Women safety reps

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is trying to encourage women to become workplace health and safety reps. In its recent leaflet titled Help make your workplace safer the HSE says: “European research suggests that women are under-represented in the health and safety decision-making process. In particular, more women are needed to be safety representatives.” The leaflet adds: “By representing your colleagues you’re playing a vital role,” including making workplaces safer and “making sure that women’s views and experience of workplace health and safety are taken into account.”

It emphasises that being a safety rep involves learning new skills as well as taking on responsibility for assisting with colleagues’ difficulties.

The HSE has the support of the TUC, individual unions and the ORR rail safety regulator in this bid.

The 2011 TUC Equality Audit, which will be presented for approval at September’s TUC Congress, will show fewer than half of unions know how many of their safety reps are women.