The education sector safety reps' charter

Background briefing and summary

An HSC advisory committee charter for safety reps

by Mick Balfour, GMB

The Charter (www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/hsc/iacs/hifeac/repscharter.pdf) originally evolved from discussion amongst TUC members of the two advisory committees for education (HIFEAC and SEAC), which began from the premise that the involvement of the workforce is a key component of the Government’s Revitalising Health and Safety strategy (which describes the need to inject new impetus into the health and safety agenda and to identify new approaches to reduce rates of accidents and ill health caused by work).

There is a wealth of evidence that demonstrates the benefits of involving employees in the drive to improve health and safety standards. Several Health and Safety Executive publications, including 'Successful Health and Safety Management', 'Involving Employees in Health and Safety. Forming Partnerships in the Chemical Industry' and 'Employee Involvement in Health and Safety - Some Examples of Good Practice' give illustrations and practical examples of the benefits which can arise from a partnership between employers and employees.

One company reduced its reportable accidents by 50%. A joint venture managed to reduce accident rates from 1.2 to 0.1 per 100,000 man-hours. These are tangible benefits that there is no reason to think could not be emulated elsewhere, if appropriate measures are taken.

Research has also demonstrated that the involvement of Safety Representatives, in particular, makes a vital contribution towards achieving safer and healthier workplaces. Those workplaces with trade union Safety Representatives and joint health and safety committees have significantly better accident records, with over 50% fewer injuries than those workplaces with no such consultation arrangements.

On this basis, it was thought by the trade union members that there should be a concerted effort by the two HSC committees for education - the Higher and Further Education Advisory Committee (HIFEAC) and Schools Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) to encourage and promote a greater level of involvement of Safety Reps within the sector.

It was recognised that the nature of the education sector lent itself well to an initiative to promote higher levels of involvement and more health and safety activity by Safety Reps. There is a high level of union membership, and a wide range and diversity of recognised unions involved in the education sector. The key would be to increase awareness amongst education employers of the benefits of involving and utilising this resource, as well as reminding them of their obligations to consult with and provide certain facilities to those Representatives.

One of the TU side members had discovered a Safety Reps Charter on the internet. This had been developed by a company as their method of recognising the valuable role played by the Unions in their company, and affirming the company’s commitment to the continued involvement of the Union Safety Reps in the management of health and safety process.

The idea of developing such a Charter, customised to the needs and circumstances of the education sector, was then conceived. The aim is to encourage the widespread adoption of the Charter throughout education, that will help to foster a closer working relationship between employers and safety representatives.

Its aims and purposes are to:

• identify the key role that safety representatives play in securing the participation and involvement of the workforce, and define the arrangements amongst employers, the Health and Safety Executive and the trades unions for encouraging and assisting safety representatives to carry out their roles;

• acknowledge that conflict can be a barrier to the achievement of health and safety improvements, and to promote the development of trusting relationships between management and safety representatives, whereby information and experience can be exchanged to the mutual benefit of all the stakeholders in the education sector;

• recognise the contribution that partnerships between employers and safety representatives can make towards improving health and safety standards at work, and encourage employers to involve safety representatives in the development of proactive partnerships that help develop a positive health and safety culture throughout the education sector;

• develop an understanding that competent and well-motivated Safety Representatives, if provided with support and encouragement, will add value to the efforts that all employers in the education sector will need to make if new approaches to reducing accident and ill-health rates are to be developed;

• promote the benefits and emphasise the importance of consulting with and involving safety representatives, so that they can make a contribution towards effective health and safety management in educational establishments;

• define the consultation process and support the rights of safety representatives to be consulted about all matters that could affect the health and safety of employees in the workplace, and encourage employers to confirm their commitment towards meeting their legal obligations to consult and engage with safety representatives;

• outline the training and competency standards of safety reps, and ensure that appropriate facilities and assistance are provided to allow safety reps to fulfil their statutory functions, within the current legal framework; and

• provide employers in the education sector with valuable guidance on good practice that they will gain benefit from following.

The idea was floated at subsequent meetings of the two separate committees by the TUC members. The employers’ representatives on both committees responded very positively to the initiative. They have been tremendously supportive of the principle of introducing and promoting the Charter. Key members have been fully involved in the process of drafting and developing the Charter, seeking to ensure that it is relevant to the circumstances of the education sector, (which can vary between the schools and the universities and colleges in the higher and further education sector).

The process of developing this Charter was in itself an illustration of the kind of partnership (between representatives of employees and employers) that the Charter espouses. The content of the Charter has been carefully developed through a process of consultation, comment and suggestion. It needed to be a balance between reference to existing statutory obligations, and an encouragement to those employers who wish to advance beyond mere compliance and develop a more proactive approach. It had to be produced in a manner that is inclusive of both the schools and higher/further education elements of the education sector, and contain guidance and principles that apply equally to both.

The Charter is therefore an example of joint working, and will be adopted and supported by both HSC advisory committees. To succeed it will need the support of all stakeholders represented on those committees, who by doing so would thereby be illustrating their own commitment to the values and benefits of promoting greater involvement of safety representatives throughout education.

Mick Balfour, March 2003