Workers require airborne protection against Covid-19 now!
Employers failing in duty
Employers and government continue to fail in their duty to protect workers, especially against the primary route of transmission of Covid-19, airborne spread. Trade unions should therefore adopt specifi
History of the Struggle for Health and Safety
Special course organised by our branch
Unite the Housing Workers is delighted to invite you to sign up for a unique course dealing with The History of the Struggle for Health and Safety.
Climate Change ...
... And The Energy Price Rip Off!
The recent announcement by energy regulators Ofgen that they are increasing the price cap below which energy companies are allowed to charge by £139 from this October is a devastating blow.
Too hot at work: a union issue
Unbearable
Working in sweltering conditions, whether it’s in a baking shop, stifling office or working from home, can be unbearable and dangerous.
Ventilation and masks needed to protect workers
Perspex screens may increase risk
Call for update of health and safety risk assessments
Ministers have been urged to scrap perspex screen
What is Agile Working?
“Crept up on us”
Agile working is often described as an approach to work which entails maximum flexibility and minimum constraints. That might sound good but all too often the flexibility i
Workers suffering mental health epidemic
Unite survey reveals root causes linked to pandemic stress
Ahead of tomorrow’s International Workers’ Memorial Day (April 28) workers are suffering a mental health ‘epidemic’, a UK a
New research: Workplace Covid risk dangerously downplayed
A new report from the IEA, HSE and Covid at work: a case of regulatory failure, contains important material for workplace Unite reps. The full report can be found here.
The Institute of Employment
Unite opposes No jab, no job’ contracts
“The No Jab, No Job narrative is a disgraceful attempt to create a divisive narrative around workers and the vaccine”
Unite and other trade unions have urged the government to rule out ‘no jab, no job
Worker dies following accident at Clarion site
Gentle giant
A construction worker has died after an accident at a development site owned by the UK’s largest housing association, Clarion. Unite sends condolences to his friends, colleagues and loved ones.
New Guide and Health & Safety Meeting - Lockdown 2021
The new year has brought a new set of restrictions as the country entered another national lockdown.
Emergency Branch Meeting
Covid-19 construction guide
Unite has launched a comprehensive construction guide to help ensure the safety of construction workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Important guide
Unite reps saving lives during the Coronavirus pandemic
Unite safety rep Moe speaks at our branch
Tuesday 13th October
During the pandemic too many workers have lost their lives. New members for unions and reps h
Homeworking requires negotiation and agreement not imposition
Explosion in home working caused by Covid 19
Unite says employers should reach homeworking agreements to avoid an industrial minefield when turning workers' homes into a place of work.
Track and trace doomed to fail unless sick pay raised
Majority of workers face hardship if forced to self isolate on SSP
Any attempts to control the coronavirus pandemic through test and trace efforts are doomed to fail unless statutory sick pay (SSP) is increased as a ma
Govt’s ‘scrimping’ could cost lives
Unite slams measly £13 a day for low waged self-isolators
Thirteen quid a day. Not a lot really when you take your bills, outgoings, kids’ school uniforms, gas – not to mention food &
Vulnerable workers return to work: Unite support
327,000 ‘extremely vulnerable’ workers
New Unite checklist for reps
Construction site safety procedures ‘inadequate’
Unite won't back Construction COVID procedures until PPE and hygiene failings resolved
Unite has stated that it will not support the latest version of the Construction Leadership Council’s site operating proc
Deaths in construction up by 33% Health & Safety Executive cut
Construction accounts for a third of work related deaths
Unite is warning that the large increase in construction deaths could be related to a steep fall in proactive inspections and prosecutions being undert
Silica dust: Warning to construction workers about PPE shortage
Unite: don’t risk your heath
Unite is urging workers not to risk their health if they are not supplied with the correct PPE.
