Dan Shears GMB National H&S Department 8th April
Description: Dan Shears GMB National HS Department 8th April 2016 Your Health, Your Safety How your HS is being attacked and what were doing about it Outline Political Background Coalition Government Conservative Policies Impact of Policy Changes
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slide1. Dan Shears
GMB National H&S Department
8th April 2016 Your Health, Your Safety
How your H&S is being attacked – and what we’re doing about it<br>
slide2. Outline Political Background
Coalition Government
Conservative Policies
Impact of Policy Changes
How we fight back
The 6 myths that must be challenged
GMB Special Report – ‘Your Health, Your Safety’
What you can do<br>
slide3. Years of decline This is a tale of successive governments – both the Coalition and the Tories– have downplayed, under-resourced and undermined health and safety standards in Great Britain
The key issue is not whether we accept this agenda – it has already been imposed upon us
Our challenge is to reverse this decline and renew society’s commitment to safe and healthy work<br>
slide4. Tories=Reviews! 2010 Lord Young ‘Common Sense, Common Safety’ - RIDDOR changes; low hazard workplaces
2010 Comprehensive Spending Review - 35% cuts to HSE budget over 3 years
2011 Grayling’s ‘Good Health and Safety: Good for everyone’ – HSE ‘fee for intervention’; proactive inspections cut by 33% -11,000 cut in HSE inspections, 65,000+ in Local Authorities
2012 Lofstedt Review of all H&S law, EU law, and employee blame, with a view to removing burdens from business<br>
slide5. Inspections? Following Grayling’s new strategy preventative inspections are still allowed in Nuclear & Major Hazard industries, and in:
Construction
Foundries
Waste/ recycling
Glass
But not in equally high risk:
agriculture, quarries, docks, social care, manufacturing, electrical engineering, transport
Post Office, NHS, schools, offices, shops, whole of public sector etc. - now reclassified ‘low risk’<br>
slide6. Lofstedt Report “I have concluded that in general there is no case for radically altering current health and safety legislation. The regulations place responsibilities on those who create the risk, recognising that they are best placed to decide who to control them and allowing them to do so in a proportionate manner.”
“There is a view across the board that the existing regulatory requirements are broadly right and that regulation has a role to play in preventing injury and ill-health in the workplace. Indeed there is evidence to suggest that proportionate risk management can make good business sense.”<br>
slide7. Other threats Red Tape Challenge
No new ‘burdens’ for 3 years on employers of 10 or less
No new regs except from EU and no ‘gold plating’
‘One in, one out’, and Sunsetting clauses
Sickness Absence Review and ‘Fit Notes’
Attacks on legal aid, access to justice
TU Bill - Attacks on facility time in public sector<br>
slide8. 2016-2020? The ‘Rump’ HSE:
Completely reactive in most Sectors
Focused on high societal hazard
Fewer Inspectors in fewer Regional Offices
Further sectoral risk classification
More workers ‘out of scope’ – agency workers, ZHCs, self-employed
Further loss of policymaking expertise<br>
slide9. Nothing the previous or current Government has done will prevent a single work-related injury or death The Bottom Line<br>
slide10. 6 Deadly Myths Modern work doesn’t cause much harm
H&S is over the top, ‘gone mad’
Most workplaces are ‘low hazard/risk’
Compensation Culture is rife
H&S laws and enforcement are a burden on business
H&S is only ‘common sense’ so no need for law and enforcement<br>
slide11. Safe Work in UK Myth/Lie No.1: Health and Safety in Britain is one of best in world and very few people now hurt by modern work.
THE TRUTH:
Up to 1,500 killed in work-related incidents
Up to 50,000 die due to work-related illnesses
Millions made ill by work EVERY YEAR;
Britain only 30 out of 176 countries for occupational safety and health performance in Maplecroft Risk Index report 2010, 20th out of 34 OECD countries;
We have more occupational ill-health now than ever, according to occupational health experts.<br>
slide12. H&S gone mad? Myth/Lie No. 2. Health and safety has gone mad, it’s over the top, over enforced, over bureaucratic.
