MAKE YOUR RUBBER COMPANY A SAFER PLACE TO WORK

HSC press release C017:03 - 28 May 2003

Do you want to know how to make your rubber company a safer place to work? Do you want to know what health and safety training should be provided for everyone working in your organisation, including Directors and senior managers?

If the answer is YES and you run a rubber company or work within the industry come along to The Pavilion at Goodyear's Sports and Social Club in Wolverhampton on Thursday 26 June 2003 starting at 10.00am where the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) is to hold an open meeting of its Rubber Industry Advisory Committee (RUBIAC).

Over the last few years the rubber industry has worked hard to deliver an improvement in its poor accident record in response to the RUBIAC Action Plan. The Action Plan is an industry wide accident reduction initiative. A 25% improvement in the accident record has been achieved, however, this needs to be improved further to get near to the performance of all manufacturing industry. To do this RUBIAC recognised the need to improve training in health and safety at all levels and has commissioned work to develop a training system for the rubber industry. This is to allow companies to compare themselves to the system developed.

Chris Flint, Head of the Rubber and Plastics Group within the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), said "We want people to know about the RUBIAC Action Plan and how we can help to make their lives easier and safer. The meeting provides an opportunity for comments to be made on the proposed training system and other free guidance RUBIAC has developed so it can be amended before it is published and sent out to all in the industry. It also allows people the chance to tell RUBIAC members what other support they would like RUBIAC to provide and how communications can be improved with all the industry".

During the open RUBIAC meeting there will be a lively presentation on the importance of good health and safety training and the outcomes of the visits to rubber firms to look at their current training and the recommended training system being proposed by RUBIAC.

RUBIAC provides expert advice to the HSC on the full range of health & safety issues affecting Britain's rubber industry. The Committee is made up of representatives of the main employers' associations and trade unions.

Notes for Editors

1. The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) oversees the work of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) which, in association with local authorities, enforces health & safety at work standards in Great Britain.

2. RUBIAC is a tripartite committee, made up of representatives of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Trade Union Council (TUC) and the HSE. Its primary aim is to reduce injuries and ill-health caused by work in the rubber industries. It also promotes acceptable standards of working conditions and welfare in conformity with legal requirements.

3. The Government & HSC launched the 'Revitalising Health & Safety Strategy Document' on 7th June 2000. The ten-point strategy, supported by a 44-point action plan, announced tough targets for reducing work- related deaths, ill-health and injury in Britain over the next 10 years.

4. In support of the Revitalising Agenda, RUBIAC has developed its own industry wide initiative to reduce accidents and ill health in the rubber industry. The current RUBIAC Action Plan runs until May 2005 and aims to reduce the number of reported cases of accidents and ill health by at least 30%. Copies of the Action Plan can be obtained from Anne Rayner, contact details on previous page.

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