Health & Safety within the railway industry affects everyone - it is clearly not a grade specific issue. More than almost any other industrial sector, it can be said of the rail industry that when safety corners are cut in one aspect of operations it can have a detrimental affect on us all.

One Industry - One Union
This is why I like many others believe in one railway - one union. It is because of this factor that I believe the RMT is the right union for all railway people regardless of what part you have to play in the big picture.

Indeed, it is only through being organised in one big union that we get a clearer view of the big picture and that many issues affecting the health & safety of our members and the public comes to light. An example of this was the fitment during 2002/3 of the Train Protection Warning System (TPWS).

As Train Drivers we knew that TPWS was a cheap version of train protection that the government and rail industry had decided to roll out in order to try and appease the public campaign for introduction of full Automatic Train Protection (ATP) across the rail network.

What we didn't know however, were the risks to our health & safety posed by the newly-installed TPWS equipment!

It was only through the intervention and warnings from our Signal & Telecom department maintenance members that we were alerted to the fact that TPWS antennae emitting low-dosage radiation could cause a significant health risk to workers in close proximity. This risk obviously predominately affected Track and Signalling maintenance workers and Train Drivers.

RMT's health & safety network helped to bring awareness of this to Train Drivers and also helps to give more power to Drivers' Health & Safety Representatives demanding steps to remove the identified risk.

'Union Effect'
Union organised workplaces are much safer workplaces because union reps have the skills, rights and influence to make them safer - this is often referred to as 'the union effect'.

When asked by the TUC, 70% of new trade union members considered health and safety a 'very important' union issue - in fact the majority of people placed Health and Safety above pay in importance.

This TUC report shows the difference that unions make to the health and safety culture within the workplace.

A great amount of evidence supporting this observation has been produced over the past ten years, both in the UK and overseas.

In 1995 a group of researchers analysed the relationship between worker representation and industrial injuries in UK manufacturing. Its findings were that those employers who had trade union health &safety committees had half the injury rate of those employers who managed safety without unions or joint arrangements.

Further analysis of the same figures, have all concluded that the arrangements that lead to the highest injury rates are where management deals with Occupational Health and Safety without consultation. In 2004 a further analysis of the data confirmed that "the general conclusion that health and safety should not be left to management should be supported"

The Health and Safety Commission have produced a declaration on worker involvement that states: "trade union safety representatives, through their empowered role for purposes of consultation, often lead to higher levels of compliance and better health and safety performance that in non trade union systems.

"We recognise this, support the invaluable contribution they continue to make to health and safety, and want dialogue between us to continue and where possible expand into new areas."

As we can see from this evidence, the statistics lead one to believe that union organised workplaces are safer, but we need to understand why.

One of the reason's unions make such a difference is that they ensure that their safety representatives are properly trained. In 1997, a survey for the HSE into the chemical regulations (COSHH) found that safety representatives were far more knowledgeable than their managers. 90% of safety representatives were aware of the main principles of the COSHH regulations. More than a third of the managers had not even heard of the regulations. The survey also found that more than 80% of safety representatives had received training in health and safety in the last two years, compared to 44% of managers.

Every year the TUC trains thousands of safety representatives, and many more are trained through their unions. Our own branch currently has five reps going through TUC training and an RMT-specific Health & Safety Reps course planned for next month.

Also safety representatives know the workplace far better than management, as they are aware of what really goes on. They also act as a focal point for individual workers to raise their concerns. An HSE research paper concluded that: "Health and safety committee representatives provide a diverse channel for reporting events and hazards". It added, "union backing, even if it is just knowledge that additional support is available if required, is invaluable".

Unions highlight deadly risks at work
Unions often realise the risks long before management. Many risks were first identified by unions, sometimes after management ignored or hid early warnings. Unions highlighted the dangers of asbestos and campaigned for a ban many years before the government introduced one. If action had been taken then, it could have prevented many of the 3,000 annual deaths that are caused by asbestos.

Unions also unearthed risks posed by many hazardous chemicals. Unions were the first to raise major concerns over levels of violence and bullying in the workplace, and the effects of passive smoking. When unions first raised the issue of stress, both employers and the media argued it was nonsense. It is now recognised that workplace stress affects around half a million people.

Where workers have safety representatives and safety committees they know that they have a voice. That makes them more willing to raise issues. Unions also help make their members more aware of safety issues in the workplace.

We know that union involvement makes a real difference in the workplace. There has been a wide range of case studies that have shown the benefits of union involvement in health and safety.

In October 2004 the government announced that it was dropping plans to scrap London Underground station fire regulations which were originally introduced as a result of the Kings Cross Fire. The government's decision only followed a rigorous campaign by the RMT and our parliamentary group.

Safety in your workplace
On a local level in Bristol over the last year local Health & Safety Reps have highlighted the risks posed to Train Drivers when reversing train sets at Lawrence Hill and Bedminster stations. The Lawrence Hill area has one of the highest rates of violent offences in the City of Bristol yet drivers are required to change ends there alone during the night. Because of our intervention, today both Network Rail and the Train Operating Companies have agreed with the RMT's evidence and are to introduce a new safer system of working as a priority.

From the evidence available, union organised workplaces are much safer workplaces. They reduce injuries, improve ill-health recovery and help change the safety culture within an organisation.

RMT Bristol Rail Branch - Special one-day training course for RMT Health & Safety Representatives
On: Tuesday 29 November, 2005
At: RMT South West Regional Office, Transport House, Victoria St, Bristol BS1 6AY
To apply for the course contact Branch Secretary, Brendan Kelly
Email: bristolrail@rmt.org.uk
Tel�: 0117 9348986

Note: Health & Safety Representatives should apply to their manager for paid release to attend this course.