak of their abilities, the effect could well be higher rates of major injury. Every year, the TUC estimates, safety reps prevent 10,000 major injuries.

Further details of the impact of unions on health and safety are contained on the Hazards magazine 'union effect' web-pages at www.hazards.org/unioneffect - Hazards magazine is supported by the TUC.

The core TUC training courses (known as Stage I and Stage II) provide safety reps with twenty days of training on health and safety and on being a representative. Courses are accredited through the National Open College Network, and can be built on with a TUC Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety which is recognised by the safety professionals’ body, IOSH.

Notes to Editors:

Training and action in health and safety: the impact of TUC education and training on the workplace activity of health and safety representatives, by Professor David Walters and Peter Kirby, TUC, 2002 is available for review and to journalists. It costs £5 from TUC Publications. The research on which it is based was funded by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and was published separately as Contract Research Report 321/2001 - £20 from HSE Books.

All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk

A series of TUC rights leaflets are available on our website and from the know your rights line 0870 600 4 882. Lines are open every day from 8am-10pm. Calls are charged at the national rate.

Contacts:

Media enquiries: 0207 467 1248 or pager 07699 744115.

Other enquiries: Owen Tudor, TUC health and safety specialist, on 020 7467 1325 or 07788 715261 (mobile) - otudor@tuc.org.uk

Press release (800 words) issued 8 Jun 2002