Our Health & Safety Officer is Tam Templeman
If you have any questions for Tam please get in touch with the branch at [email protected]
On 28 April the UK Hazards Campaign calls on the Government to increase HSE funding
News release, 24 April 2025
Every year globally, on 28 April, trade unions, workers, and families hold remembrance events marking International Workers Memorial Day (IWMD) because each year work continues to kill millions. In the UK alone the Hazards Campaign calculates 50,000 deaths a year, that’s 137 daily. (1)
IWMD is our opportunity to ‘Remember the Dead and Fight for the Living.’ This year’s theme is AI and digital platforms and their impact on workers health and safety.
‘Although Artificial Intelligence (AI) could be used to mitigate monotonous work, AI at work is increasing work intensification, monitoring and surveillance, generating negative impacts on mental and physical wellbeing, as workers experience the extreme pressure of constant, real-time micromanagement and automated assessment. (ITUC)(2)
AI is already prolific in our working lives, it is used to allocate tasks and track workers but also has been used to negate workers’ rights, for example restricting appropriate breaks leading to work related stress and mental ill health. AI in many circumstances, is leading to unacceptable pressures through pervasive monitoring and target-setting technologies, serious injuries and ill health.(3)
Workers need more than strong words to ensure AI doesn’t increase the pressure on workers. Workers need robust Government policies and also health and safety enforcement authorities with the teeth to control the risks to workers.
Decades of underfunding and under resourcing with increased responsibilities means HSE is running on empty.
The HSE’s own data shows enforcement is stagnating, it is not making impact on fatal and major injuries at work and is conducting far fewer inspections. Work related ill-health is stuck at an all-time high of 1.7-1.8 million workers, an increase of almost 40 per cent since 2010. With working time losses of 34 million working days in 2023/2024, an increase from 22 million in 2010. (4)
If Stephen Timms, the Minister of State for Social Security and Disability responsible for the HSE, and the Government are serious about keeping people in work, they must also be serious about making sure that work is of a decent standard. Jobs should not harm workers or push disabled and ill people out of the workplace—or into an even worse situation.
There is both a moral and economic case for holding employers accountable for managing occupational risks faced by workers. Enforcement authorities must ensure that employers are meeting their legal duties. The Government must guarantee transparency from regulators and provide them with the resources they need to do their job properly.
The Hazards Campaign challenges the Government to invest in the health and safety of workers by resourcing the enforcement authorities and that only then, will work pay and not by workers lives.
For more information Please see:
For more information, press only:
Contact: Janet Newsham
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 07734317158
The Hazards Campaign is a UK-wide network of resource centres and campaigners. The Hazards Campaign supports those organising and campaigning for justice and safety at work.
Contact details:
The Hazards Campaign
c/o Greater Manchester Hazards Centre
Windrush Millennium Centre
70 Alexandra Road
Manchester, M16 7WD
ENGLAND
website www.hazardscampaign.org.uk
twitter @hazardscampaign
facebook www.facebook.com/groups/123746101003963
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Tam is holding the next Health & Safety meeting on MONDAY 27th JANUARY 2025 17:15 to 18:45 which you can either attend in person at UNISON Branch Office or on Microsoft Teams.
If you would like to attend or have any questions on Health & Safety please contact the branch or contact Tam directly at [email protected].
Is It Really About Health & Safety ?
06/03/2025
Sometimes health and safety is used to justify a decision, when in reality there is no health and safety legislation that applies. The information below should help you to weed out misunderstandings about health and safety law – and find out if you are dealing with a real health and safety concern. Ask yourself, ‘Is it really about health and safety?’
Click HERE to find out more
Dates for your Diary
The dates for this years Health & Safety Meetings have been organised, please add to your diary (These are also on the UNISON Diary page on this website).
Tuesday 29th April Branch Office or Microsoft Teams 17:15 – 18:45
Monday 23rd June Branch Office or Microsoft Teams 17:15 – 18:45
Monday 22nd September Branch Office or Microsoft Teams 17:15 – 18:45
Monday 15th December Branch Office or Microsoft Teams 17:15 – 18:45
The annual figures (2023 to 2024) include:
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Health & Safety Survey
UNISON Scotland’s Violence At Work Report 2024
It gives a picture of the violence faced by workers across Scotland’s public sector.
This year as well as compiling raw figures from public service employers across Scotland, we have made an effort to explore and highlight abuse of women and black workers. This, we have found, is something many employers are not taking seriously at all.
A link to the report on the UNISON Scotland website is here.
HSE release annual figures for Mesothelioma
Please click HERE for HSE Asbestos & Mesothelioma report, statistics & information.
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Stewards Development Day
Steve & Graham from FC Corporate Health & Safety attended our Stewards Development Day at the Victoria Hotel Kirkcaldy on Tuesday 3rd September to deliver a fantastic presentation on many aspects of Health & Safety – from incident reporting to workplace inspections.
There was a lot of interest from our stewards and hopefully the branch H&S group meetings will be able to catch up with Steve and Graham again soon
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UNISON Fife Health & Safety Report 3/9/24
First meeting with Corporate Health & Safety concerning issues with the FH&SC partnership went well and hopefully there will be more to come and more to report back to the branch
There’s issues with the Grounds Maintenance service and how they propose to cut slopes/ banking’s but will be attending the service forum tomorrow and will report back after this
I have now received firm dates for joint visits with Corporate H&S to a care home in Northeast fife and another in southwest fife and will report back after these visits have been carried out
There has also been an issue raised through Linda’s POC/Stewards meeting concerning an old-style sterilization unit for cutlery which we are looking into, Linda is arranging a visit through the school and hopefully we can get someone from corporate to come along with me to have their views on this
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