Health & Safety
REPORT 2002
Safety problems show need for Council health & safety
forum
2002 was an eventful year on the Health and Safety front.
It was the year when the Council was ridiculed by the media
for failing in its responsibility to members of the public as
well as their own staff.
Who could forget the farce of councillors telling senior managers
that the office accommodation in the High Street was a disgrace
and something had to be done? This did not come as a surprise
to local union representatives who had submitted complaint upon
complaint over the years which were all ignored.
Remember the great Powderhall asbestos caper?
For three years a report from a union representatives outlining
a catalogue of concerns at the Powderhall Waste Transfer Station
lay on someone's desk collecting dust. Then, lo and behold,
a member of the public went to the Health and Safety Executive.
They carried out a two day inspection and served a myriad of
notices on the Council which led to the closure of the facility
and an investment of over £100,000 into addressing all the problems.
It will be years before we can be sure no member of staff has
suffered health problems because of management's failure to
address the problems when the union raised them.
For too long Council structures have failed to meet responsibilities
to staff but we are finally making progress and in the next
year we anticipate the creation of a Council forum involving
councillors, as well as senior officials, meeting with union
representatives to ensure major issues are addressed when reported
- and monitoring departmental approaches to their legal responsibilities
to their employees.
Though the year as a whole has been one of significant improvement
the shortage of Health and Safety Representatives has been a
major concern.
Health and Safety is an important cog in the Branch wheel and
is a major vehicle to achieve improvements in working conditions.
In a Branch of over 9,000 members covering a multitude of locations
we only have 64 people willing to take on the important position
of Health and Safety Representative.
The pressure on those individuals, particularly during the
fire dispute, has been tremendous but think how much easier
it would be if every section and workplace had a local representative.
Training is provided and there is a wealth of experience and
knowledge in the Branch Officer Team which can be drawn upon.
Our aim in 2003 is to ensure there are Health and Safety Committees
across all departments and functions in the Council but we urgently
need more members taking on the role of a representative. If
we fail to recruit more Health and Safety Reps we simply pass
over all responsibilities to management and can look forward
to more incidents such as the Powderhall farce.
Remember, it is better to be pro-active than reactive. So talk
to your colleagues and come forward with a name. The necessary
forms can be obtained from the Branch Office.
On a sad note, the Branch suffered the tragic loss of Danny
Currie who had been Health and Safety Convener for several years
until his early retiral due to ill health. Danny was a great
advocate of all things Health and Safety and his influence within
the Branch and commitment to his role will be a great loss.
He will be sorely missed.
The 2002 report card reads "Shows promise but room for improvement."
With the greater participation of members we can ensure next
year's report card confirms that improvement has been achieved.
TOM MCLEOD
Health & Safety Officer
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