Health & Safety
REPORT 2003
Council-wide Health & Safety Forum at last?
Taken as whole 2003 was a good year for Health and Safety.
Across the whole of the Branch Health and Safety Representatives
have continued to ensure that where a problem arises it is dealt
with as quickly as possible despite the continual use of that
wonderful management mantra "We have no money for the necessary
remedial works".
For years staff heard that same excuse used in regard to the
High Street offices. An intensive campaign led by local Health
and Safety Representatives forced the council to find the money
and a significant refurbishment is now ongoing.
It will be a challenge to win similar campaigns in the next
few years as the council will want to direct its finances to
the new office accommodation and will be resistant to the idea
of spending monies on properties which they think will not be
needed in the future. Such an argument will not be accepted
by the union.
Health and Safety is backed up by laws and we will not allow
the employer to set aside their responsibilities.
The vehicle for pulling together all the varied issues we deal
with is the Branch Health and Safety Committee. Over the past
12 months this forum has developed its role and is now successfully
coordinating our activities across all departments and employers.
Members of the committee must be congratulated on their commitment.
Many of them attending courses and seminars in their own time
to ensure our members have quality representation in the area
of Health and Safety.
This commitment will be all the more important in the coming
months with the new challenges arising from the introduction
of Health and Safety Audits, the new legislation on Disabled
Access and the need to have localised Health and Safety Policy
Manuals.
On top of that we hope to have a council-wide Health and Safety
Forum in place involving not just union and management but also
lead councillors.
If we are to maintain our normal service with these additional
responsibilities we must recruit more Health and Safety Representatives.
There is no limit to the number of representatives and the
more we have the more we can alleviate workloads. In conjunction
with the Branch Education Officers we have programmed training
in all aspects of the work. That training is provided by qualified
lecturers and can lead to professional qualifications which
can only benefit career opportunities.
If you want to discuss the role of a Health and Safety Representative
then approach one in your department or contact me at the Branch
Office. I can assure you the work is interesting and you can
really make a difference to your colleagues work environment.
Tom McLeod
Health & Safety Convenor
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