SAFETY FIRST

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: november/december 2022 :: RMTnews 20 RMT works with the Confidential Incident Reporting and Analysis Service (CIRAS) to make sure staff feel able to talk about workplace abuse. RMT Health and Safety Officer Jonathan Havard has also taken up a seat on the CIRAS executive. RMT and CIRAS have developed a positive and constructive working relationship and agree that safety is for life: it protects lives. But even when companies work to improve safety, there are still risks that could threaten the health and wellbeing of workers and others on work sites. Known risks can be mitigated or prevented. Hazards can be addressed. But what about those things no one knows about? Maybe you are aware of a safety issue but haven’t told anyone yet. There could be many reasons you haven’t raised your health and safety concerns. Maybe you don’t know who to tell or how. You might think there’s no point: no one listens anyway, you decide – and perhaps you are basing this on experience, such as with previous employers. Maybe you’ve been too busy to report it. Or you’re worried about how managers or colleagues could react. But in all these instances, nothing gets done and the safety concern is still there. That’s the issue. If you don’t speak up about something, who will? You might be the only one to have noticed a problem. If there’s an accident because of it, this could stay on your mind. If you are not comfortable using your company’s reporting channels or would prefer not to raise it, or you just want to report a concern without your managers or colleagues knowing who raised it, then CIRAS offers you an alternative: a confidential reporting service. You can raise concerns through CIRAS for any company – not just your employer. CIRAS will pass your concerns – confidentially – to the relevant company, so that it can act on them without knowing who you are. CIRAS shares the company’s response and actions with you, so you will find out what happened because you spoke up. CIRAS also shares broad information about the types of concern that people are raising – without anyone who has raised a concern being identifiable in any way. This helps to show trends in safety issues from all perspectives, building a better picture of what’s really happening. Change is constant, and it comes with risk and potential safety issues. New equipment or technology can bring improvements to ways of working but may present new hazards while people are learning about them. Changes to the structure or size of a team, how a team communicates with other business areas, a new management reporting line, or a change in rules, processes and procedures – these can all lead to risks. Other risks might come from people not fully understanding what has changed, especially if it is not communicated effectively. Sometimes there’s a risk if something doesn’t change when it should, such as old equipment being used when it is known to be unsuitable for a task or used in a way it shouldn’t be. A safer choice or upgrade may be available. Whatever it is that makes you feel less safe, speak up in the way that’s best for you – just make sure people know about it. With change ongoing in the rail industry especially – but also across transport and wider society – there may be unexpected safety issues. Be vigilant, keep your eyes and ears open – and speak up. SAFETY FIRST Don’t stay silent on safety in times of change RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: november/december 2022 :: RMTnews 20 RMT works with the Confidential Incident Reporting and Analysis Service (CIRAS) to make sure staff feel able to talk about workplace abuse. RMT Health and Safety Officer Jonathan Havard has also taken up a seat on the CIRAS executive. RMT and CIRAS have developed a positive and constructive working relationship and agree that safety is for life: it protects lives. But even when companies work to improve safety, there are still risks that could threaten the health and wellbeing of workers and others on work sites. Known risks can be mitigated or prevented. Hazards can be addressed. But what about those things no one knows about? Maybe you are aware of a safety issue but haven’t told anyone yet. There could be many reasons you haven’t raised your health and safety concerns. Maybe you don’t know who to tell or how. You might think there’s no point: no one listens anyway, you decide – and perhaps you are basing this on experience, such as with previous employers. Maybe you’ve been too busy to report it. Or you’re worried about how managers or colleagues could react. But in all these instances, nothing gets done and the safety concern is still there. That’s the issue. If you don’t speak up about something, who will? You might be the only one to have noticed a problem. If there’s an accident because of it, this could stay on your mind. If you are not comfortable using your company’s reporting channels or would prefer not to raise it, or you just want to report a concern without your managers or colleagues knowing who raised it, then CIRAS offers you an alternative: a confidential reporting service. You can raise concerns through CIRAS for any company – not just your employer. CIRAS will pass your concerns – confidentially – to the relevant company, so that it can act on them without knowing who you are. CIRAS shares the company’s response and actions with you, so you will find out what happened because you spoke up. CIRAS also shares broad information about the types of concern that people are raising – without anyone who has raised a concern being identifiable in any way. This helps to show trends in safety issues from all perspectives, building a better picture of what’s really happening. Change is constant, and it comes with risk and potential safety issues. New equipment or technology can bring improvements to ways of working but may present new hazards while people are learning about them. Changes to the structure or size of a team, how a team communicates with other business areas, a new management reporting line, or a change in rules, processes and procedures – these can all lead to risks. Other risks might come from people not fully understanding what has changed, especially if it is not communicated effectively. Sometimes there’s a risk if something doesn’t change when it should, such as old equipment being used when it is known to be unsuitable for a task or used in a way it shouldn’t be. A safer choice or upgrade may be available. Whatever it is that makes you feel less safe, speak up in the way that’s best for you – just make sure people know about it. With change ongoing in the rail industry especially – but also across transport and wider society – there may be unexpected safety issues. Be vigilant, keep your eyes and ears open – and speak up. SAFETY FIRST Don’t stay silent on safety in times of change y g