Silica is a natural substance found in varying amounts in mo
Inquiry into Covid-19 worker death rates call
ONS report on Covid-19 worker deaths increases concerns about inequality and working practices
Unite is calling for an urgent ‘warts and all’ public inquiry into the death rates of workers from Covid-19 dur
Unite urges government to see sense on social distancing
Arguments for blanket reduction of social distancing do not stack up
As the government prepares to report on the conclusions of its review into the two metre social distancing rules Unite, has repeated its offer to dep
Reducing social distancing to 1m doubles infection risk
New evidence on social distancing is important in many sectors including both hospitalty and also in housing.
Physical distancing matters
Reducing the two metre social distancing re
Unite: Class & race biggest factors for COVID19 victims
Systemic failures
Class and race are the biggest factors in determining those that have died or been taken ill by Covid-19.
Unite has called for a raft of policies to tackle the ‘system
Unite: construction procedures put workers at risk
Unite has sent an open letter to Mark Reynolds, the skills workstream lead of the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), warning that the organisation’s site operating procedures (SOP) are placing workers at risk.
Various versio
Unite: construction procedures put workers at risk
Unite has sent an open letter to Mark Reynolds, the skills workstream lead of the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), warning that the organisation’s site operating procedures (SOP) are placing workers at risk.
Various versio
Unite on COVID19 and the mental health crisis
Millions of workers are anxious about the future of their jobs, a new poll published this week shows.
The
Len McCluskey on government back to work proposals
You will be aware of the great media speculation surrounding our governments' developing proposals to get the country fully back to work as we seek to take the country out of the coronavirus lockdown.
Of course, many of you have been at work throughout thi
COVID19: Centrepoint staff want their voice to be heard
Fears and concerns
Unite members at Centrepoint recently met to discuss the response to the Corona Outbreak within their own organisation. Members expressed their fears and concerns around issues
Construction workers now eligible for COVID19 tests
Unite has welcomed the announcement that construction workers are now eligible for targeted COVID-19 testing.
Testing announcement
The announcement was made by the health secretary Matt
COVID 19 Testing needed for construction workers
Key workers
Construction workers must be included in the government’s targeted Covid19 testing of key workers in order to help halt the disease’s spread, Unite said today.
Unite a
Housebuilding must not be put before health
Unite has warned that there are growing fears that building new homes is being put ahead of the health and welfare of construction workers and their families.
Housebuilding safety
The u
Covid regulations unsafe: Unite launches safety hotline
Regulations unsafe
Unite has warned the government that the latest guidance on how construction sites should operate during the current COVID-19 pandemic, is unsafe and places construction workers at u
Coronavirus: rights for 'vulnerable' employees
Q: What are my rights as an employee who is in a vulnerable or at-risk group?
This week, Unite solicitor Alys Cunningham explains what your rights are as a worker who is ‘at-risk’ – t
Coronavirus: testing must include homelessness workers
Deadly consequences
Working as a rep in a homelessness organisation I welcome the government’s plans to expand testing to cover frontline social care staff. However, it needs to explicitly include frontline homel
St Mungos staff - rising health and safety concerns
Five new reps
Five health and safety reps have been elected over the past couple of weeks at the homelessness charity St Mungo’s reflecting mounting concerns from staff about the organisation’s inadequate a
We demand to be safe - negotiation not imposition
Employers must take responsibility
Workers more than anyone are at the forefront of this pandemic, doing everything they can in all situations to kill off this disease and keep us safe. We all want to do our bit to p
Lack of social distancing for Mears housing maintenance workers
Business as usual not good enough
Our branch, along with Unite nationally, has experienced a growth in membership during the Coronaviru
Why I became a health and safety rep
Members are stepping up
The stakes are high and housing workers have been turning to Unite to defend themselves at work in the current pandemic. In the branch, and nationally, Unite membership has been
Safety agreement for homelessness workers
Saving lives
The housing and homelessness workers of our branch are playing a key role in saving lives and keeping people safe throughout the coronavirus crisis demonstrating the role that trade unions can&nb
Unite: Social care workers must be provided with full protection
Workers need full protective equipment
Unite reps in homelessness agencies have been pressing for decent safety standards, leave for self-isolating staff not to trigger absence procedures, and support for self empl
