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UNION SAFETY EFFECT

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Britain Aslef go slow ‘saves lives’
Britain The value of unions
Britain Slow down gets speedy solution
Britain HSE takes its stall to the unions
Britain Safety reps make work happy and healthy
Europe Safety reps are a ‘powerful force’
Australia Minister backs union right of entry
Europe Social dialogue improves working conditions
Global: International link up wins rights deal
Britain Firm failed to listen to union
Norway Rail workers win violence protection

Britain: Aslef go slow ‘saves lives’
A union call for train drivers to drive slowly – no more than 20 mph – over open level crossings has been praised after it was claimed to have saved at least one life. ASLEF general secretary Keith Norman commented: “Others may talk about level crossing safety, but our union actually does something about it, adding: “I hope others, like Network Rail, will follow our lead and get serious about this continuous loss of life.”
ASLEF news release • John O’Groat Journal • Daily Record • Press and Journal • Risks 440
Hazards news, 23 January 2010

Britain: The value of unions
With the recession putting pressure on Britain's workers, the TUC has published new materials to help unions attract new recruits and demonstrate the value of unions to employers. A new report, ‘The union advantage’, includes safety in an array of compelling reasons you are better off in a union.
TUC publication note • The union advantage: The positive impact of trade unions on the economy and British society [pdf] • Risks 436
Hazards news, 12 December 2009

Britain: Slow down gets speedy solution
A rail safety hazard has been remedied after the train drivers’ union ASLEF instructed its drivers to slow down for safety’s sake. The union had advised drivers to approach the New Barn Occupational Crossing in the Barnham, West Sussex, at no more than 30mph.
ASLEF news release • Risks 425
Hazards news,  26 September 2009

Britain: HSE takes its stall to the unions
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says it will use its presence at next week’s TUC conference in Liverpool to promote plans to get more employees involved in health and safety where they work. The watchdog says its research suggests that involving workers has a positive effect on health and safety performance, and there is “strong evidence” that unionised workplaces with health and safety representatives are safer and healthier.
HSE news release and worker involvement webpages • Risks 423
Hazards news, 12 September 2009

Britain: Safety reps make work happy and healthy
Is it possible to take a dysfunctional workplace battered by assaults, sickness and poor morale and in less than a year make it a haven of safety and worker contentment, with managers valuing the union role? UNISON rep Mark White, writing in the new edition of the trade union magazine Hazards, describes how they achieved just that in his workplace.
Safety respect • Hazards magazine, number 107, Summer 2009 • Risks 419
Hazards news, 15 August 2009

Europe: Safety reps are a ‘powerful force’
Trade union safety reps have a “huge potential” for improving workers’ health, a Europe-wide investigation has concluded. The ESPARE project – full name ‘The Impact of Safety Representatives on Occupational Health: A European Perspective’ – was launched in 2006 by the European TUC’s health and safety research arm, REHS.
ESPARE project • The impact of safety representatives on occupational health: A European perspective (the EPSARE project), Report 107, European Trade Union Institute, 2009. Order details • Risks 416
Hazards news, 25 July 2009

Australia: Minister backs union right of entry
Unions in Tasmania have welcomed an announcement by the state’s workplace relations minister that she will press for a union right of entry to workplaces for occupational health and safety issues. Simon Cocker, the secretary of Unions Tasmania, said: “Right of entry to worksites for appropriately authorised union representatives exists in most other states and is an integral part of a working occupational health and safety system.”
Unions Tasmania news release [pdf] • Risks 417
Hazards news, 1 August 2009

Europe: Social dialogue improves working conditions
Unions play a big role in making work better and safer, a European Foundation report has concluded. It says its research found social partners and social dialogue play a key role in helping to create better jobs and improve the quality of work and working conditions through influencing policy decisions, negotiating social pacts and collective agreements as well as through participating in particular programmes and policies.
European Foundation news release and draft report [pdf] • Risks 412
Hazards news, 27 June 2009

Global: International link up wins rights deal
Unions in the UK and US have linked up to win an employment rights deal for workers in Bangladesh. Workers Uniting, a partnership between UK union Unite and North American union USW said it had achieved a “major victory” at the RL Denim factory in Bangladesh.
Unite news release • NLC statement • Workers Uniting • Risks 412
Hazards news, 27 June 2009

