Workplace Report May 2007

Health & safety news

Betting shop alarms are saved

Prompt action by the Community union has forced a betting chain to keep safety measures in place.

Earlier this year, management at Betfred betting shops switched off emergency alarms, jeopardising workers’ health and safety. A Community member at a Betfred shop in the North West then contacted the union after realising that her alarm was not working.

Having established that the problem was nationwide, the union sent out advice to members and asked the company to switch the alarms back on immediately. The company acted within days, and acknowledged that it had done so because of Community’s intervention.