That is one of the main reasons that people join and stay in a union. When asked, 70% of new trade union
members considered health and safety a ‘very important’ union issue – more even than for pay

There is a wealth of evidence for the union effect on safety, that has been produced over the past 10 years or so, both in the UK and abroad. In 1995 a group of researchers analysed the relationship between worker representation and industrial injuries in British manufacturing. It found that those employers who had trade union health and safety committees had half the injury rate of those employers who managed safety without unions, or had some other process to involve staff.

Source: The Union Effect. August 2004. Trades Union Congress ]]> http://strongerunions.org/2009/12/24/the-union-advent-24-dec/feed/ 0 http://strongerunions.org/2009/12/23/the-union-advent-23-dec/ http://strongerunions.org/2009/12/23/the-union-advent-23-dec/#comments Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:45:58 +0000 StrongerUnions http://www.strongerunions.org/?p=1452 Union Learning Reps increase the impact of training.

73% of Union Learning Reps and one-half of managers reported that ULRs have had a positive impact on either employer-funded or non-employer-funded training. Three out of the five managers stated that ULRs help to address employee skills gaps.

Both ULRs and managers report that ULRs are more likely to have had a positive influence in increasing employee participation in training where ULRs are active, where managers value their activities, and where managers negotiate with union representatives when deciding training matters.

Source: The impact of the union learning representative: A survey of ULRs and their employers. Bacon N, Hoque K. Nottingham University Business School. April 2009 ]]> http://strongerunions.org/2009/12/23/the-union-advent-23-dec/feed/ 0 http://strongerunions.org/2009/12/22/the-union-advent-22-dec/ http://strongerunions.org/2009/12/22/the-union-advent-22-dec/#comments Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:39:14 +0000 StrongerUnions http://www.strongerunions.org/?p=1443 Unions work to secure jobs in the recession.

At the car manufacturers Toyota, Unite union representative Peter Tsouvallaris says “members are reminded daily of the tremendous insecurity the recession has brought to our industry”. After negotiations with management at Toyota, and faced with cuts in jobs and wages, the union has been able to recommend measures that as Peter says “will present a real opportunity to restore some measure of stability to Toyota in the coming months”.

Through the union’s own legal officers or through specialist solicitors, union full time officers and representatives have access to advice on legal aspects of working life from employment contracts, harassment, redundancy, pensions or equalities issues.

Through the union, members have an access to justice which may otherwise have been denied to them either because of a lack of knowledge of their legal rights or because they may not have the financial wherewithall to afford it.

When unions first raised the issue of stress, employers and the media argued it was nonsense. It is now recognised that workplace stress affects half a million people. Even today it is unions and groups of safety representatives that are highlighting the potential risks within the semi-conductor industry or from nano-technology