Hazards Connects with the Salford Resource Centre
18 Oct. 2024: The Salford Unemployed and Community Resource Centre (SUCRC) held a community open event on 18th October 2024 as a way to engage local residents and workers in the area. GMHC went along with some resources for workers and chatted to employment law advisors, John Howard and Abdul-karim Al-Malahi about their work as well as the campaigning work of the GMHC.
The SUCRC was established in 1980, since then they have continually campaigned, supported, advised and represented unemployed and employed people across the region. The SUCRC offers a range of support services for their community, including for older people, people with disabilities, unemployed people and workers who are facing difficulties.
Despite immense funding challenges they have a free employment law service which provides information and guidance for locals who are either in or out of work. Some of the initial advice on employment matters include; unfair or constructive dismissal, unlawful deductions, redundancy discrimination, breach of contract, disciplinary issues and grievances.
For guidance on employment matters contact the centre for initial advice on 0161 789 999 or email secretary_stuc@hotmail.co.uk Workers can also contact their trade union, to find out which union is most relevant to your work – see the Trade Union Congress (TUC) guide for details. For guidance on work safety matters speak to your workplace safety rep and see the GMHC website.
Hazards at the TUC Unionreps Connect event
15th October 2024: The Unionreps Connect event took place at the TUC in London on the 15th October. Hundreds of union reps from multiple unions descended on Congress House for a full day of employment related talks, workshops, stalls and networking.
The Greater Manchester Hazards Centre (GMHC) set up shop at the event where the two co-ordinators (Janet and William) spoke to and advised dozens of reps including safety reps and workplace activists on a variety of safety issues. The topics raised by reps were consistent with a number of areas in the Hazards Manifesto including; air quality, better recognition and understanding of mental health issues, long Covid, resources and research to support reps on safety matters, enforceable workplace safety systems, campaigns for a more active and independent regulatory body, the value of the annual Hazards conferences, toxic substances, the Hazards Magazine, heat stress and better accountability over building maintenance.
At the GMHC stall, numerous Hazards guides and the CO₂ monitors stimulated conversations about how to organise workers on safety matters. Reps were keen to know more about strategies to obtain genuine consultation with management over workplace changes and safety issues as well as evidence-based approaches to enforcement. The working environment, inadequate accident/ incident reporting (including mental health), workloads, stress and air quality in the workplace were popular discussion topics. There was demonstrations and guidance from GMHC on measuring CO₂ as a proxy for air quality, resources from the Trade Union Clean Air Network (TUCAN) and even a guide on how to build your own air filtration system. Many reps were concerned that their workplaces were not getting adequate natural or mechanical filtration potentially impacting health and general well-being. The Act Now on Mental Health leaflets, Hazards Magazine and TUCAN leaflets/guides were pretty much all snapped up as reps added them to their conference bags.
There were speeches from TUC General Secretary, Paul Nowak and Justin Madders MP and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets).
With a choice of eight workshops reps appeared energised by the insights, experiences and information shared out. The Supporting Neurodivergent Members workshop provided a good understanding of what neurodiversity means and how it affects individuals. It looked at what reasonable adjustments could be made in the workplace along with follow up links to useful resources. The Gender and Health and Safety workshop discussed the often overlooked or ignored risks to women’s health and safety, from badly fitting PPE to mental health issues affecting both men and women including menopause and andropause. The Social Media Challenges in the Workplace workshop highlighted the obligations many workers may unwittingly have both in and out of the workplace. This included being unaware of company policies, grey areas, views expressed, pictures and sharing posted content. The rise in misinformation and right-wing propganda on social media was a common concern at the workshop. The Big Employment Law workshop was also well attended and discussed The Employment Rights Bill with looking at ways how to organise and use this to improve rights and conditions.
Finally, earlier in the day Emma Game from Thompson Solicitors provided a valuable guide to amendments to employment legislation based case law and arbitration or court rulings. Towards the end of the event reps had a chance to share how they could take lessons from the talks and the stalls back to the workplace for organising and supporting members along with engaging potential members.
World Mental Health Day 10 October 2024
World Mental Health Day 10 October 2024: Unhealthy conditions including exclusion, discrimination, and exposure to risks like harassment, high workloads and poor working conditions can pose significant risks to workers. This can adversely affect mental health, overall quality of life and consequently participation or productivity at work.
Today is a good reminder that workers can organise with their trade union and ensure employers are meeting their responsibilities. There are three main areas where trade unions should take direct action:
1. A strategy for preventing work related stress and mental ill health
2. Supporting individuals at work with mental ill health
3. Providing a positive mental health work environment
For those not yet in a union, you can still ‘Act Now’ by sharing and downloading our free Act Now on Mental Health leaflet
Hazards and the Troublemakers
5th October 2024: The Hazards Centre had two stalls at this years annual Troublemakers At Work Conference held in Manchester. The event was attended by a range of voluntary and community organisations, trade unions, campaign groups and political figures. Of the visitors to the Hazards stall many were interested in how to organise and enforce their rights to protect workers and volunteers. Workloads and stress came up regularly but there was also interest in how climate change and the diminishing role of the HSE were affecting safer working. The Hazards Magazine was a popular resource as was the easy-to-use guide from the Hazards Centre on organising for safer workplaces.
The main events and workshops included; Fighting Back Under Labour, Precarious and Migrant Workers Organising, Confronting Far Right Ideas in the Workplace and Anti-Union Laws, Lessons from the Strike Waves amongst many others. To see more on this event held on 5th October 2024 and the campaign work of Troublemakers At Work click here.
Calling Safety Reps – How does your workplace record accidents?
October 2024: The GMHC is keen to know if and how you record accidents/ incidents at your workplace. Our short survey is anonymous and will help to inform us about any areas of accident reporting that we should campaign on. Use the link below to start the survey. If you are interested in becoming a health and safety rep (HSR) contact your union. To find out which union covers your workplace please click here.
If you are in the North West of England you can leave your email address if you’d like to join our North West Safety Reps Network. Thank You.
GMHC Support Midwives Campaign
September 2024: The GMHC took its worker-safety messaging to the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) National Conference in York on 17th September 2024. Throughout the day GMHC showed its support for midwives by talking about preventative measures such as managing workloads, ventilation, the value in developing heath and safety reps and how the changing climate affects workers.
Despite the occupational challenges there was also a sense of optimism from delegates through the achievements of workers and their campaign to get better recognition of the risks posed by repeated exposure to Entonox. This issue links strongly with the Control of Substances Hazardous Regs, the working environment and the need for proper ventilation – a strong campaign issues for the GMHC.
With such a valuable grass-roots campaign for workers it was not surprising to see the Hazards Movement recognise their work on Entonox through an award at the Hazards Conference in September 2024. Not only has the Entonox campaign given midwives a say in protecting themselves and others as they go about their duties but it has helped to raise morale and confidence in addressing safety concerns. Ordinary workers having a say and being engaged in meaningful consultation not just protects people but it is good practice and recognised in law. The GMHC wishes RCM members further success with their campaigns and welcomes the growth in new and active health and safety reps across the union.
