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Attention: Health and safety media

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Unions prevent 40 workplace injuries every day

Unions and union safety reps prevent 13,000 major injuries every year, 40 every day, according to new evidence of the 'union effect' published today (Saturday) in the TUC-backed Hazards magazine. And a new Hazards magazine website, also launched today (Saturday) as part of the 50^th edition of the TUC’s ground-breaking weekly Risks e-bulletin contains detailed evidence of the union safety effect, case studies of what unions have done in Britain and around the world and resources for safety reps to use.

Writing in Hazards, award-winning editor Rory O’Neill says:

'Union know-how and organisation is not only good for your livelihood - it can be a life saver. And as well as preventing thousands of serious workplace accidents each year, newly developed union safety tools and strategies are extending the lifesaving union safety effect beyond union workplaces. Union organised workplaces are much safer workplaces, because union safety reps have the know-how, skills, rights and influence to make sure they are safer.'

The feature includes evidence (more is on the website) on:

• safety: London School of Economics research showing that 'labour possesses vital, tacit, shopfloor knowledge regarding health and safety, knowledge that is imperative for reducing accident rates'; and

• health: Health and Safety Executive-backed research showed companies using chemicals know little about the safety laws they are supposed to observe. Most trade union reps, on the other hand, know about and understand the law, the safety watchdog found.

TUC General Secretary John Monks said:

'Unions are halving the serious injury rate, which means that 40 workers every day escape a major injury because they have union protection. Our new 21^st century safety reps now have the tools to make workplaces safer still. There are more than ten times as many union safety reps protecting the health of the workforce as there are company safety officers, putting union safety reps in the frontline of managing risks at work.'

The TUC’s new tools for safety reps, developed over the past year, include:

• new 'union inspection notices' - being used countrywide to alert employers to unresolved health and safety problems;

• new 'Worker Safety Advisers' - selected and trained by unions and funded by the government - become the first UK union reps to have an officially-sanctioned 'roving' remit, and are now taking the union safety effect into non-union workplaces;

• new safety research tools developed by the TUC, including 'body mapping,' to involve the whole workforce in identifying problems and brainstorming solutions. The approach has worked so well unions in Asia and Australia have now adopted the TUC approach; and

• the new TUC innovative health and safety online bulletin Risks which is now read by over 5,000 people every week, allowing the TUC to ensure union reps are better informed and involved on health and safety practice and policy.

Notes to Editors:

Hazards 78, April-June 2002 includes the features 'No union, no protection' on the union safety effect, 'The safety squad', introducing the new Worker Safety Advisers scheme, and a 'Get a life!' factsheet showing how unions can make work safer, more satisfying and more productive. Hazards magazine is available from Jawad Qasrawi, PO Box 199, Sheffield S1 4YL. Tel: 0114 267 8936. Email: sub@hazards.org Web: www.hazards.org

The Hazards 'union effect' webpage can be found at www.hazards.org/unioneffect and includes evidence, union safety tools, case histories and resources.

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: Richard Darlington, 07654 589780.

Other enquiries: Owen Tudor, TUC Health and Safety Specialist on 07788 715261 or at otudor@tuc.org.uk

Press release (700 words) issued 20 Apr 2002