Health
and Safety FAQs and online advice form
International Workers
Memorial Day Edinburgh 28 April 2012
IThe Edinburgh event will take place at 12 O'clock
on 28 April 2012 at the Memorial Tree, West
Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh. Click
here for details of last year's event
29 February 2012 was
RSI Awareness Day
Click here for details
and a UNISON Information Sheet
December 2011: Cold
Weather Working Advice
Click here
for detailed advice from the Health and Safety
Officer
26 October 2011 was National
Inspection Day
On this date Trade Union Safety
Representatives are encouraged to inspect their
workplace.
It wasn't possible to agree a joint approach
with management to support an awareness campaign
despite me raising the issue with them. If you
don't have a UNISON Trade Union Safety Representative
in your workplace (and around 600 Council workplaces
don't) then you and your colleagues will miss
out on this opportunity to identify risks posed
to your Health and Safety while you are at work.
24 to 28 October 2011 was also European Health
and Safety at Work week; again due to the restriction
on time to undertake Trade Union Safety work
that Council management have imposed it was
impossible to organise a campaign based around
this. The theme for this year was Maintenance
which is particularly important as this is the
type of issue that is sacrificed when cuts are
imposed. The TUC guidance on this topic can
be found here;
http://www.tuc.org.uk/workplace/tuc-18233-f0.cfm
If you or a colleague are interested in becoming
a trained Health and Safety representative please
contact the Branch Health and Safety Officer
via the Branch Office.
See more at http://www.unison.org.uk/safety/pages_view.asp?did=7303
Why are
health and safety reps important? How do I become
one? Click here
Update 7 March 2012
UNISON City of Edinburgh Branch
is pleased that progress is being made in implementing
the Committee structure that was agreed when
the Health and Safety Policy was signed in March
2009.
The progress is slow but it is
being made. The Branch is still actively seeking
Safety Reps who are able and willing to undertake
the detailed consultation with each Department
and with the full Council to help make the City
of Edinburgh Council a safer place to work.
If you are a Safety Rep and you
are interested in getting involved please contact
the Branch Health and Safety Officer (Dave McConnell)
via the Branch Office. If you aren't a Safety
Rep but are interested in becoming one please
also contact the Branch Health and Safety Officer
(Dave McConnell) via the Branch Office.
The Branch Health & Safety
Committee comprises branch officers and
reps from stewards committees. Its job is to
oversee Health and Safety issues, to advise
stewards committees and officers, to support
Health and Safety reps and to campaign on Health
and Safety issues.
Shop Stewards are encouraged to
be safety reps as well, although there is also
a parallel system where members can be elected
or appointed purely as Safety reps. They have
a statutory role and 20 days accredited training
is available via TUC courses. Further specialised
training is available through UNISON and other
TUC courses.
Safety reps would typically monitor
Health and Safety in the workplace, carry out
inspections and ensure proper risk assessments
are carried out. Support comes from the Health
and Safety committee and from an extensive database
held in the branch office on Health and Safety
legislation and regulations.
Following the introduction of
the Council's Health and Safety Policy in March
2009 the Council and each individual Department
should have joint management/union health and
safety committees. The Corporate Health Safety
and Wellbeing Group is operating and should
soon have an agreed constitution. Each Department
has either agreed a standard constitution or
has formally signed it off.
Trade Union pressure has been
important in making this happen and we will
need to have trained Safety Reps in every workplace
to make these into effective forums. Similar
structures should be developed in the community
sector and in associated bodies.
The role of Health and Safety
is becoming more crucial as ideological cuts
start to bite and the pressures and stresses
on our members increase. Anyone who is interested
in becoming a Safety Rep should contact the
Branch Office for more information.
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