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date: 23 October 2008

embargo: 00.01hrs Monday 27 October 2008

Attention: Newsdesks, Industrial, Health and Social Affairs Correspondents

Stress, overwork and office hazards top workers' safety concerns in Wales

Stress or overwork, injuries and illnesses caused by the poor use of display screen equipment, repetitive strain injuries (RSI) and slips and trips top the list of Welsh workers' safety concerns, according to the TUC's biennial survey of safety reps published today (Monday).

Nearly three in five safety reps in Wales (57 per cent) reported stress or overwork as a concern in their workplace. Concerns about stress are most common in the public sector and in large workplaces, with the highest instances in central government (81 per cent), education (74 per cent) and health services (69 per cent).

Workload was the most frequently cited cause of stress with long hours being a bigger factor in Wales than elsewhere.

Repetitive strain injuries (43 per cent) are the second most commonly reported hazard in Wales followed by slips, trips and falls (39 per cent). Injuries and illnesses resulting from the poor use of display screen equipment is the fourth most commonly reported hazard in Wales (37 per cent).

Safety reps in Wales have many of the biggest concerns with the situation in terms of stress markedly worse than in previous surveys. Wales is the area most concerned with noise (23 per cent), dusts (16 per cent), infections (7 per cent), asbestos (7 per cent) and vibration (6 per cent) with almost twice the proportion of Welsh safety representatives concerned, compared with the national average. Wales is also second worst for slips, trips from a level (38 per cent), long hours of work (26 per cent), handling heavy loads (16 per cent), chemicals and solvents (15 per cent), slips trips and falls from height (12 per cent) and machinery hazards (11 per cent).

Workers in London are most concerned about stress (68 per cent), while workers in Yorkshire and East Anglia are most worried about working alone (38 per cent).

Wales TUC General Secretary Martin Mansfield said: 'Stress casts a gloomy shadow over far too many Welsh workplaces. Unfortunately as the current economic crisis creates more anxiety about job security, stress is likely to increase.

'It is disappointing that the situation in Wales compares badly with other countries of the UK and regions of England. Unions and employers must work together to combat this as it can have a huge personal cost to workers and a damaging financial cost to businesses.

'Simple office hazards, such as spending too much time fixed on a computer screen or sitting on a badly designed chair, are often overlooked by employers. But today's survey shows that they are actually a genuine concern to workers and need to be addressed. Thankfully, union health and safety reps across Wales are on hand to help employers prevent these hazards and protect workers from harm.'

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Top ten hazards of concern to workers in Britain, as cited by safety reps (per cent)

- This is the seventh biennial TUC safety representatives' survey. 2,611 safety representatives responded to the questionnaire in the period May-June 2008.

- The safety reps survey will be available from 00.01hrs on Monday 27 October. Embargoed copies are available from the TUC press office.

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

- Register for the TUC's press extranet: a service exclusive to journalists wanting to access pre-embargo releases and reports from the TUC. Visit www.tuc.org.uk/pressextranet

Contacts:

Media enquiries:
Derek Walker T: 029 2034 7010 M: 07887797158 E: dwalker@tuc.org.uk

Press release (700 words) issued 27 Oct 2008