Britain: Firm failed to listen to union
London Underground has paid “substantial” compensation to a Tube driver after it ignored union complaints about dirty, hazardous train carriages. Derek Walters, 45, is facing surgery on his hand after his finger was slit open by a piece of broken glass left in a train cab.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 408
Hazards news, 30 May 2009

Norway: Rail workers win violence protection
Railway workers in Norway have won improved protection against violence at work, following their unions’ lobbying efforts. Workers represented by Norsk Jernbaneforbund and Norsk Lokomotivmannsforbund won an amendment to existing criminal law after the union engaged the government in talks to improve the plight of railway workers who were experiencing increasing violence, particularly at night.
ITF news report • Risks 406
Hazards news, 16 May 2009

Britain: Brown praises union safety reps
In a message released to mark Workers’ Memorial Day the Prime Minister praised the role that trade unions and safety representatives play in promoting health and safety. Gordon Brown said: “Their dedication has protected countless workers and their families from the consequences of deaths and injuries at work and I pay tribute to their tireless efforts on behalf of us all.”
Statement by PM • TUC news release • Risks 404
Hazards news, 2 May 2009

Australia: Unions defend safety prosecutions role
Australia’s occupational health and safety laws should include a trade union right to bring safety prosecutions against dangerous firms, a top union official has said. Geoff Fary, assistant secretary of the national union federation ACTU, said a system for union-initiated prosecutions already works well in New South Wales (NSW) and shouldn’t be jettisoned.
Business Spectator • Safety at Work interview with Geoff Fary • ACTU OHS webpages, including links to ACTU submission • Risks 396
Hazards news, 7 March 2009

USA: Hero pilot stresses union role
The pilot of a plane that ditched into the Hudson River in New York with no loss of life has told a US government inquiry that airline employers must bargain with unions “in good faith” in order to keep the skies safe. Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger told the Congress subcommittee: “In order to ensure economic security and an uncompromising approach to passenger safety, management must work with labour [unions] to bargain in good faith, we must find collective solutions that address the huge economic issues we face in recruiting and retaining the experienced and highly skilled professionals that the industry requires and that passenger safety demands.”
Subcommittee hearing news release • Hartford Courant • The Guardian • BBC News Online • Risks 395
Hazards news, 28 February 2009

Australia: Top expert backs union safety effect
A top Australian academic has said no-one should underestimate the dramatic positive impact of trade unions on workplace health and safety. Professor Michael Quinlan of the University of New South Wales said “union campaigns played a very significant part in health and safety legislation in the first place, workplace compensation legislation in the first place” and in subsequent improvements in the safety system.
Safety at work blog and podcast • Safety in Action conference website • Risks 392
Hazards news, 7 February 2009

USA: The union role in NY air crash miracle
They're calling it ‘the miracle on the Hudson’ - the successful emergency landing on 15 January of a US Airways jet in the Hudson River and subsequent rescue of all 155 passengers and crew. But what they are not telling you, bloggers have revealed, is that every single one of these heroes is a union member – and the pilot, 57-year-old Chesley B Sullenberger III, is a former national committee member and the former safety chair of his union, the Airline Pilots Association.
AFL-CIO Now • Blog coverage on Emptywheel and Examiner • BBC News Online • Risks 390
Hazards news, 24 January 2009

USA: Victory in the hog house
Workers at the USA’s largest hog slaughterhouse have won a 16-year fight to unionise. Safety had been a key organising theme in food union UFCW’s campaign at Smithfield’s plant in Tar Heel, North Carolina.
Labor Notes • American Prospect • Books, t-shirts and other ‘Troublemakers Union’ resources from Labor Notes • Risks 388
Hazards news, 10 January 2009

Australia: Minister leads union site 'raid'
A senior state government minister in New South Wales (NSW) has led a group of union officials onto the site of Sydney's proposed desalination plant to conduct a safety audit. NSW water minister Phil Costa visited the site run by construction firm John Holland.
The Australian • Business Spectator • Risks 382
Hazards news, 15 November 2008

Britain: HSE chair wants more reps
The benefits of trade union safety reps are beyond all doubt, the chair of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has said. Judith Hackitt told SERTUC’s worker involvement conference: “Throughout my working life it has always been the case that the workforce has been fully involved in health and safety and the importance of safety representatives has never been questioned - because it’s never been in any doubt.”
HSE news release and worker involvement webpages • Risks 383
Hazards news 22 November 2008

