UNISON Scotland celebrates 40 years of the Health & Safety at Work Act

40 years ago today, the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 received the Royal Assent and became law in Britain.  Despite often being misunderstood and misinterpreted, it remains one of the best pieces of legislation on the statute book which has saved and improved the lives of countless UK workers. 

 

In the 40 years since the Act was passed, the number of fatalities in the workplace has fallen by 85 per cent while the number of injuries at work has fallen by 77 per cent.  It has enabled industry, unions and regulators to work together to create solutions to workplace dangers and threats to ensure that employees can return home safely each night. 

 

However, it is disappointing to note that the present Con Dem government continues to attack provisions in the Act.  Since it came to power in 2010 it has:

• Cut funding to the HSE by 40%;

• Set up 4 reviews to look at the “burden” on business and the functions of the HSE;

• Drastically cut HSE and Local Authority inspections;

• Ditched some important Codes of Practice and replaced them with guidance notes;

• Changed what and how employers have to report injuries and illness;

• Blocked new initiatives from Europe and tried to reduce existing measures;

• Made it harder for workers to claim compensation.

Most recently, through the Deregulation Bill, it is attempting to remove large numbers of self-employed workers from its coverage, in order to replace it with new rules about which self-employed workers are covered and which are not.

 

While the Act has been successful in bringing down deaths and injuries in the workplace it has been less effective at preventing occupational diseases such as cancers, asthmas, dermatitis, back pain and lung diseases. In addition, stress is now one of the biggest causes of workplace ill health and sickness absence, often caused by bullying and harassment.  An open and fair workplace culture is needed, so that employees are encouraged to report health and safety concerns without feat of victimisation or intimidation.  We need to work to use the Act to its fullest extent in the future to continue to address these problems.

 

Happy 40th Birthday Health & Safety at Work Act.  We will fight to ensure that you continue to protect us for many years to come.

Thousands in Edinburgh demand peace for Gaza

#Gaza Thousands turned out on in Edinburgh on Saturday to demand an end to the killing in Gaza. The Edinburgh UNISON banner was there as the rally at the Mound moved along Princes Street for a minute's silence and ended at Bute House, the First Minister's official residence.
  

Edinburgh UNISON banner - Tom Connolly

Hundreds also gathered in Aberdeen in the fourth consecutive week of demonstrations in the city. More than 60,000 also rallied in London. Malcolm Chisholm MSP and Aamer Anwar were among the speakers at the Edinburgh rally.

pic Tom Connolly

After 19 days of bombardment from Israel, the death toll in Gaza passed. UNICEF estimates that one in three civilian deaths are children under 18. Whole families have been wiped out. On 23 July, a UN statement said: "One child has been killed in Gaza every hour for the past two days."

UNISON pop up protests continue today at Glagow City Chambers 12.30pm

UNISON will continue their 'pop up protests' today (24 July) 12.30pm outside Glasgow City Council chambers. Any UNISON member taking part will do so in their own time.  Please see yesterday’s blog (23 July 2014) for more details about UNISON's court victory http://unison-scotland.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/council-loses-bid-to-block-games-bonus.html

Yesterday UNISON members also had a pop up protest outside Glasgow Kelvingrove Art Gallery (see picture). UNISON are protesting because Glasgow City Council company Glasgow Life refused to pay enhancements to workers during the Commonwealth Games.

Other workers in the council, other council run companies and the city’s transport companies will be paid enhanced rates and specific payments for working more hours during the Games. However, workers in the city’s Sports Centres and Museums will only receive their basic pay rate for any additional hours they work.

Many workers are already on a low income, and many have had shift changes forced on them without their agreement, and many have also had their annual leave curtailed during school holidays.

Brian Smith, UNISON’s City of Glasgow Branch Secretary, said, ‘Glasgow Life workers are working hard to make Glasgow Commonwealth Games a success. We want these games to succeed, just like everyone else. But these workers earn an average of £16,500 per year. These are the people who are working hard to deliver the Commonwealth Games but can’t afford tickets to go. They deserve fair treatment.’

Instead of sitting down to find a solution Glasgow Life has been wasting time and money with legal action against UNISON. Yesterday's court decision means Glasgow Life have to pay both their own and UNISON's legal costs, something UNISON never wanted to happen in the first place. UNISON believes the claim by UNISON members in Glasgow Life is reasonable and will continue their pop up protests today.

Council loses bid to block games bonus row protests

UNISON has successfully defended a Glasgow City council bid to win a court order to block a Commonwealth Games pay protests - in workers' own time - at the city chambers.

The protests related to council company Glasgow Life's refusal to pay enhancements whereas workers in the council, other council run companies and the city’s transport companies will be paid enhanced rates and specific payments for working more hours during the Games.

UNISON Scottish Secretary Mike Kirby said: "The judge has ruled that the council and Glasgow Life were wrong in their view that UNISON members were acting outside the law.

"People have a right to peaceful protest in their own time. We'd call on Glasgow Life and the council to work with the trade union to address the underlying issues rather than spending money in the courts."

