COMING UP FOR AIR

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: april 2022 :: RMTnews 14 Trade unions have set up the Trade Union Clean Air Network (TUCAN) to supports the call for workplace action on air quality and recognition of air pollution as an occupational health emergency. A survey by Wales TUC last year found the around 75 per cent of reps say that members are concerned about air pollution. The reality is that air pollution is blighting communities and affecting the health of workers on their journeys to and from work. It also harms workers while they are at work and there is a growing awareness of the harm caused by air pollution. Both the impact on health but also the damage it is causing to the environment. There is mounting evidence showing the devastating impact of air pollution. It harms our lungs, heart, brain and reproductive health. It also has lifelong impacts for children. Worldwide it is estimated that nearly nine million people die from air pollution related diseases each year. In Wales, Public Health Wales estimate it contributes to up to 1,400 deaths per year. Graham Petersen of TUCAN and Greener Jobs Alliance addressed conference with the message ‘clean air is good for you’. “The government only recognise air pollution as a public health issue – but it is also an occupational health crisis and should be recognised as such, and that those workers at particular risk from outdoor pollution include those in public and commercial transport. “If the government is serious about stopping climate change, they have to be getting people out of cars and onto public transport and the COMING UP FOR AIR The union’s health and safety advisory conference focussed on the importance of good ventilation Ann Joss