Unions equal safety: the proof

The most effective tool that we have in ensuring good health and safety at work is trade unions, because organised workplaces are safer workplaces. That is one of the main reasons that people join and stay in a union. When asked, 70% of new trade union members considered health and safety a 'very important' union issue - more even than for pay.

The public also recognise the importance of unions having a key role in health and safety. In 1995 an NOP poll found that 98% of those asked believed 'people at work should have the right to be represented by a trade union if they want to on health and safety'

We know that the 200,000 trade union safety representatives make a difference because trade union involvement:

• Helps reduce injuries at work
• Leads to reductions the levels of ill-health caused by work
• Encourages greater reporting of injuries and near-misses
• Makes workers more confident
• Helps develop a more positive safety culture in the organisation.

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