On 28 April every year, we mark International Workers’ Memorial Day (IWMD) to remember those who have died and work and mobilise to prevent this happening to others.
Health and safety is a crucial trade union activity and is something that must factor into everything we do as trade reps and members. This year, the theme for IWMD is organising for health and safety. Below we run through how your branch is currently organising for health and safety and some of the health and safety issues on the horizon.
If you’re interested in getting involved in improving health and safety in your workplace, read our health and safety page and get in touch with Graeme Smith, branch convener, on 0771 948 1092.
Resources
Organising for health and safety in Edinburgh Council
We run a monthly health and safety rep meeting, where we discuss which workplaces to inspect over the month and issues in specific areas.
We have recently established routine health and safety inspections of council workplaces. In the past two months we have inspected:
- Craigmillar Depot
- Russell Road Depot
- Murrayburn Depot.
We have raised serious concerns about fire safety at Craigmillar depot.
In the next month we will be inspecting:
- Seafield Depot—focusing on the new facilities for Street Cleansing
- Waverley Court
- Grindley Street Court social work centre.
Key topics at the moment are:
- Street Cleansing moving to Seafield
- first aiders and fire wardens in the workplace
- first aid kits in Waste and Cleansing
- reviewing the violence at work policy
- health surveillance for school technicians.
If there’s anything you think we should be discussing, speak to a health and safety rep in your area.