USA: Tony Mazzocchi: A real union leader on safety
If you want to learn about union leadership on health and safety, you should learn about Tony Mazzocchi. And if you want a pacy, intriguing and immensely readable biography of the US trade unionist’s extraordinary life, you should read ‘The man who hated work and loved labor’.
The man who hated work and loved labor: The life and times of Tony Mazzocchi, Les Leopold, Chelsea Green Publishing, ISBN 978-1-933392-64-6 • Watch a video tribute to Tony Mazzocchi • Hazards 103 review • Risks 368
Hazards news, 9 August 2008

Britain: STUC project tackles violence
A groundbreaking STUC-inspired project to tackle workplace violence has been showcased at the July National Hazards Conference. Four years ago, the Scottish union federation worked with Scotland’s then Labour administration on a report that STUC said “set the foundation for positive collaboration between the trade union movement in Scotland and the Scottish government to raise awareness of the extent of the problem and how to help unions, workers and employers address the issue.”
STUC project presentation [powerpoint] • Risks 367
Hazards news, 2 August 2008

Global: Union precarious work campaign
‘Precarious work affects us all’ is a global union campaign to stop the rise in precarious employment and to regain power and justice for working people. Campaign webpages prepared by the global metal unions’ federation IMF provide links to materials, background information and details on what trade unions around the world are doing to mobilise against precarious work.
IMF ‘Precarious work affects us all’ campaign websites • Risks 366
Hazards news, 26 July 2008

South Africa: Union plans safety strike at Gold Fields
South Africa’s National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has said it is planning industrial action at Gold Fields’ four mining operations, in protest at its worsening safety record. Gold Fields is responsible for about a quarter of South Africa's 85 mine fatalities this year.
Risks 364
Hazards news, 12 July 2008

Turkey: Union protests win safety concessions
More than 5,000 supporters joined 300 striking shipyard workers in a 16 June protest in Turkey’s Tuzla shipyards. The high profile action, which was in response to horrific rates of work-related deaths and injuries, led within days to safety commitments from the Turkish prime minister.
IMF news release • Turkish Daily News • Risks 362
Hazards news, 28 June 2008

Italy: National one-hour stoppage for safety
Metalworkers across Italy downed tools from 11am to noon on 17 June in support of a new draft law on health and safety at work. The action follows a public outcry at the escalating toll of workplace deaths in Italy, including a series of recent tragedies.
IMF news release • BBC News Online • Risks 361
Hazards news, 21 June 2008

USA: Unions win in Las Vegas strike deal
A construction safety strike that started on the Las Vegas strip on Monday 2 June, ended on Tuesday after unions secured major safety commitments. Construction workers had marched in circles outside the locked gates of the massive $9.2 million CityCenter development, picket signs raised above their heads reading “Unsafe job site.”
Las Vegas Sun feature and coverage of company statement • Risks 359
Hazards news, 7 June 2008

Global: Worldwide safety pact with steel giant
The world's largest steel company and trade unions representing its employees worldwide have signed a groundbreaking agreement to improve health and standards throughout the company. The global union federation for the metalworking sector, IMF, said the agreement with ArcelorMittal recognises the vital role played by trade unions in improving health and safety.
IMF news release and global agreement [pdf] • Risks 359
Hazards news, 7 June 2008

Britain: RMT victory on rail assault pay
A Northern Rail policy which would have reduced pay to many to workers injured in violent workplace attacks has been withdrawn. The move came after pressure from rail union RMT, which said the policy would have meant victims of assault who had not suffered ‘severe physical injury’ would lose money if they needed time off work.
Risks 341
Hazards news, 2 February 2008

Mexico: Massive miner walkout for safety
Over a quarter of a million Mexican miners walked off the job on 16 January, denouncing a government attack on workers striking over horrendous health and safety conditions at Mexico’s largest copper mine, Cananea, in the northern state of Sonora.
IMF news release • Workplace health and safety survey and medical screening of miners at Grupo Mexico’s copper mine Cananea, Sonora, Mexico, October 5-8, 2007, final Report, MHSSN, January 2008 [pdf] • Cananea site photogallery • MHSSN website • Risks 340
Hazards news, 26 January 2008

France: Safety reps improve safety
Health and safety representatives clearly help to improve the quality of prevention policies in workplaces where they are present, according to an official French government report. Thomas Coutrot from the Dares, the research institute of the French labour ministry, reviewed recent studies and concluded: “Employees and their representatives can therefore significantly influence the prevention policies implemented, either through conflict, co-operation, or more likely, a combination of the two.”
Dares report [pdf] • Risks 339
Hazards news, 19 January 2008

