Health & Safety
Everyone should be able to go to work without having their health damaged or made worse. Yet every year, around two and a half million people are made ill because of work.
This is a huge number. Around half of these people are in pain because of injuries such as back pain, neck pain and RSI. A further half a million people have to take time off work because of stress.
Yet it is not work that makes people ill. Bad working practices and poor safety precautions are the cause.
Almost all work-related illness is avoidable, most of it through forward planning and good safety practices.
The FBU takes health and safety very seriously which is why we aim to have at least one FBU safety representative to cover every workplace.
Tackling health and safety is often a very good way of organising among members and potential members.
Dangerous or unhealthy practices in the workplace rightly cause strong feelings which can be used positively to bring about change and improvements.
In particular it is important that we involve young members in organising around health and safety issues as they are often less likely to be aware of such problems.
The key to good health and safety is having safety representatives, safety committees and good workplace organisation.
Workplaces with trade union recognition have 50 per cent fewer accidents than those without.
Safety representatives are appointed by the FBU not the employer. Sometimes they will also have other union duties such as branch representatives.
Each FRS has a FBU Health and Safety Representative who will act as a link between the Branch safety representative and the rest of the branch, and co-ordinate the activities of all safety representatives.
The health and safety rep will also give information and support, and co-ordinate branch-wide campaigns.
All FBU members are entitled to have a safety committee within their place of employment and legally.
The EC HSW Committee comprises four EC Members and is chaired by the President, with the National Officer with responsibility for HSW acting as secretary. At present, the four members are:
Each of the Executive Council members chairs a sub-committee drawn from our Regional / Sectional HSW co-ordinators, and carry out an extensive programme of research, review, and comment to best advise the Executive Council on all matters which may affect the HSW of our members. At present, the sub-committees members are:
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