HSC urges employers to consult workers on health and safety

HSC press release - C010:04 - 9 March 2004

The chair of the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) today called on all employers to properly involve and consult their employees to ensure good standards of health and safety in the workplace.

Bill Callaghan made the appeal as he launched a statement on worker involvement and consultation, which sets out HSC's case for a collaborative approach between partners to managing risks to occupational health and safety. He said: "I believe the statement makes a strong argument for the active participation of employees in managing workplace health and safety, working in partnership with their employers to reduce both ill-health and injuries.

The statement is central to HSC's new strategy for workplace health and safety, published last week, and is its first 'deliverable'. It recognises workers as the most valuable asset in bringing about real improvements in occupational health and safety. HSC's statement focuses on the relationships between workers and employers and promotes a collaborative approach based on trust.

HSC's statement outlines the principles of, and evidence supporting the effectiveness of worker involvement and consultation; examples of ways to secure it and measures for social partners to agree, sign and commit to. It is not about new regulations but seeks to build on existing duties and inspire more employers to consult and involve their staff.

Bill Callaghan stressed the vital contribution workers have to make: "A fully involved and consulted workforce would be a major contribution to achieving a healthier, safer workplace. All workers have a right to work in places where all risks to their health and safety are properly controlled. Not enough employers properly involve and consult their staff on health and safety. Equally, not enough workers feel able to come forward and take on health and safety responsibilities."

Bill Callaghan added: "There are many examples of where greater consultation between managers, staff and unions has increased health and standards, and other cases where poor dialogue has led to significant human and financial costs.

"The Piper Alpha oil platform explosion in 1987, which killed 167 workers and cost an estimated £2bn, and the 1988 Clapham rail crash, in which 35 people died, are two examples of employee concerns about health and safety not being raised. In a paper on safety cultures1 in the workplace in 1999, the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) concluded: "The first people to realise something may be seriously wrong in an organisation are usually those who work there."

Minister for Work Des Browne welcomed publication of the statement. During a recent visit to BAE Systems Aerostructures in Prestwick, Mr Browne paid tribute to the partnership arrangements that exist at the company between managers, trade unions and other parties. He said: "Following an invitation from both management and safety representatives at trade union Amicus to visit the site, I saw the benefits of working in partnership and was impressed by the commitment and determination of partners to make this approach work; one that could be an example to other employers.

"Partnership between employers, managers, trade unions and other parties is vital to build on Great Britain's record on occupational health and safety."

Bill Callaghan continued: "We are not claiming that workforce involvement is the only way to improve health and safety, or saying its absence is the only reason for failure. I challenge all parts of industry to promote the statement and build agreement on this issue: for employers, workers, the unions and other major players to develop and publicise ways of creating trust and working with each other in partnership."

Many others agree. The TUC, CBI, Institute of Directors, Federation of Small Businesses and Chemical Industries Association have endorsed the statement and are keen to meet the challenges it presents. The Government is serious about this issue, too. Last year, the Department for Work and Pensions announced the creation of the Worker Safety Adviser Challenge Fund to build partnerships and drive improvements in occupational health and safety. This is one of the measures set out in the statement that HSE will be working with partners to develop in the coming months.

The focus of the Challenge Fund will be small and medium-sized enterprises lacking arrangements for employee involvement in health and safety. HSE will be publicising the Challenge Fund and inviting bids for awards at the end of March.

The text of the statement, 'A Collective Declaration on Worker Involvement', together with views expressed by various stakeholders, can be accessed via the HSE website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/workers/involvement/index.htm

Notes to editors

1. HSC published a strategy for workplace health and safety in Great Britain to 2010 and beyond on 23 February 2004 (see HSC press notice C007:04). It aims to promote a vision of health and safety as a cornerstone of a civilised society and to achieve a record of workplace health and safety that leads the world. The strategy seeks to ensure that anyone who can contribute to this vision does so.

2. For more detail on the background to the statement and a non-regulatory approach to this issue, see Commission paper HSC/03/143 (November 2003) which is accessible via the HSE website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/meetings/hscarchive/2003/111103/c143.pdf

3. For more details on the on the WSA Challenge Fund, see HSC press notice (C052 of 2 October 2003) at http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2003/c03052.htm

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