Australia: Workers need access to union help
Australian unions have called for the elimination of ‘artificial restrictions’ on the right of union occupational health and safety experts and officials to represent workers at threat from workplace risks. Ben Swan, assistant national secretary of mining union AWU, said Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) – a system individual contracts introduced by the previous government in a bid to curtail union power – were being used to deny unions access to dangerous workplaces.
AWU news release • Risks 339
Hazards news, 19 January 2008

South Africa: Strike puts mine safety on agenda
A national strike by South Africa’s mineworkers has focused the attention of government and mining firms on workplace safety. Over 200,000 miners are believed to have been involved in the action.
Mining Weekly • Business Report and related item on South Africa’s inadequate workplace compensation system
Hazards news, 15 December 2007

Britain: Ergo cabs follow union campaign
Rail firm Freightliner is improving train cabs after a campaign by drivers’ union ASLEF. Union general secretary Keith Norman says the company’s production director has given an assurance the company is “more than happy to involve ASLEF as much as possible in the ergonomics of any new cab design.”
ASLEF news release and Squash campaign
Hazards news, 8 December 2007

Australia: Federal court supports role of unions
Australia’s Federal Court has supported the role of unions, declaring construction union CFMEU a “competent administrative authority” with a right of access to workplaces to undertake safety probes. The court also found it unlawful for a person to be sacked for reasons including complaining to the union.
SafetyNet Journal, number 128 • Read the judgment online Claveria v Pilkington Australia Ltd [2007] FCA 1692 • Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004
Hazards news, 1 December 2007

New Zealand: Worker participation key to improvements
“Involving workers in managing health and safety at work is a key to improving our record in this area,” NZCTU secretary Carol Beaumont has said. Her comments followed the release of the New Zealand government’s Workplace Health and Safety Strategy second progress report.
NZCTU news release • NZ Department of Labour news release
Hazards news, 24 November 2007

Global: Unions and enforcement are the safe option
Rigorous enforcement backed up by active unions is the best way to deliver safety at work, a new World Health Organisation report has concluded. ‘Employment conditions and health inequalities’ says contrary to the current fashion for deregulation, regulations are not the problem.
Employment conditions and health inequalities: Final report, WHO, 2007 [pdf] • The report is a contribution to the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health
Hazards news, 17 November 2007

Britain: Study shows safety specialists cut accidents
The more firms invest in safety specialists, the safer they get, new research suggests. The research commissioned by safety professionals’ organisation IOSH and carried out by Glasgow Caledonian University researchers also found organisations where health and safety personnel vet sub-contractors have an accident rate almost 60 per cent lower than in those that don't.
IOSH news release • Glasgow Caledonian University RISC project • Hazards union effect webpages
Hazards news, 3 November 2007

Italy: DHL forced to negotiate after strike
Managers at DHL’s air cargo fleet operations in Italy have promised to enter into talks with unions over safety after their hand was forced by strike action. Workers at DHL’s Bergamo hub went on strike on 10 October prompted by managers’ refusals to discuss safety concerns following an accident that seriously injured a worker; he was crushed by a 2000 kilogramme pallet that fell from a forklift truck.
ITF news release
Hazards news, 27 October 2007

USA: Tragedies spur calls for a union voice
Non-union workers at the Utah mine where six miners died in a 6 August collapse and three workers were killed on 16 August in the abortive rescue efforts have asked mining union UMWA to be their representative in discussions with the company and the US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). In a highly contentious move, however, the official mines safety watchdog has turned down the request.
UMWA news release • ICEM In-Brief
Hazards news, 1 September 2007

Britain: Safety reps mean action at work
Union safety reps make workplace safety campaigns effective, research for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has found. The study looked at the involvement of safety reps in HSE’s better backs campaign, examining the impact of the training and support provided by Unite’s Amicus section.
Hazards news report, 1 September 2007 •
Hazards safety reps’ webpage • Hazards union effect webpage
Hazards news, 1 September 2007

Australia: New charter to protect workers
A new charter of workplace rights that sets out baseline health and safety and compensation standards has been launched by Australian national union federation ACTU. ACTU president Sharan Burrow said: “The health and safety of Australian workers is of paramount importance to the ACTU and the union movement and this charter spells out a decent set of minimum standards for workplace rights that can work in all workplaces across Australia.”
ACTU news release • ACTU occupational health and safety workplace rights charter [pdf] • ABC News
Hazards news, 9 June 2007

