These pages bring you the debates and policy making on Health, Safety Welfare and Environmental issues and those with a 'cross-over element within the subject matter of the motion; from the CWU's General Conference, being held Sunday 28th April to Thursday 2nd May at the Bournemouth International Conference Centre in, of course; Bournemouth. In the event Conference 2019 was very disappointing for those concerned about health, safety and environment, with only two motions actually being debated due to them being timed out by previous motions overrunning. Motion 62 in particular was very important for the health & safety community in that it aimed to preserve the Health and Safety Department and ensure that fears many have that the expertise will be lost to a new 'central services' organisation leading possibly to the introduction of a 'call centre' type service where Branches don't get to speak direct to specific officers responsible for Health, Safety and the Environment. Interestingly, the National Executive were to oppose the motion, leading some to suspecting the motion was deliberately timed out by the length and number of speakers debating the previous section motions! General Conference - Sunday 28th April Policy Section Motion 1: The NEC is instructed to work with the H & S Department, the TUC and any other interested party/group to formulate a strategy and campaign that seeks to ensure that workplace suicide is recognised in legislation. If any employee takes his or her own life in the workplace, or indicators exist to suggest it may be work related, it should be immediately investigated as a potential work-related suicide with the burden of proof being imposed on the employer to demonstrate that the suicide was not work-related.
The motion was carried Health & Safety Section Only one motion from this section was debated due to the previous debates late running: Motion 34: Conference instructs the NEC to work in conjunction with the Health and Safety Dept. & the TUC to highlight the need for the introduction of a Stress Risk Assessment to be used in every workplace in the UK.
Motion 35: Conference recognise that when you get cancer treatment it can cause other side effects when the cancer has gone or in remission . Like Menopause , early menopause for younger women and mental health issues . Cancer has no age limit . Younger women are being affected more now and women of all ages are being treated unfairly in the workplace because of the after effects like increase sickness and need for more rest breaks which leads to missing the target levels. Companies should understand what the effects can be . After treatment this is not the end of the story it is the beginning and can change life and work balance and the cwu should show support . Not heard Motion 36: Conference instructs the NEC to work with the Health & Safety Dept to facilitate the following Not heard Organising and Strategy Section Motion 62 COMPOSITE MOTION: In order to maintain or enhance the current industrial support provided by the Health & Safety Department the NEC is instructed that any new central services section of the Union must ensure a clearly defined and stand-alone role for Health & Safety in the national CWU structure. This role will engage, as currently, with both industrial departments of the Union, with a continued national, elected, lead accountable for all Health & Safety matters. Not heard - Timed Out Motion 72: Not heard - Timed Out
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