TRUTH:
Average business spends 20 hours & £350 a year on risk assessment
Less spot inspection of workplaces– literally once in a lifetime – 98% collapse in LA inspections
Less investigations: only 1 in 9 major and fatal injuries even investigated
Less enforcement action, fewer prosecutions: down 50% over 10 years and in 98% of major injuries there is no enforcement action taken against the employer at all<br>
slide13. Mostly low-risk work Myth/Lie No.3: Offices, shops, schools are ‘non-hazardous’.
TRUTH:
You’re less likely to be killed or physically injured, but these workers face:
Musculoskeletal risks from working with computers;
Violence from customers and pupils;
A whole host of stress-related illnesses caused by bullying and harassment, by long hours and excessive workloads;
Physical risks from buildings, electricity, asbestos.
Undermines HSWA 1974 applying equally to all workers.<br>
slide14. Compensation Myth/Lie No. 4. Compensation culture is rife
TRUTH:
Less than 10% of workers made ill, injured and the families of those killed by work, get any sort of compensation at all
Reports show ECLI, Public Liability and Medical Negligence claims going down -only road traffic incident claims up<br>
slide15. ‘Common sense…’ Myth/Lie No.5: H&S only ‘common sense’, no need for laws and enforcement, firms will do right thing
TRUTH:
Workers are made ill and killed every day due to employers failing to manage health and safety
All the evidence shows what works is clear laws, strictly enforced to protect workers from ignorant, non-compliant and often criminally negligent employers
Voluntary schemes and ‘trust the boss’ don’t work!<br>
slide16. H&S =Burdens Myth/Lie No 6: Health and safety costs too much
TRUTH:
Good health and safety saves lives and employers and the state money;
British Chambers of Commerce estimate cost of H&S compliance at £375M per year – fail to deduct savings, e.g. lower insurance premiums, less compensation, less fines, less sickness, lost production or service time.
Nor do they add in the cost of poor health and safety to society
This is estimated at £14-20BN plus all the cost of long latency occupational illnesses, like cancers @£2.43 million each = well over £40 billion EVERY YEAR and who pays?
YOU DO – workers and their families pay in heartbreak and poverty, we/state pay via health and benefit costs but the employers who cause the damage pay less than 25%!<br>
slide17. Wrong to label certain sectors as ‘low-risk’:
Schools – Stress, asbestos and violence
Shops – Slips and trips, manual handling, violence (GMB SafeGuard campaign)
Offices – Stress, MSDs/WRULDs
Just because there aren’t large numbers of deaths in these sectors, doesn’t mean there aren’t serious health and safety issues
Changes to RIDDOR will only take thousands of injuries off the records, and “fiddle the statistics”
Reducing risk assessment will do nothing to help, and will create a ‘two-tier’ health and safety system GMB Response<br>
slide18. Fighting Back Health and safety needs to be a far higher union priority at this time…
…as we have not ‘cracked it’; it has not ‘gone off the radar’, and the current political changes are not being sufficiently challenged
Indeed, much of what is happening is occurring with little scrutiny, and much right wing applause
We have to act now to stop further damage being inflicted through the back door<br>
slide19. World of work has changed: Zero Hours; agency working – precarious work
Workplace hazards/risks are changing – move to services from manufacturing economy; contracting out in public sector
Regulatory framework has been weakened:
Less regulation
Less enforcement
Less compensation
Special Report gives way forward 2015 Special Report<br>
slide20. Dedicated RHSO in every GMB Region
Ensure that Regional Health, Safety and Environment forums are organised and take place at least twice per year, directly reporting to Regional Committees
Create a National Health, Safety and Environment forum, populated by delegates elected from Regional Health, Safety and Environment forums, and with the ability to submit a resolution to GMB Congress
Hold a National Health, Safety and Environment conference each year Support<br>
slide21. Survey our members to find out what your issues and concerns are, and what extra support you need
Link in to the wider equality agenda to help to recruit the next generation of GMB Health, Safety and Environment Representatives, with a particular focus on young members, BME members and women
Better recognise the achievements of our Health and Safety Representatives beyond the annual Safety Representative of the Year award at GMB Congress Support<br>
slide22. Looking at the opportunities around Health, Safety and Environment as part of the ongoing GMB Branches Review
Looking at simplifying access to training beyond that offered by GMB and the TUC to address specific hazards, issues or concerns.
