Campaign On Safe Maintenance - European Health & Safety Week 2010
As previously announced by Unionsafety, European Health and Safety Week this year begins on 25 October. The Week aims to raise awareness and promote activities to make work safer and healthier.
CWU National Health, Safety & Environment Officer Dave Joyce, adfvised all branches of the details in his LTB769/10:
This year's focus is "Safe Maintenance". This concerns all CWU members, those with jobs in repair and maintenance, and those who work in either poorly maintained buildings or in workplaces that are being repaired. "Safe maintenance" may also increase as an issue of concern. Government cut backs in public spending will impact on the budgets that the public sector has to carry out maintenance, and can spend as less money is available for repairs.
WHY GET INVOLVED?
1) Safe maintenance will increase as a concern due to budget cuts.
2) Campaign to ensure that members remain safe and healthy at work.
3) Recruit new members.
4) Encourage current members to become active.
5) Show that CWU and your branch are active and can achieve on health and safety.
6) Use the campaign to organise safety in your workplaces.
SO GET ORGANISING!
Speak to your members and other workers, including those who carry out maintenance and repairs, who work alongside or oversee contractors, who suffer poor working conditions or practices; or who work in dangerous places because of a lack of maintenance or because repairs are undertaken around them. Find out their concerns and raise them with management directly and/or at the health and safety committee as appropriate.
MAINTENANCE HAZARDS
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) states that undertaking maintenance activities can expose the workers involved (and others) to various hazards. Four example, equipment and plant maintenance, gas, electricity, vehicles, lock off arrangements, permits to work, asbestos, falls from height, heavy items, contractors, hazardous substances including those which may cause asthma, dermatitis, or cancer; inadequate or badly maintained work equipment; manual handling, noise; a lack of personal protective equipment, repetitive strain injury, slips, trips, and falls; vibration; and conditions relating to the general environment including lighting, ventilation, and temperature. This list is not exhaustive.
Further information on these and other hazards can be found on the HSE.
NATIONAL INSPECTION DAY
National Inspection Day takes place on the Wednesday 27th October - In Royal Mail it will be on Tuesday 26th October Safety reps are encouraged to use this Day to carry out their legal right to inspect for health, safety, and welfare problems. Workplaces with active Safety Reps are twice as safe as those without them.
Source: CWU
