TUC condemns appointment of employer to worker’s representative seat on Health & Safety Executive

6 Sep 2016 12:43 PM

The TUC has recently (Monday) condemned the government’s appointment of a former employer and business leader to a seat on the board of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) that is reserved for a representative of workers’ interests.

The Health and Safety at Work Act requires the Secretary of State to appoint three members of the HSE after consulting organisations representing employees, and three members after consulting employers’ representatives.

However, the government recently announced that one of the employee representative seats is to be is to be filled by an employer representative, who has no background representing workers and was not nominated or supported by any bodies who represent workers. This appointment upsets the statutory balance of representation between workers and employers on the HSE board.

In a further failure to accord with the requirements of the Act, only two of the three employee representative appointments made today were advertised, and the government failed to consult with organisations representing workers on any of the three appointments.

The TUC is concerned that the move is the latest in a series of government actions to silence the voices of working people on health and safety at work. Many of the joint industry groups that gave advice to the HSE have been disbanded. And the right of trade unions to nominate members to the board of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority was recently abolished.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The government cannot appoint an employer to represent workers. It’s a blatant abuse of rules that are there to ensure a fair balance between workers and bosses.

“The HSE works best when employers and unions work together as equal partners, as intended by the Health and Safety at Work Act. By rejecting the consensus approach, the government is sending out a dangerous signal to bad bosses who put staff at risk by cutting corners.

“Along with the Trade Union Act, it’s a further attack on the ability of trade unions to protect the health and safety of working people.

“Despite this, trade unions will continue to work for the welfare and safety of their members. The best way for people to stay safe and well at work is to join a trade union so that there is a trained health and safety representative on hand when you need it.”

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