Community Health & Safety Report and Violence at Work Seminar

Picture of UNISON National officer for Health and Safety, Robert Baughan addressing a seminar last week organised by London Housing Association Branch on "Violence at Work" last week.

This week I made my report (below) as the UNISON Community rep on the National Health and Safety Committee. 

"The UNISON Community Service Group represents 60,000 members who work for Housing Associations and in the Voluntary sector.

London Shooting

The sector was shocked by the shooting in July in London of a Housing Association worker and a Court bailiff who were attempting to evict a tenant. The injuries were thankfully not life threatening but according to Inside Housing magazine a man has been charged with 3 counts of attempted murder (including an income officer who was also present at the shooting).

The details of this incident are unclear pending a future court hearing but many Housing workers are concerned about a rise in violence at work due to welfare reform. In particular due to the bedroom tax, the total benefit cap and the proposed direct payment of housing benefit to tenants.

One major Housing Association has recently reported that 25% of tenants subject to the bedroom tax since April 2013 have not paid anything towards their new arrears and 24% have only paid part.

This will lead to an increase in rent arrears and evictions. While all Housing organisations should be encouraged to look at recovering debt by other means than evictions, it is likely that some Associations and Charities will feel forced to evict or face financial collapse.

This will also mean that staff will come into conflict with residents and family members who have never been in arrears before and may pose an unknown risk.

While cuts by the Government to Local Authority grants and Supporting Peoples funding has meant that staffing levels at many residential projects and floating support for vulnerable clients have been cut. Experienced staff have also been made redundant or left due to wage cuts. This can increase the risk to new staff and those remaining.

Organisations are also increasingly being forced to take on higher risk clients with more demanding needs in order to attract funding. At the same time training budgets are being cut.

Activist training

London Housing Association branch held a well attended health and safety training day last week for activists on “Violence at Work”. Robert Baughan from UNISON’s Health and Safety spoke about UNISON guidance policies and the recent national questionnaire on violence. Then there was a “violence at work” workshop looking at two recent actual cases dealt with by the branch:

· A member who was threatened by a service user with a history of violence.

· A member working in a facility for vulnerable young people who was concerned about the safety of herself and her colleagues.

Followed by a talk on “Organising around health and safety/doing a workplace inspection during National Inspection day” (23rd October) and a presentation on “Assault claims and personal injury claims” by Andrew Wales from Thompsons Solicitors. He spoke about assault claims, health and safety regulations and general personal injury claims, followed by a question and answer session.

There has been a national survey by Unison on "Violence at Work" of Community staff which will be publically launched next month.

To counter these risks the organising challenge for health and safety in our sector is the same as for the wider union. The message must be the higher the UNISON density in the workplace and the greater the number of safety reps - the greater the power and influence of the union to make sure you are safe at work.

UNISON NDC 12: Defend the attacks on health and safety standards

On Thursday lunchtime I went to this fringe. UNISON National Health and Safety Committee Chair Nick Green chaired, John Bamford, Health and Safety Adviser, Greater Manchester Hazards Campaign spoke first. Followed by Robert Baughan, National Officer for Health and Safety.  Who is deputising for Hope Daley who is on a secondment.

During the fringe I made comments on some key points on Twitter again which I have used on this post. It saves making notes.

John started by arguing that there is "no evidence that health and safety is a burden to to business. Evidence instead that it is a benefit to business". "Today it the Longest day. We now have had 3 longest days since Cameron became Prime Minister and 700 long days to come".

"The "Brown Book" which contains the 1977 Safety Representative & Safety Committee regulations is the most powerful piece of worker legislation in existence". Regarding the new "Fit notes" for people off sick. John said that the only decent one he had seen was the one from a GP that said an employee can return to work "if the employer sacks the manager that is bullying him".

There has been a "1/3 cut in proactive safety inspection" by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Tories are now talking about "Getting rid of all safety protection for "low risk" self employed". The "Tories argue that work is not dangerous anymore! The TUC estimate 20,000 work related deaths per year. While Hazards believe that it may be as high as 50,000 deaths" 

Robert spoke about how we cannot rely on the HSE. Many of their officers are very good but it is fighting for its survival. In the Q&A I made the point that not only are cuts to the HSE making work more dangerous but that in my sector front line housing staff will take the blame for trying to deal with the cuts in Housing benefit as will other local authority staff dealing with the impact of government cuts. Check out the Inside Housing report here.

“Tackling Violence & Aggression at Work”

During conference lunch break on the Thursday, there was the official health & safety fringe. The extremely well attended meeting was chaired by Nick Green, who is the chair of UNISON lay health & safety committee. There were two speakers, Robert Baughan (left), national UNISON officer and David Tucker QC (right), a criminal barrister with the Crown Prosecution Service.

Robert used the occasion to launch the new UNISON guide on tackling work related violence called “Its Not Part of the Job”. This booklet is a step by step guide for safety reps on how to deal with this major occupational hazard. The emphasis is on getting the issue recognised, developing a policy and PREVENTION. There are some pretty useful case studies across the public sector to refer to. One thing that set me thinking is that Robert made a convincing case for any sick leave resulting from violence should be treated different under the company sickness absence policy? I have never argued this before.

David Tucker is not what you imagine a typical senior government barrister to be. He started off with a joke about a suspect who was being interviewed by Police and asked “had you stolen these pigs?” “No, they are Kosher” he replied (allegedly). The jokes didn’t get that better, but I did enjoy his introduction to the audience of the CPS complaints procedure booklet, which he dramatically threw over his shoulder to the back of the hall saying “you don’t need that do you”.

More seriously he explained in detail the “points to prove” if the CPS are to successfully prosecute someone for assaulting a hospital worker or other anyone else at work. There is a new offence of “causing a nuisance or disturbance on NHS premises” (section 119-121) which frankly had so many separate points to prove that he thought it unlikely that it would be used that often. But is does include a power to remove someone who is causing a nuisance or disturbance by approved and trained staff.

Often assailants who have mental health problems are not prosecuted because Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights states that everyone must “understand” what is happening to them if they are to be charged. There is no general immunity for those with mental health issues. David did think that some sort of action is necessary in these circumstances, not least to set “boundaries” for patients or clients.

The CPS does not operate a “zero tolerance” policy; rather they “evaluate the need to prosecute”. Which is actually at odds with the new UNISON guide which states that our members expect a “zero tolerance” approach (page 5)?

At the rather rushed Q&A at the end, David had a very hard time from a Police civilian station officer (UNISON organises amongst Police civilian staff outside London) who was desperately upset and angry with the whole criminal justice system, which she believes does not protect workers or properly punishes violent criminals. I did manage to ask him a question about whether organisations which obstruct or even prevents staff that has been assaulted from reporting these crimes to the Police, should be prosecuted themselves? But I don’t think he had time to answer it.

It was really nice to see UNSION National Health & Safety officer, Hope Daily at the fringe. Quite a few years ago now, both of us completed the year long TUC Certificate in Occupational Health & Safety with the WEA. On the course was also a fellow “Buckley mug” and mustard keen GMB safety rep, Idwal, who was an ex-RSM with the Welsh Guards, a Falklands veteran and a serving Beefeater at the Tower of London! Not your average trade union safety rep!