Britain: Community raises the alarm for safety
A union has demonstrated the safety protection unions can offer, even when the employer refuses formal union recognition. Workers in Betfred betting shops were concerned when the company switched off emergency alarms’ Community contacted the company and made sure that these were switched straight back on. Community news release and betting shop campaign • Hazards organising news and resources
Hazards news, 12 May 2007

Britain: Loco campaign sets improvements in train
Train cabs riddled with comfort and safety problems are being improved after a campaign by train drivers’ union ASLEF.
Risks 300, 31 March 2007

USA: Unions wear down Bush in protective gear victory
The Bush administration has said it will issue by November a final rule telling employers they must not charge for personal protective equipment (PPE). The action follows a lawsuit filed by national union federation AFL-CIO and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) in January this year to force implementation of the eight-year delayed rule.
Risks 299, 24 March 2007

Britain: Union reverses unsafe Royal Mail austerity drive
Royal Mail has backtracked after postal union CWU revealed an end of year cost cutting exercise was undermining agreed safety procedures. The problem started when Royal Mail managing director Ian Griffiths introduced on 25 January a major “austerity” drive across Royal Mail Letters, with an internal memo instructing managers to cut all expenditure in the final weeks of this financial year.
Risks 295, 24 February 2007

Britain: Food firm injuries fall thanks to union role
Carlisle-based company Cavaghan & Gray has seen a dramatic fall in workplace injuries and dangerous incidents thanks to a new hazard spotting approach agreed with unions. The company, part of the Northern Foods group, struck a new deal agreed with Usdaw reps that resulted in the introduction of a zero tolerance campaign, based around a simple hazard/near miss reporting form.
Risks 295, 24 February 2007

Britain: Union reps really make a difference
Despite clear evidence that union reps make workplaces safer and more productive, they are seeing their careers damaged as a result of their unpaid role. Research this week from Personnel Today and the TUC reveals that 92 per cent of union reps - 38 per cent “definitely” and 54 per cent “possibly” - believe they could sacrificing their careers in order to represent their colleagues even though they enjoy a largely positive, professional working relationship with their organisations’ human relations departments.
Risks 292, 3 February 2007

USA: Construction firms push unions as safer choice
With the number of construction deaths on non-union sites skyrocketing, New York's largest building contractors’ association has launched a $1 million (£0.5m) ad campaign to underscore the importance of hiring union workers. The year-long media blitz is aimed at “public policymakers and real estate developers,” said Louis Coletti, president of the Building Trades Employers' Association (BTEA).
Risks 287, 16 December 2006

USA: Non-union workers at greater risk on site
Union members in New York are less likely to be injured or killed at work, US safety officials have said. Richard Mendelson, the Manhattan director for OSHA, decried the lax safety enforcement at construction sites, and acknowledged a connection between union presence and worker safety.
Risks 285, 2 December 2006

USA: Safety No.1 reason to join a union
American workers rank workplace safety as the top reason to join a union, according to new research. A poll by the Employment Law Alliance, a network of management side employment lawyers, found 63 per cent of workers surveyed identified health and safety as an important factor in deciding to join a union, followed by getting better benefits (60 per cent), obtaining higher wages (57 per cent) and increasing job security (54 per cent).
Risks 274, 16 September 2006

Australia: Protests as safety action is “criminalised”
Trade unionists from across Australia rallied on 29 August in support of more than 100 West Australian construction workers whose rowdy court appearance launched their fight against unprecedented fines for striking. Unions are warning that the industrial relations changes introduced by the federal government mean strike action on safety grounds has been “criminalised”.
Risks 272, 2 September 2006 • Hazards union effect webpages

Australia: Union prosecutes bank for not deterring robbers
An Australian bank has been forced to cough up Aus$145,000 (£59,000) in fines after a union took it to court for leaving workers at risk from violent robbers. Half of the fine from the current case will be paid to the official Workcover Authority and the balance to the union.
Risks 250, 1 April 2006

China: Premier stresses union role in work safety
Trade unions should and can play a major role in work safety supervision, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has said. Trade unions at all levels should be fully involved “especially in work safety supervision” to better safeguard workers' interests, the premier said.
Risks 248, 18 March 2006

Britain: Brent Council finds safety reps and committees make safer schools
Recently trained safety representatives are already making a
difference. A Brent NUT safety representatives survey, carried out in June 2005, showed that after just one day's training safety representatives carried out more than three times as many activities as untrained safety representatives. Now with more training they are transforming school safety.
Brent NUT, 15 March 2006