Seek to appoint more lay Health and Safety Representatives to HSE Industry Advisory Committees (IACs) and sectorial forums Organising<br>
slide23. Refresh and update the GMB Health and Safety Representatives’ Handbook as part of the GMB Workplace Organisers’ Toolkit
Ensure that all new GMB representatives complete basic Health and Safety training as part of their induction programme
Make the GMB Inspection Report Form available to complete online using tablets and smartphones.
Develop simple one page ‘quick guides’ on key health, safety and environment topics Guidance<br>
slide24. Publish new guidance and case studies on organising in the workplace using health, safety and environment issues.
Use new technology and new avenues, such as Twitter, GMB TV on YouTube, and podcasts to communicate developments and campaigning activity.
Ensure that the GMB Website on Health, Safety and the Environment is regularly updated and has the most up-to-date information possible.
Publish a GMB Health, Safety and Environment newsletter every month. Guidance (2)<br>
slide25. Deliver a campaign to reassert Health and Safety Representatives’ Rights and reinvigorate inspection activity.
Develop new campaigns and guidance on emerging issues such as mental health, bullying & harassment, nanotechnology and occupational health, particularly around the aging workforce. Campaigning<br>
slide26. Encourage and train GMB Health and Safety Representatives to make use of regional and national media communication channels
Co-ordinate GMB activity around International Workers’ Memorial Day
Regularly lobby parliament to ensure that health, safety and environment issues retain a high profile and remain in the public eye. Campaigning<br>
slide27. How do we do it? Use the real figures and give a clear picture
Workplace meetings
Branch meetings
GMB Congress motions
TUC, Labour Party and beyond<br>
slide28. Largest ever GMB Survey – 364,000 printed
We need your feedback – what you want and how you want it
Online at:
www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/GMB_H_S_E_Survey_2016 Have Your Say<br>
slide29. Challenging at work Two pronged approach:
Defend members health and safety in your workplaces
Campaign inside and outside workplace and union against the cuts
Use Workers’ Memorial Day and evidence from GMB, TUC, Hazards Campaign and magazine to challenge the lies, act locally and build up a massive grassroots movement into a national campaign against the biggest threat to our health and safety for years.<br>
slide30. Unions make work safer & healthier - half as many incidents & illness in organised workplace with safety rep- use it to recruit and retain members
Revitalise union organisation in workplaces, use all rights as safety rep to protect members H&S – to be consulted, given information, to do quarterly inspections, to investigate incidents and ill-health, involvement in Risk Assessments, to monitor injury and ill-health stats
Build case for reactive inspection/intervention by Inspectors when you have exhausted all internal procedures, make complaints about breaches of law with care: Email HSE - turepconcerns@hse.gsi.gov.uk Defending H&S at work<br>
slide31. National action National Level:
Lobbies of Parliament
Briefing MPs, Councillors etc
Advice / Roadshows to Regions
Use Workers’ Memorial Day to raise profile
Make sure we use the real figures – 20,000 deaths, not 150<br>
slide32. GMB Safety Reps Workplace Level
Re-enforce your role:
Inspections,
Investigations,
Advice,
Holding the employer accountable through the workplace H&S Committee
Recruit, organise and defend your rights, before they are lost<br>
slide33. It starts in the workplace You will make the critical difference<br>
slide34. Conclusion For more info:
E: daniel.shears@gmb.org.uk
E: lynsey.mann@gmb.org.uk
T: @SaferWithGMB
Any Questions?<br>
GMB National H&S Department
