HSC misses worker participation chance
Four years after recommending a radical overhaul of the UK's statutory system for worker participation in health and safety, the HSC has instead produced an anodyne statement denuded of any concrete proposals and based entirely on a voluntary approach.
The statement follows the HSC's controversial decision announced in late 2003 (LAs to get more carrot, less stick) to drop plans to harmonise the Safety Representatives and Safety Committee Regulations 1977 and the Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996. The HSC's new statement, made in March, marks the end of a debacle that started in 2000 with a discussion document that suggested amalgamation and continued with an ambitious two-part strategy to involve more workers and their representatives in health and safety (HSC confirms repeal of safety reps Regs).
The 1977 Regulations cover workplaces where unions are recognised and provide rights for union-appointed safety representatives; the 1996 Regulations cover non-unionised workplaces and provide for basic consultation with employees. The HSC says that while the 1977 Regulations have been a success, they are limited to a unionised workforce of just 7.5 million.
The 1996 Regulations cover 17.5 million workers, many in small and medium-sized enterprises, but were described by the HSC when proposing their repeal as having "had a limited impact" (two in three employers were unaware of the Regulations).
These figures are misleading: some non-unionised workers will also benefit from safety reps where they share workplaces with unionised workers. The TUC argues that, excluding one-person operations, more than half of the UK's workforce have access to a safety rep.
The HSC's statement admits it faces a "challenge":
there are not enough employers who properly involve and consult their workers on health and safety;
there are not enough workers who feel able to come forward and take on health and safety responsibilities;
although there is evidence that unions have a positive effect on injury rates and safety compliance (see box), there is little evidence of successful involvement in small, non-unionised businesses; and
changing work patterns mean that "there is now a danger of significant reductions in consultation with workers".
The HSC insists that an essential part of its "vision" (see
"All dressed up", but where will the HSC's strategy go?) "is a workforce fully involved in health and safety management and a vibrant system of workplace health and safety reps operating in partnership with management." This shared vision will, claims the HSC, "reduce the overall need for regulatory intervention".
The HSC insists that the "methods" of involvement will need to match the circumstances and can include: ownership by workers of action plans and risk assessments; arrangements for feedback between workers and employers; works councils with dedicated health and safety meetings; and "honest, open and supportive safety cultures".
The nearest the HSC gets to concrete proposals is that it will:
help ensure that training needs are identified and that the means for developing the competence of all workers and safety reps are put in place and working well;
help safety reps carry out their "vital work" and set out the role of safety reps;
support the Worker Safety Adviser Challenge Fund (Worker Safety Advisers are go);
promote campaigns that encourage more workers to get involved in health and safety, and ensure that public pronouncements draw attention to the importance of worker involvement and consultation;
discuss with local authorities and the HSE the practical steps to move this agenda forward;
act on research that identifies innovative solutions for involving workers; and
review and evaluate the measures.
The HSC is obviously wary of the criticisms that its statement will bring; it quietly placed the statement on its website (without the HSC logo), only issuing a press release several days later. It also published "stakeholder endorsements" from the likes of the CBI, the Federation of Small Businesses, the Small Business Service and the Institute of Directors. Hugh Robertson, senior TUC policy officer, is quoted as saying that the TUC is "delighted that the HSC has recognised the value of worker involvement and the valuable role" that safety reps play. He stressed that reps are "a great resource that must be supported and developed."
Robertson told HSB that while he was delighted at the HSC's recognition, the TUC had supported harmonisation of the two sets of Regulations. He hoped that the statement "would act as a springboard for concrete proposals for action in the future". He had already written to the HSC asking it to amend the 1977 Regulations to improve the provisions on paid time off for training, and place duties on employers both to respond to issues raised by employees and to involve safety reps in risk assessments.
1 "A collective declaration on worker involvement", www.hse.gov.uk/workers/involvement/index.htm.
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Despite the absence of proposals, the HSC's statement does at least represent one of its clearest endorsements of the benefits of employee participation and union representation. It states, for example, that:
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