See the story in the Herald at http://www.heraldscotland.com/mobile/sport/commonwealth-games/cwg-news/council-legal-threat-to-block-games-bonus-row-protests.24826754

All workers deserve a fair deal for Commonwealth Games, says UNISON

Trade union members in Glasgow’s Sports Centres and Museums are in dispute with their employer Glasgow Life, a company run by Glasgow City Council. The dispute is over payments for working during the Commonwealth Games.

Workers in Glasgow City Council, other council run companies and the city’s transport companies will be paid enhanced rates and specific payments for working more hours during the Games.

However, workers in the city’s Sports Centres and Museums will receive only their basic pay rate for any additional hours they work. Many workers are already on a low income, and many have had shift changes forced on them without their agreement. And many have also had their annual leave curtailed during school holidays.

Brian Smith, UNISON’s City of Glasgow branch secretary, said, ‘Glasgow Life workers are working hard to make Glasgow Commonwealth Games a success. We want these games to succeed just like everyone else. But these workers earn an average of £16,500 per year. These are the people who are working hard to deliver the Commonwealth Games but can’t afford tickets to go. They deserve fair treatment.’

Ballots thresholds and striking for decent pay

A million people across the UK have been taking strike action today to protest at falling pay. It's a clear message to Government that people have had enough having to endure falling living standards while the rich get richerThe Tories are trying to distract attention from this protest against growing poverty by trying to make it an issue of growing legitimacy . So over the past few days we've had threats made to the right to organise .

The mere prospect of this has as you'd expect, got the Daily Mail licking their disgusting, greedy slavering, anti-trade union lips. "Plans intended to ban teachers and other public sector workers from going on strike are being drawn up by the Conservatives in the biggest crack down on unions in 30 years" they announce gleefully.

Eh not so fast there tax dodgers ."Ban ...public sector workers from going on strike" The Government might have some problems trying to draw up legislation on that.

Their enthusiasm for privatising and outsourcing means who is and isn't a public sector worker is more and more difficult to define. If you work for the council, or Health Board - well you are in the public sector, that's easy. What if you work for Serco who are contracted by the council? Are you public sector or private sector?

How else could they "ban" people? By occupation? Leaving aside once you get past "Nurses" and "Teachers" you'll find that across the country people doing similar jobs have differing job titles and indeed the jobs might not be identical. Good luck with writing a law that will stand up to scrutiny on that one...

Of course that isn't the only thing they might try. Yesterday David Cameron told parliament "I think the time has come to look at setting thresholds in strike ballots." He should perhaps be careful what he wishes for.

Not wanting to bother our colleagues down South they've really been very busy today we grasped the nearest ballot result to hand. In 2012 out of all the UNISON Scotland members in the NHS who could have voted for strike action 28.7% did so. Mr Cameron is Prime Minister despite his party receiving the support of only 23.5% of the elegible electorate. Indeed there isn't a single Tory in Parliament who received a 50% threshold of support.

Of course if Mr Cameron is genuinely concerned about improving turn outs in strike ballots then no one would be more receptive than Trade unions. Unions would love to see higher levels of participation in ballots, and have been arguing for years for measures that would improve things. Turn outs in postal ballots in any circumstances tend to be low but there are a variety of other measures that would certainly improve matters. Allowing unions to use secure online or telephone voting for example (Political parties use these methods for their own internal elections). Or, stop me if this seems controversial, given that an indutrial action ballot is an issue about the workplace - maybe people should be allowed to cast a vote via supervised workplace ballots.

Of course what is really bothering Cameron and his pals in the tax dodger owned press isn't how many people voted by postal ballot a few weeks ago - but how many people have voted with their feet today.

That doesn't annoy them - it frightens them.

So it should.

New Scotland in UNISON online now

The cuts don't work report; Conference reports; Unite and fight on pay; Anger at registration fees; UNISON is the union for social workers; Privatisation fears in care integration; Challenging both sides on a fairer Scotland and much more in July's Scotland in UNISON which is online now at http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/siu/index.html
PDF at http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/siu/july14/siujuly14.pdf
and on issuu at http://issuu.com/unisonscotland/docs/siujuly14

Health inequalities report marks NHS 66th birthday

Tomorrow is the 66th anniversary of the NHS in Scotland. Yes, even before devolution, the NHS in Scotland had a separate statutory basis.
    As our contribution to the commemorations, UNISON Scotland has produced its latest paper on health inequalities in Scotland. Not just another analysis of the problem, but some practical measures as well.
http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/response/20140630HealthInequalitiesinScotland.pdf

Animal welfare in abattoirs

The BBC Scotland 2014 programme ran a piece on animal welfare standards in abattoirs on 2 July.

It shows, through secret filming and interviews with abattoir workers and farmers, shocking animal welfare standards in Scottish and UK abattoirs. This piece shows that we need stronger regulation, resisting efforts to lower standards.

The Scottish meat brand will not be protected by abandoning regulation. It is therefore in the interests of consumers and meat producers to ensure we have the highest standards. The recent decision by the Scottish Government to end the visual inspection of pigs is just one example of this deregulatory approach. Mincing tumours and abscesses into our sausages cannot be right.

 

 

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