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Health and Safety Matters

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About this campaign

October 2024 marked 50 years of the Health and Safety at Work Act, and Usdaw are honouring the anniversary with the first year of our dedicated health and safety campaign.

Independent research shows that workplaces with trade union Health and Safety Reps are twice as safe as those where there is no employee consultation on safety.

Each year, we'll be running a campaign day to highlight the positive impact our Health and Safety Reps can have in workplaces and, by campaigning on manual handling, to deliver improved H&S standards in the workplace.

How to support this campaign

Health and Safety Matters - Wednesday 26 February

This year marks the first Health and Safety Matters campaign. 

Whilst Health and Safety Reps can run the campaign throughout the year, we are encouraging everyone to get involved on February 26.

In 2025, we're using the campaign to:

  • Raise awareness and highlight to the workforce the importance of the Health and Safety Rep role.
  • Engage the membership by running a Body Mapping exercise to find out where members are suffering with aches and pains, and show how they can deliver for the membership.
  • Improve the workplace safety culture.
  • Answer members’ questions about health and safety.
  • Discuss your role and the value of being a member with non-members, and have membership forms available to sign them up.

Health and Safety Matters

"Usdaw believes that all our members have the right to safe working conditions, and our H&S representatives deliver this by reducing injuries, lowering ill-health and making a positive change to the workplace safety culture. Previous research has already shown that unionised workplaces and those with health and safety representatives are safer and healthier as a result."

 

Paddy Lillis, Usdaw General Secretary

06 January 2025

"Manual handling injuries are the second most common cause of worker ill-health.

 

"Members think these aches and pains are part of the job, and quite often, they do not believe anything can be done. They may also not realise it is not just them suffering, and it is widespread in the workforce."

 

Paddy Lillis, Usdaw General Secretary 

06 January 2025

"Health and safety is one of the main reasons workers need to be in a trade union. We campaigned for the 1974 Act and it has been an overwhelming success, delivered by a Labour Government. Prior to the introduction of the Act, 1,000 people were estimated to have been killed at work annually. Fast-forward to last year and this figure has dropped to 135. Still far too many, but a marked improvement."

 

Paddy Lillis, Usdaw General Secretary

01 October 2024

"Crucial to the success [of the Health and Safety Act] is the army of health and safety reps in trade union organised workplaces. These volunteers are highly trained and supported by their trade union, so that they can contribute towards the risk control measures included in their employer’s risk assessment and work with managers to mitigate any issues. We thank our reps for their dedication and vigilance."

 

Paddy Lillis, Usdaw General Secretary 

01 October 2024

"The Act is worth celebrating, yet it isn’t without its flaws.

 

"The steady decline in previous government funding for the Health and Safety Executive has undermined the Act, with the threat of enforcement against employers reducing year on year. A more modern replacement is needed to further reduce work-related deaths, which have plateaued over the last decade."

 

Paddy Lillis, Usdaw General Secretary

01 October 2024