8th April 2016 Your Health, Your Safety
How your H&S is being attacked – and what we’re doing about it<br>
slide2. Outline Political Background
Coalition Government
Conservative Policies
Impact of Policy Changes
How we fight back
The 6 myths that must be challenged
GMB Special Report – ‘Your Health, Your Safety’
What you can do<br>
slide3. Years of decline This is a tale of successive governments – both the Coalition and the Tories– have downplayed, under-resourced and undermined health and safety standards in Great Britain
The key issue is not whether we accept this agenda – it has already been imposed upon us
Our challenge is to reverse this decline and renew society’s commitment to safe and healthy work<br>
slide4. Tories=Reviews! 2010 Lord Young ‘Common Sense, Common Safety’ - RIDDOR changes; low hazard workplaces
2010 Comprehensive Spending Review - 35% cuts to HSE budget over 3 years
2011 Grayling’s ‘Good Health and Safety: Good for everyone’ – HSE ‘fee for intervention’; proactive inspections cut by 33% -11,000 cut in HSE inspections, 65,000+ in Local Authorities
2012 Lofstedt Review of all H&S law, EU law, and employee blame, with a view to removing burdens from business<br>
slide5. Inspections? Following Grayling’s new strategy preventative inspections are still allowed in Nuclear & Major Hazard industries, and in:
Construction
Foundries
Waste/ recycling
Glass
But not in equally high risk:
agriculture, quarries, docks, social care, manufacturing, electrical engineering, transport
Post Office, NHS, schools, offices, shops, whole of public sector etc. - now reclassified ‘low risk’<br>
slide6. Lofstedt Report “I have concluded that in general there is no case for radically altering current health and safety legislation. The regulations place responsibilities on those who create the risk, recognising that they are best placed to decide who to control them and allowing them to do so in a proportionate manner.”
“There is a view across the board that the existing regulatory requirements are broadly right and that regulation has a role to play in preventing injury and ill-health in the workplace. Indeed there is evidence to suggest that proportionate risk management can make good business sense.”<br>
slide7. Other threats Red Tape Challenge
No new ‘burdens’ for 3 years on employers of 10 or less
No new regs except from EU and no ‘gold plating’
‘One in, one out’, and Sunsetting clauses
Sickness Absence Review and ‘Fit Notes’
Attacks on legal aid, access to justice
TU Bill - Attacks on facility time in public sector<br>
slide8. 2016-2020? The ‘Rump’ HSE:
Completely reactive in most Sectors
Focused on high societal hazard
Fewer Inspectors in fewer Regional Offices
Further sectoral risk classification
More workers ‘out of scope’ – agency workers, ZHCs, self-employed
Further loss of policymaking expertise<br>
slide9. Nothing the previous or current Government has done will prevent a single work-related injury or death The Bottom Line<br>
slide10. 6 Deadly Myths Modern work doesn’t cause much harm
H&S is over the top, ‘gone mad’
Most workplaces are ‘low hazard/risk’
Compensation Culture is rife
H&S laws and enforcement are a burden on business
H&S is only ‘common sense’ so no need for law and enforcement<br>
slide11. Safe Work in UK Myth/Lie No.1: Health and Safety in Britain is one of best in world and very few people now hurt by modern work.
THE TRUTH:
Up to 1,500 killed in work-related incidents
Up to 50,000 die due to work-related illnesses
Millions made ill by work EVERY YEAR;
Britain only 30 out of 176 countries for occupational safety and health performance in Maplecroft Risk Index report 2010, 20th out of 34 OECD countries;
We have more occupational ill-health now than ever, according to occupational health experts.<br>
slide12. H&S gone mad? Myth/Lie No. 2. Health and safety has gone mad, it’s over the top, over enforced, over bureaucratic.