USA: Top lifesaving device in mines? A union
January’s mine tragedy in West Virginia, USA, which left 12 miners dead and one critical, has prompted serious questions about what makes mine safe. A report in Slate online magazine said: “The real obstacle to safety reform is that miners no longer have a powerful union sticking up for them.”
Risks 244, 18 February 2006

Australia: Fifteen things you should know safety
If you thought knowing about risks and laws was the key to making your workplace safe, think again. The first thing you need to know is how as a union you can get the organisation and influence to put things right, according to a 15 point checklist for union reps.
Risks 244, 18 February 2006

Britain: Involve workers, minister tells local authorities
Local authorities should make union and worker involvement a “key element” of their work programme, safety minister Lord Hunt has said. He added: “Our ambitions for lower rates of injury and ill-health cannot succeed without the participation and vigilance of those who work with the risks and their representative organisations, the unions.”
Risks 238, 7 January 2006

Britain: Non-union workplaces clueless on consultation
An investigation by Health and Safety Executive (HSE) boffins into workforce participation in non-union workplaces has found most are clueless when it comes to consultation rules and there is very limited participation from the workforce as a whole.
Risks 237, 17 December 2005

Britain: Accidents plummet in paper firm
A paper company working with print union Amicus has achieved a massive cut in workplace accidents. Amicus says an effective employer and trade union partnership had reduced accident rates by 63 per cent and improved health and safety at St Regis mills.
Risks 233, 19 November 2005

Australia: Reducing union site access is deadly
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has warned that federal government plans to restrict union access to construction sites could result in more deaths. Official studies in Australia have also confirmed a marked union safety effect.
Risks 228, 15 October 2005

Britain: Report confirms unions save lives on site
A report for a top Health and Safety Commission (HSC) committee has confirmed the lifesaving impact of unions and safety reps in the construction industry.
Risks 220, 20 August 2005

New Zealand: New union safety reps have saved lives
A 60 per cent reduction in workplace fatalities is a vindication a safety law that resulted in thousands of new union safety reps in New Zealand, a top union boss has said.
Risks 214, 9 July 2005

Britain: HSE research shows safety reps work
A Health and Safety Executive report has confirmed the “positive link” between the presence of union safety representatives and levels of health and safety awareness and performance.
Risks 214, 9 July 2005

USA: Union irons out laundry firm’s resistance
A US union campaign to organise a major laundry company with a poor safety record has scored a notable victory. Textiles union UNITE HERE targeted ABN AMRO, the finance company backing Angelica Corporation, in the run up to the 28 April Workers’ Memorial Day this year.
Risks 212, 25 June 2005

USA: Unions make workplaces healthier says CWA
Unions can have a dramatic impact on every aspect of workplace health and safety, says US union CWA. CWA executive vice president Larry Cohen commented: “Our health and safety work clearly distinguishes what it means to work union, whether pushing for safety and health improvements in a lead acid battery plant, a hospital, on the police force, or as an outside technician or service rep.”
Risks 211, 18 June 2005

TUC report confirms unions are good for you
An August 2004 report from TUC shows that UK unions are you best defence against work-related accidents and ill-health. Report author, TUC head of safety Hugh Robertson, said: “This report confirms in simple and clear terms that safety representatives are one of the most significant factors in improving the safety culture of an organisation. While unions have known this for along time, we need employers to look at the evidence and start accepting the huge impact that consultation can make.”
The union effect, TUC briefing, August 2004 • Risks 168, 7 August 2004

Risks 119, 16 August 2003

Tim Morse and others. The relationship of unions to prevalence and claim filing for work-related upper-extremity musculoskeletal disorders, American Journal of Industrial Medicine, volume 44, Issue 1, pages 83-93, 2003 [abstract] • Risks 115, 19 July 2003

Risks 102, 19 April 2003

Risks 60, 29 June 2002

Risks 57, 8 June 2002 • TUC news release

Britain. Risks 47, 30 March 2002, and Risks 49, 13 April 2002

Unions seek the legal right of entry to workplace

Australia. January 2002 briefing document, Unions Western Australia

WSA job description

Australia. VTHC news release, 19 June 2001

USA/Global. ICEM Global, No.1, 1998

USA. Excerpt from Graphic Communicator, GCIU, March-April 2001

Britain. HSE news release, 20 July 2000