Cornovirus: full pay for Sanctuary self isolating workers
Unite raising need for sector to respond to Coronavirus
Unite reps in the sector are raising the need to respond to the Coronavirus crisis and unions nationally have raised VIEW
Unite demands stronger asbestos legislation
Damning report – public put at risk
Unite has demanded the government enact stronger asbestos legislation after a VIEW
Unite launches silica register
Unite launches silica register to protect workers whose health could be damaged by dust inhalation
Work in houisng and construction can lead to contact
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Unite demands full benefits for construction workers
Construction industry must get its house in order on worker benefits
Unite is launching a campaign to ensure that all workers in the industry, regardless of their employment status or where their e
Burnout nation
Majority of British workers do not take their full holiday entitlement
Branch members report working longer than contracted hours and being unable to take annual leave. A new survey shows this is a problem across t
Not only one ‘blue’ day
On ‘Blue Monday’, Unite highlights mental health in the workplace
On Blue Monday today (January 21) – popularly viewed as the ‘most depressing’ day of the year – Unite is highlightin
Health and Safety bulletin
Unite Health & Safety bulletin
New accident bookThe HSE has published a second
Liverpool hospital safety scandal
Flammable cladding found on unfinished Liverpool hospital contracted out to Carillion
Unite is writting to all safety reps to ensure they are provided with clear evidence that cladding is safe.
Work and the heatwave
Temperature at work
Let us know how you are coping with the heatwave at work.
Employers have a legal duty to prevent injury and ill health to their employees if they are exposed to unreasonab
Data: GDPR and the workplace
Using new data regulations as an opportunity to negotiate better conditions
Unite Shop Stewards / Reps have an opportunity to further improve conditions for our members. This is particularly the case regarding workplace surveillance.
New data protection rules don’t trump safety reps’ rights
GDPR - Employers wrongly using them to restrict information to Health & Safety reps
The General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) came into effect this week and some employers are ‘worryingly’ –
Do you know about the Unite asbestos register?
Register for all those who believe they have been exposed to asbestos at work
Unite maintains a register for all members who believe they have been exposed to asbestos at work. The database allows us to trace witnesses
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Is Mental Health First Aid the answer? Depends on the question
£15 million programme
A number of employers on the social housing sector have embraced the idea of Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) in recent years. The government has recently announced a £15 million p
Mears strike resumes
Shocking levels of mental illness and stress revealed problems among Mears Manchester housing workers
Mears is one of the biggest contractors in the housing sector for outsourced repairs. We have VIEW
Hazards conference
Workplace health and safety reps
The annual Hazards conference takes place each year at Keele University. It is organised by Greater Manchester Hazards Centre (GMHC), part of a national network of Hazards Centres from
Hot and bothered
Is your office too hot?
Amanda Campbell, Cross posted from UNITELive
You know what it can be like at w
Construction workers have high suicide risk
Construction must radically reform to reduce high suicide rates
Unite, the largest union for construction workers, is calling on the industry to take radical action to reduce the high number of suicides among its workf
Work proper hours in housing
Talking point
Work your proper hour’s day always gets press coverage and becomes a talking point - this year Friday 24th February. It’s the day when the average person who does unpaid overtime finis
New stress guide from the TUC and HSE
Tackling workplace stress
A new guide to tackling workplace stress using the health and safety executive management standards has been produced by the TUC and the Health and Safety executive. Branch members incre
Cancer all-clear for night work based on ‘bad science’
Methodological flaws "invalidate" conclusions
Night shifts are bad for your health, and many of our members who work night shifts have been particularly concerned at the mounting evidence that night work is l
Housing association downgraded because of fire safety
Unite reps will remind management
The social housing regulator has downgraded another housing association following failures to do with its fire risk assessments. Manchester based St Vincent&rsqu
Work stress at record levels - see our new resources
Seven in ten reps report problem
Findings published by the TUC on 10 October indicat
Housing Association slammed by regulator over fire safety
Regulatory notice
Tower Hamlets Community Housing Association (TCHA) has been given a “regulatory notice” by the social housing regulator becuase of a failure to adress fire safety issues.
