WHO praises union effect

Union activity and rigorous enforcement are the keys to delivering safety and health at work, according to a new report by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Based on “extensive research” from a range of countries, especially the UK, Employment conditions and health inequalities concludes that “workplaces where unions are present are safer, improving occupational health outcomes.”

Participation of workers and unions at different levels were found to have “a considerable effect in changing health and safety at the workplace”. Unions “dramatically increase enforcement” of health and safety laws, and unionised workplaces are “much more likely to have a health and safety committee” and to have undergone a management safety audit in the previous year.

Furthermore, unions ensure that safety reps are better trained in health and safety – and they “often realise the risks long before management does”. The report cites the example of asbestos, which unions campaigned to ban many years before international governments started to take action.

The report can be downloaded from the WHO website at www.who.int/social_determinants/resources/articles/emconet_who_report.pdf