Workplaces with trade union recognition agreements have fewer accidents. 

Our branch attended the Hazards Campaign conference in Keele this summer. Hazards brings together safety reps from trade unions all over the country. The three themes of the conference were Climate and Workers’ Health, Mentally Healthy Work and Bad Work Injuries and Kills.

While all three themes are relevant for our workplace, the last theme “Bad Work Injuries and Kills” is especially poignant in relation to our campus in recent HSE news. In January 2020, a worker fell and died when a scissor left was knocked over by a crane during building works at the University of Birmingham. A second worker was severely injured. Last month at the Birmingham Crown Court, the Health and Safety Executive fined the construction company Balfour Beatty for failures in safety. When BUCU looked into this at the time, the University’s response was that the tragedies were all in the hands of the contractor.

Whilst the University of Birmingham was found not to be responsible, washing their hands of responsibility does not sit easy with BUCU health and safety reps. Although on this occasion the tragedy was confined to the construction site, the nature of the work means that hazards can have consequences beyond the site shuttering. If contractors are being brought on site the university needs to scrutinise their record and share responsibility for ensuring safety of the work and prevention of any hazards. Trade union recognition is a base indicator of good practice. Balfour Beatty has long been known for actively undermining trade union activity, and has been prosecuted for blacklisting its employees, as well as breaching health and safety laws. 

Because trade union recognition is uneven across the employment landscape, trade union oversight of the procurement process is one important way of extending better and safer working conditions to more workers and workplaces.

This issue is especially concerning in light of the fact that more and more services on campus are now contracted out through procurement.