TRUTH:
Average business spends 20 hours & £350 a year on risk assessment
Less spot inspection of workplaces– literally once in a lifetime – 98% collapse in LA inspections
Less investigations: only 1 in 9 major and fatal injuries even investigated
Less enforcement action, fewer prosecutions: down 50% over 10 years and in 98% of major injuries there is no enforcement action taken against the employer at all<br>
slide13. Mostly low-risk work Myth/Lie No.3: Offices, shops, schools are ‘non-hazardous’.
TRUTH:
You’re less likely to be killed or physically injured, but these workers face:
Musculoskeletal risks from working with computers;
Violence from customers and pupils;
A whole host of stress-related illnesses caused by bullying and harassment, by long hours and excessive workloads;
Physical risks from buildings, electricity, asbestos.
Undermines HSWA 1974 applying equally to all workers.<br>
slide14. Compensation Myth/Lie No. 4. Compensation culture is rife
TRUTH:
Less than 10% of workers made ill, injured and the families of those killed by work, get any sort of compensation at all
Reports show ECLI, Public Liability and Medical Negligence claims going down -only road traffic incident claims up<br>
slide15. ‘Common sense…’ Myth/Lie No.5: H&S only ‘common sense’, no need for laws and enforcement, firms will do right thing
TRUTH:
Workers are made ill and killed every day due to employers failing to manage health and safety
All the evidence shows what works is clear laws, strictly enforced to protect workers from ignorant, non-compliant and often criminally negligent employers
Voluntary schemes and ‘trust the boss’ don’t work!<br>
slide16. H&S =Burdens Myth/Lie No 6: Health and safety costs too much
TRUTH:
Good health and safety saves lives and employers and the state money;
British Chambers of Commerce estimate cost of H&S compliance at £375M per year – fail to deduct savings, e.g. lower insurance premiums, less compensation, less fines, less sickness, lost production or service time.
Nor do they add in the cost of poor health and safety to society
This is estimated at £14-20BN plus all the cost of long latency occupational illnesses, like cancers @£2.43 million each = well over £40 billion EVERY YEAR and who pays?
YOU DO – workers and their families pay in heartbreak and poverty, we/state pay via health and benefit costs but the employers who cause the damage pay less than 25%!<br>
slide17. Wrong to label certain sectors as ‘low-risk’:
Schools – Stress, asbestos and violence
Shops – Slips and trips, manual handling, violence (GMB SafeGuard campaign)
Offices – Stress, MSDs/WRULDs
Just because there aren’t large numbers of deaths in these sectors, doesn’t mean there aren’t serious health and safety issues
Changes to RIDDOR will only take thousands of injuries off the records, and “fiddle the statistics”
Reducing risk assessment will do nothing to help, and will create a ‘two-tier’ health and safety system GMB Response<br>
slide18. Fighting Back Health and safety needs to be a far higher union priority at this time…
…as we have not ‘cracked it’; it has not ‘gone off the radar’, and the current political changes are not being sufficiently challenged
Indeed, much of what is happening is occurring with little scrutiny, and much right wing applause
We have to act now to stop further damage being inflicted through the back door<br>
slide19. World of work has changed: Zero Hours; agency working – precarious work
Workplace hazards/risks are changing – move to services from manufacturing economy; contracting out in public sector
Regulatory framework has been weakened:
Less regulation
Less enforcement
Less compensation
Special Report gives way forward 2015 Special Report<br>
slide20. Dedicated RHSO in every GMB Region
Ensure that Regional Health, Safety and Environment forums are organised and take place at least twice per year, directly reporting to Regional Committees
Create a National Health, Safety and Environment forum, populated by delegates elected from Regional Health, Safety and Environment forums, and with the ability to submit a resolution to GMB Congress
Hold a National Health, Safety and Environment conference each year Support<br>
slide21. Survey our members to find out what your issues and concerns are, and what extra support you need
Link in to the wider equality agenda to help to recruit the next generation of GMB Health, Safety and Environment Representatives, with a particular focus on young members, BME members and women
Better recognise the achievements of our Health and Safety Representatives beyond the annual Safety Representative of the Year award at GMB Congress Support<br>
slide22. Looking at the opportunities around Health, Safety and Environment as part of the ongoing GMB Branches Review
Looking at simplifying access to training beyond that offered by GMB and the TUC to address specific hazards, issues or concerns.