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Inside Housing survey assaults to housing workers
Have you been physically or verbally assaulted during your work as a housing professional?
Inside Housing has launched a questionnaire for housing staff – it can be completed here.
Reach out recovery heath and safety dispute
3,000 emails in support of Birmingham health & safety rep over sacking by drug charity in ‘fire alarm’ row
The boss of a Birmingham drug and alcohol charity, which sacked health and safety rep Alison M
Who Tracks the Trackers?
Is monitoring and surveillance getting out of control at work? This question is beginning to concern an increasing number of our members. We are told that surveillance systems at work and in society are there to safeguard staff, clients, and the wider community, but they increasing
Housing association worker suffers life changing injury
Broken bones
A Manchester housing association has been hit with a £200,000 bill after a worker had to have a finger and thumb amputated after his hand was mangled by a mower.
Stress awareness day
ACTION ON STRESS
In 2014/15 around 234,000 people reported that their stress, depression and anxiety was caused or made worse by their work. We need to take action!
It’s the 17th National Stress Awareness day on 4 November 2015 and Unite is aware that
Trade Union bill threatens health & safety
Government threat to safety reps – get the message out there!
Cross posted from the TUC 'Stronger Unions' blog by Hugh Robertson
The TUC is running a major camp
Hard Day’s Night: TUC report calls for fair deal for night work
The work-life balance impacts of night working
A new report gives useful information for Unite reps on the housing sector. The report concentrates on work – life balance; see VIEW
New evidence: shift work makes you sick
What can we do about shift work?
Evidence of the damaging health effects of shift work continues to mount; it is clear that many shift workers in our branch will have increased risk of contracting cancer and suffer other health problems as a result of t
Companies scrap 'performance management' What about HA's?
Companies scrapping performance management
Accenture, the multinational IT and business strategy company is reported in the Washington Post to be ending its ‘performance management’ system. From September this year they will join other
Revealed: how stress takes it's toll on workers in the sector
The Guardian is featuring a new survey on the impact of stress on workers - it will be a talking point in the sector and Unite reps will seek to use these discussions as a basis for positive campaigns.
The survey finds "Long hours, a lack of breaks and a fraught wo
Fill in this survey: have you been verbally abused or assaulted?
Have you been verbally abused or physically assaulted on the job?
If so fill in this anonymous survey being run by Inside Housing magazine here
As we reported on t
New TUC report on mental health in the workplace
The prevalence of mental health problems among Britain’s workers is being exacerbated by reductions in the funding of mental health services, the TUC has warned. It added that official statistics “confirm a clear link with conditions such as stress generated at work that lead to menta
Long hours damage health - new research
New research underlines the health risks of working long hours. An international study released last week has identified that those who work more than 48 hours a week are 11% more likely to drink alcohol at risk levels than those working a standard week – see VIEW
Unite launches asbestos awareness campaign
The risk from asbestos is a serious concern for anyone working in housing and contruction. Unite is launching an asbestos awareness campaign to highlught the risks from this silent killer. There is an informative an informative online campaign pack to arm Unite reps and members.
&
Get ready for 'Work Your Proper Hours Day': Friday 27 February
Work Your Proper Hours Day (27 Feb 2015) is the day when the average person who does unpaid overtime finishes the unpaid days they do every year, and starts earning for themselves. We think that's a day worth celebrating.
Our survey of Unite housing branch members
