Your Health and Safety Officer is Bill Salter

The Annual Hazards Conference is to be held at Keele University, with an online option for those who would rather not attend in person.

In 2022 we held our first hybrid conference and we are doing this again this year, building on our experience last year.

2022 Conference Report:
A copy of last years report can be found at: https://gmhazards.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/2022-conference-report-with-links.pdf

Booking Form for 2023 Conference:
The link to download a copy of this: https://gmhazards.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Booking-Form-The-34th-National-Hazards-Conference-2023.pdf

Alternatively people can apply online using this link:https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/579031919057

Sponsorship Form:
If your organisation would like to sponsor this years event please see:
https://gmhazards.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Sponsorship-of-Hazards-Conference-2023-.pdf

If you would like more information about the conference then please email hazconf@gmhazards.org.uk
or phone Janet on 07734 317158

Please accept my apologies for any cross posting,

best wishes
Janet Newsham
On behalf of the Hazards Conference Organising Committee

Does back to work after COVID mean back to normal?

A woman with a face mask on in an office setting looking at a computer screen.

Now that lockdowns are over, and infection rates are falling, there's a glimmer of hope as restrictions are slowly being lifted in Wales. However, we shouldn't get too comfortable or complacent in the workplace and risk slipping back into the old normal.

You see, most workplaces were set up long before COVID19, and with the viruses unpredictability comes the need to adapt our way of working, to ensure the new normal, is a safe normal.

UNISON has supported our members during the pandemic to ensure employers put measures in place to keep workers safe. We couldn't of done this without the eyes and ears on the ground, our dedicated UNISON safety reps.

Since September we've trained and supported 70 new workplace safety reps in Wales. They all had two things in common: they were UNISON members and they wanted to be a part of improving workplace safety. None of them were experts.

Have you ever wondered how you could keep yourself and your colleagues safe?

If you have then you're in luck, we are running a webinar looking at the role health and safety reps play in improving practices and protection for workers. Alongside this another topic we will cover is the principles of COVID19 health and safety risk assessments and their importance in the workplace.

We'd love for you to join us on Tuesday 25th May 2021 at 12:30pm for our short webinar session.

Sign up for the webinar here

The webinar will be around 30 minutes and you can join online from any device that has an internet connection and will be a great introduction into how you can play a vital role in the workplace.

See you soon and stay safe,

UNISON Cymru Wales Team

Living with long COVID: 'It's frightening'

Long COVID is having a devastating effect on the lives of many UNISON members. Assistant equality officer Haifa Rashed reports on how the union is responding.

Latest news and advice on COVID-19

How to work safely: Guidance for UNISON members as more workplaces open and more staff return to their workplaces

What is the role of Safety Reps?

Safety Reps have certain legal rights which can really help them make a difference for their members. Safety Reps have unique powers in the battle to keep our members safe. These includes the right to represent members on anything affecting their safety, carry out workplace inspections, and to time off to perform their role.

To find out more about the role of Safety Reps read our UNISON Guide

How can Safety Reps help make workplaces COVID-Safe?

It is the employer's duty to keep their workers safe, and safety reps have a vital role in holding employers to account. Employers have a legal duty to consult with safety reps on anything affecting their members' safety so reps should be asking employers to see their risk assessment, if they haven't seen them already. Safety Reps also have the right to conduct their own workplace inspections, and in some cases employers and UNISON Safety Reps have worked in partnership to carry out joint inspections and risk assessments.

UNISON has produced a detailed guide for Safety Reps in workplace inspections. It has also produced a wealth of material for members & activists on COVID-19 risk assessments and making your workplace COVID-Safe.

Health and Safety Inspections at Work. A guide for UNISON safety reps

Bargaining guides including information on making workplaces COVID-Safe

Covid-19 Pandemic: Return to Work Legal Advice for Branches.

What is a risk assessment?

The key to employers keeping our members safe is a process called risk assessment, which establishes the measures necessary for staff protection..

More information on the basic principles of risk assessment go to UNISON's Health & Safety Knowledge Base web pages. UNISON has also produced a more detailed guide specifically aimed at Safety Reps

Health and safety knowledge: Risk assessment

Risk assessment. A guide for UNISON safety reps

The risks for Black and other vulnerable workers?

Black men are nearly 3.9 times, and Black women 3.3 times, more likely to die from COVID-19 than their White colleagues. There are also increased risks for older workers and those with underlying health conditions. UNISON has developed guidance to ensure that your employers include these considerations in their risk assessments.

Risk assessments for Black, disabled and other vulnerable workers COVID-19: Guidance for UNISON branches

How can I become Safety Rep?

It is the job of UNISON, not your employer, to decide who should represent their members, so if you want to be a Safety Rep please contact your branch. If you want to find out more about the role and see whether it is for you, you may wish to attend one of a number of online webinars.

The first webinar is to take place on 7 July. Save the date and watch this space for more details.

Where can our reps get training?

