HEALTH AND SAFETY ON THE AGENDA

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: march 2022 :: RMTnews 12 This month saw the twentieth annual RMT national health and safety advisory conference, one of the largest- attended conferences in the union’s diary, addressed by delegates, campaigners, experts and politicians. In March 2003 80 RMT safety reps met at the first health and safety conference in Birmingham where they passed a resolution to establish the annual conference. This resolution acknowledged the need for safety to be recognised within the union’s constitution and for a network to educate and empower health and safety reps. The RMT advisory health and safety committee was established at the same time as the annual conference, so that RMT could take up health and safety issues on a much more serious and sustained basis - something which is necessary as health and safety is key part of the union’s work. The conference has gone from strength to strength since this time - and continues to improve and build on the support given to RMT reps. Ensuring that members are safe at work is a huge priority for the union. The Covid-19 pandemic has shown the importance of the safety rep role in the workplace. An army of safety reps battling away to keep members safe. RMT continues to improve support given to safety reps and the union’s safety reps charter will shortly be reissued in which I explain what the RMT will be doing to support our safety reps and how they can use the rights afforded to them under the Safety Representative and Safety Committee Regulations 1977 to build the union in their workplaces. I will also be updating the health and safety section of our web site so it can be better used as a resource for our safety reps. To mark the 20th anniversary of the conference delegates were given new RMT safety reps materials, including a clip board, with “RMT safety rep” emblazoned on the back of it and a RMT safety reps HV vest so that they can carry out safety inspections and other safety rep’s functions while advertising the union to their fellow workers. This year’s conference theme is the role of the Safety Representative in the Covid/post-Covid ‘brave new world’. Conference will, as in previous years, feature a wide range of speakers from the movement and the industries in which our members work including former Shadow Transport Secretary Andy McDonald MP, TUC Health and Safety Policy Officer Shelly Asquith, Bakers’ Union General Secretary Sarah Woolley, Hilda Palmer from the Hazards Campaign and Graham Petersen from the Trade Union Clean Air Campaign; who will lead debate on the issue of clean air/air quality and ventilation, Health and Safety coming out of the Covid-19 and the role of the safety rep. The conference comes at a time when RMT members are facing huge attacks from the government and the HEALTH AND SAFETY ON THE AGENDA RMT general secretary Mick Lynch looks back at 20 years of the union’s annual health and safety conference and its relevance today