NW BTU Co-ord Petitions The Government

Derek Maylor, Chair of the NW BTU H&S Co-ord has taken the opportunity of the Governments new E-Petitions service to highlight the need for health and safety to be an integral part of training young people for their working environments once leaving education for work.

Here he puts the case and argues for support of the on-line petition:

In the UK during the last decade alone, 66 under 19s were killed at work, over 14,500 suffered major injuries and 52,000 other teenagers were hurt by their work.
The government, employers, teachers and unions should prepare young people for the risks they’ll face at work before they get there.

The Institute Occupational Safety & Health have long campaigned to highlight this national disgrace and we fully support the initiatives they have taken to protect our young men and women when they first start their careers in industry.

Wiseup2work is an online resource which helps teenagers prepare for work and IOSH, with the support of the TUC, organised an awareness day in 2006 to highlight it.    

SpeakUp was a competition for 14 to 19 year olds which told young people that they had the right to  speak up if they did not feel safe.

“Putting young workers first” is a plan that was taken to all the political conferences in 2006. It is from this that the petition comes to try and reach a wider audience.

A workplace hazard awareness course has been developed this year with teaching resources for year 10’s.  

European Week for Safety and Health at Work 2006 was targeted at young people and the CWU fully supported the week again.

As part of the TUC's "a better way to work" schools campaign safety forms a sizable portion, and Dave Rose one of the NW Co-ord is currently rolling the programme out to schools in the NW.

I have always said that there is a political role to heath and safety and here we are using such a process to raise awareness outside the normal safety corridors. It is quick and easy to sign up to support the petition, you will receive a conformation message and after you have responded your name will be attached to the petition. In the long term, you may have helped to save a young life. 

Sign the petition here   

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