HSC announces second round of Safety adviser awards

The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) has announced the successful bids from the second round of the Workers' Safety Adviser (WSA) Challenge Fund.

Two of the 11 bids are headed by unions - the Scottish TUC and UCATT construction union. The Sheffield Occupational Health Advisory Service and Healt@ork in Liverpool will also be leading projects.

Other unions involved in projects as partners are the Amicus professional union, the T&G general union, the North West TUC, the GMB general union and the TUC regional education service in Scotland.

HSC chair Bill Callaghan said the projects had been awarded funds "to engage and enthuse employers and workers alike, through the activities of the Workers' Safety Advisers they employ, to establish collaborative environments in which to drive through improvements in occupational health and safety".

The WSA Challenge Fund was established in October 2003, with £3 million to award over three years. The TUC has welcomed the scheme, but is concerned that advisers continue to be "thin on the ground".

WSA projects cover 707 small and medium-sized enterprises - a tiny fraction of the 3.8 million small businesses in the UK.

Unions are also campaigning for a system of roving safety reps, with the power to enter workplaces and investigate safety matters, even where unions are not recognised.