---

New Diversity And Equality Campaign Includes Important Health & Safety Advice

CWU Greater Mersey Amal Branch Safety Rep and Equality officer Sarah Foster Wood has been working with Area Safety Rep Jamie McGovern on publicity for the Union's Diversity and Equality campaign.

Both Equality at work and Health & Safety at work go hand in hand. Given the often linked specialties involved it is good practice for Union Safety Reps (USR) and Equality Officers to work together in defending and promoting the rights of workers, and indeed, working together with the employer to ensure the duty of care is thoroughly understood and relevant adjustments in the workplace are made for the individuals concerned.

The information regarding Health and Safety and of two unique disabilities, exemplifies how working together Safety Reps and Equality Officers can make a huge difference to many workers in this country.

Incontinence is a condition with varying degrees, and is where a person has a problem controlling their bladder or bowel, and this can have a real impact on their daily lives. Some people avoid going out or need to plan their activities around a toilet. It affects people of all ages.

Identifying this condition as having an impact on working people's health and safety at work, and also their equality of treatment with other none affected employees; is indeed a very important element of mitigating any negative workplace effects upon individual sufferers.

Following their work together, Sarah and Jamie have produced the poster below. It is now available for use by all of their Branches Safety and Equality reps in order to publicise the issues which not only are related to diversity and equality, but also to Health & Safety. You can download the poster in PDF format, by clicking on the image below, and printing it off for use.

The QR link which can be scanned by any mobile phone that has a QR/Bar Code reader App installed can read the codes above and be taken direct to the campaign documentation via the phones web browser.

Currently available on-line using the MS Sway presentation software system, it is fully indexed and enables the user to read the most important Health & Safety advice and guidance on Bladder and Bowel Dysfunction which includes links to support organisation websites and relates this health concern with The Equality Act as well as the need for employers to make reasonable adjustments as part of their H&S responsibilities.

Many Health & Safety issues are governed by statutory legislation which aims to ensure that employers fulfill their duty of care towards their employees.

The Equality Act covers working people by also re-enforcing the requirement for the employer to provide reasonable workplace adjustments including of course work processes such as work-rate monitoring and attendance systems such as you find in call centres and offices. Industrial processes and worker's access to welfare facilities is the prime area of workplace adjustments which may have to be made by the employer in the form of additional 'personal time' being given to an individual suffering from Bladder and Bowel Dysfunction.

Such adjustments should not be used to discriminate against sufferers and as per the Health & Safety and Management of Health and Safety regulations; reasonable work and attendance pattern adjustments if identified by a risk assessment, must be made.

Safety Reps and Equality Officers both have their own disciplines, roles and responsibilities which are specialisms in themselves and have their own unique training requirements and as such both roles are complimentary to one another in certain circumstances.

The success of this campaign shows just how these two essential Trade Union roles need to be developed and supported by ALL trade unions.

Source: unionsafety / Sarah Foster Wood / Jamie McGovern

Designed, Hosted and Maintained by Union Safety Services