Below is a list of online training courses provided by UNISON Learning & Organising Services (LAOS) to help you keep your members safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Title	Contents include
Basic Health and Safety Principles and the Corona Virus)	-Key legal functions of H&S rep -Understanding employer’s legal obligations. -5 stages of risk assessment -Eliminate and mitigate risk of harm
Covid-19 What Employers Must Do (General)	-Risk Assessment -Evaluating risk and implementing measures -Social distancing -Personal protective equipment (PPE)
Covid-19 Working in Social Care. What your Employer Must Do	-All from above previous resource but also focussing on: -PPE Issues
At Work Risk Assessment (Produced by UNISON H&S Unit)	-Principles of Risk Assessment -Areas to risk assess -Hierarchy of control -Risk: Evaluating, Eliminating and controlling
Returning to Work Safely		-Using key H&S reps rights to hold employer to account -Employer legal duties including Risk Assessment
Becoming a UNISON H&S rep – an Introduction		-Confronting doubts, building confidence -What IS the role? -Legal rights -Communicating -Some of your questions answered

To find out more how to access Safety Rep courses and to find out more about training available from LAOS website go its' website

12 May 2020 by Dave Prentis

Blog: Safety for all workers is UNISON’s bottom line

Our members have worked so hard to battle the virus, protect our communities and maintain the lockdown. Now they need the government to work just as hard to ensure that any relaxation of the lockdown – whenever it comes in different parts of the UK – is safe for all workers. That is UNISON’s bottom line.

Posted incoronavirus Covid-19

10 September 2019

UNISON launches guide to protect gig economy workers

Porters, care workers, security staff and parking wardens are at greater risk of physical and verbal attack, injury or illness, because they work alone for long periods, says UNISON today (Tuesday) as it launches the first union gig economy safety guide. The union warns that staff cuts, the growth of zero-hours contracts and an increase in the […]

Posted inhealth and safety lone workers

Tuberculosis – making sure you don’t have latent TB

UNISON is working with TB Alert to let members know that latent TB can be diagnosed and treated before it wakes up

Posted inhealth

Employers urged to help lone workers stay safe

UNISON health and safety seminar hears 66% of lone workers have faced violence and aggression

Posted inhealth and safety lone workers

HEALTH & SAFETY: Coming this month – European Health and Safety week, 22 to 27 October

UNISON takes your health and safety seriously and we think European Health and Safety Week is a great opportunity to highlight the fantastic work our safety reps do every day.

So we are asking our reps and branches to use European health and safety week to shine a spotlight on this vital work to keep staff and the public safe, promote better health and safety and highlight the role of the union and our safety reps in achieving this.

Find out more on our dedicated campaign page

UNISON's guide on hazardous substances at work

UNISON guide to carrying out risk assessments

From explosions to asbestos – the history of health and safety

Find out how we got to where we are with health and safety regulation

Posted ineuropean health and safety week health and safety

Working in mental health: the problems in five charts

We look at the data

It’s world mental health day this Tuesday (10 October) so to mark the occasion we’re looking at some data that shows what’s happening to mental health patients, through the eyes of mental health workers (we are a union, after all).

In September, UNISON sent out a survey to people who work in mental health, and over a thousand people filled it in.

One of the most telling things mental health staff said was that they felt there was an unsafe ratio of staff to service users.

They also said that service users were increasingly reaching crisis point before they could access services; almost 7 in ten respondents thought that was the case.

The survey found that the under-funding of mental health services is having a big impact on how well mental health staff feel they are able to do their jobs.

Many mental health staff have had to do unpaid overtime, of the ones that have, 6 out of 10 people said an increased workload is one of the causes, and 5 out of 10 said shortage of staff was a reason.

When asked directly if the funding crisis impacted on the care they were able to provide, six out of 10 said yes.

Our research found that patients are not the only ones being affected by the shortage of funds for mental health, it is also having an impact on the staff.

Four out of 10 mental health staff have been victims of violence or aggression in the last year.

The BBC’s 5 live also looked into violence against mental health staff, and found that the number of reported violent incidences has gone up by more than a quarter since 2012/13.

That’s why UNISON is campaigning for fair funding for mental health. Staff must be able to deliver quality services to people who need it, and carry out their jobs in an environment that looks after their own mental and physical health too.

Find out about our mental health campaign, Mental Health Matters

Read the full report

Health and safety

UNISON believes health and safety in the workplace is an issue for everyone. Every year, thousands of people suffer accidents and ill-health at work – most of which could be avoided.

Blog: As we remember the dead and injured, we reaffirm our demand for safe and healthy work for all

Each year on or near 28 April 28, UNISON joins people around the world to celebrate International Workers’ Memorial Day.

UNISON calls for action to tackle stress endemic in public services

Union survey of 10,000 members shows that stress is harming staff and services – but employers rarely talk about it

Posted inhealth and safety health and safety reps hns Stress stress

Blog: Safer workplaces – an impact that should never be understated

Thanks to the work of UNISON’s health and safety reps, public sector employees are less likely to suffer injury in the workplace. Tens of thousands of UK workers die every year because of their work and many more are injured. But thanks to the efforts of more than 6,000 safety reps and branch officers, UNISON members are safer.

Posted inhealth and safety health and safety reps

Behavioural safety A new workplace hazard to risk assess

A guide for UNISON safety reps

Behavioural Safety.pdf
Adobe Acrobat document [167.7 KB]

What should I do if I injure myself with a used needle? - NHS ...
www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/2557.aspx?CategoryID=72

PDF]Needlestick & Sharps Injuries Protocol - Cardiff & Vale ...

www.cardiffandvaleuhb.wales.nhs.uk/opendoc/161021

17 Aug 2010 - The purpose of this report is to present the Infection Control Protocol for. Needlestick and Similar Sharps Injuries for approval. The Protocol is ...