Seek to appoint more lay Health and Safety Representatives to HSE Industry Advisory Committees (IACs) and sectorial forums Organising<br>
slide23. Refresh and update the GMB Health and Safety Representatives’ Handbook as part of the GMB Workplace Organisers’ Toolkit
Ensure that all new GMB representatives complete basic Health and Safety training as part of their induction programme
Make the GMB Inspection Report Form available to complete online using tablets and smartphones.
Develop simple one page ‘quick guides’ on key health, safety and environment topics Guidance<br>
slide24. Publish new guidance and case studies on organising in the workplace using health, safety and environment issues.
Use new technology and new avenues, such as Twitter, GMB TV on YouTube, and podcasts to communicate developments and campaigning activity.
Ensure that the GMB Website on Health, Safety and the Environment is regularly updated and has the most up-to-date information possible.
Publish a GMB Health, Safety and Environment newsletter every month. Guidance (2)<br>
slide25. Deliver a campaign to reassert Health and Safety Representatives’ Rights and reinvigorate inspection activity.
Develop new campaigns and guidance on emerging issues such as mental health, bullying & harassment, nanotechnology and occupational health, particularly around the aging workforce. Campaigning<br>
slide26. Encourage and train GMB Health and Safety Representatives to make use of regional and national media communication channels
Co-ordinate GMB activity around International Workers’ Memorial Day
Regularly lobby parliament to ensure that health, safety and environment issues retain a high profile and remain in the public eye. Campaigning<br>
slide27. How do we do it? Use the real figures and give a clear picture
Workplace meetings
Branch meetings
GMB Congress motions
TUC, Labour Party and beyond<br>
slide28. Largest ever GMB Survey – 364,000 printed
We need your feedback – what you want and how you want it
Online at:
www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/GMB_H_S_E_Survey_2016 Have Your Say<br>
slide29. Challenging at work Two pronged approach:
Defend members health and safety in your workplaces
Campaign inside and outside workplace and union against the cuts
Use Workers’ Memorial Day and evidence from GMB, TUC, Hazards Campaign and magazine to challenge the lies, act locally and build up a massive grassroots movement into a national campaign against the biggest threat to our health and safety for years.<br>
slide30. Unions make work safer & healthier - half as many incidents & illness in organised workplace with safety rep- use it to recruit and retain members
Revitalise union organisation in workplaces, use all rights as safety rep to protect members H&S – to be consulted, given information, to do quarterly inspections, to investigate incidents and ill-health, involvement in Risk Assessments, to monitor injury and ill-health stats
Build case for reactive inspection/intervention by Inspectors when you have exhausted all internal procedures, make complaints about breaches of law with care: Email HSE - turepconcerns@hse.gsi.gov.uk Defending H&S at work<br>
slide31. National action National Level:
Lobbies of Parliament
Briefing MPs, Councillors etc
Advice / Roadshows to Regions
Use Workers’ Memorial Day to raise profile
Make sure we use the real figures – 20,000 deaths, not 150<br>
slide32. GMB Safety Reps Workplace Level
Re-enforce your role:
Inspections,
Investigations,
Advice,
Holding the employer accountable through the workplace H&S Committee
Recruit, organise and defend your rights, before they are lost<br>
slide33. It starts in the workplace You will make the critical difference<br>
slide34. Conclusion For more info:
E: daniel.shears@gmb.org.uk
E: lynsey.mann@gmb.org.uk
T: @SaferWithGMB
Any Questions?<br>