The following has been
supplied by the TUC:
The harsh economic climate,
austerity-related job cuts and job loss fears in those still in work is having
a real impact on the health and well-being of workers, according to the newly
published findings of a TUC safety survey. The top safety concerns cited this
year by union safety reps in the TUC's tenth biennial survey were stress, bullying and harassment, problems
relating to heavy workloads and overwork, and violence and intimidation. The TUC believes many of these 'growing concerns' are down to the increasing
insecurity and unease being felt throughout the UK workforce as spending cuts
and austerity economics hit hard. Safety reps in the TUC survey also raised concerns about a decline in the number of safety
inspections by official safety regulators. Just under half (45 per cent) of the
1,875 safety reps who responded to the TUC survey earlier this year said that their workplace had never had a
visit from a safety inspector. One in ten of the safety reps (ten per cent)
hadn't seen a safety inspector in their workplace for more than three years,
and another 16 per cent said their workplace hadn't been inspected for between
one and three years. Safety reps said their employers, less fearful of an official
inspection, were now less likely to make safety improvements. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber commented: 'Fears about how austerity
is affecting peoples' jobs and their families is having a real impact on the
health and well-being of UK workers.' He said increasing pressures on workers
and reduced official oversight at work meant 'unions campaigning to improve
workplace safety are clearly going to have their work cut out in the coming
year.'
