Making a Difference The Union’s Contribution

1. Making a DifferenceThe Union’s Contribution Partnership at Work Nicki Coughlin

2. Do the unions want to work in partnership? • Yes! • “The TUC believes that unions, employers and government should work together to promote health and safety at work. The TUC encourages unions, employers and others to work together on health & safety, developing joint approaches to identifying and solving health and safety problems….developing proactive ways of working to prevent accidents injuries and ill health”

3. Health and work – the union effect • A study in 1995 found that those employers who had trade union health and safety committees had half the injury rate of those employers who managed safety without unions or joint arrangements • Another study in 2000 found that “The proportion of employees who are trade union members has a positive and significant association on both injury and illness rates.” It went on to say that “the arrangements associated with trade unions...lower the odds of injury and illness when compared with arrangements that merely inform employees of OHS issues” • In 2003 the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) ran a number of pilots where trade union appointed “Worker Safety Advisors” went in to non-unionised organisations. The report into the pilot showed that over 75% of employers said they had made changes as a result and almost 70% of workers had seen an increase in the awareness of health & safety

4. Health and work – the union effect • In January 2007 the DTI (now BIS) published a report which concluded that safety reps at 2004 prices save society between £181m and £578m each year as a result of lost time reduction from occupational injuries and work-related illnesses of between 286,000 and 616,000 days • In 2011 there was 150,000 union H&S reps in the UK. Each year the TUC trains 10,000 H&S reps with more receiving H&S training direct from their own trade unions. This is a very knowledgeable resource in the workplace

5. Cases to support the union effect • In 2006 a joint management union campaign at Devonport Royal Dockyard aimed at better communications and involvement in safety and reduced accidents by 35% and increased profits by 8% • In a Somerfield distribution centre in Scotland, the union safety representatives did a survey of MSK Disorders. This was raised at the joint safety committee who developed an action plan that led to a 50% reduction in manual handling injuries over 2 years. • After a critical HSE inspection at Bristol City Council Parking services in 2008 the employers and management developed a plan which included giving full-time release to one of the safety representatives, reviewing risk assessments, better training, and new communication equipment. The fall in sickness absence, reduction in incidents of violence against staff and increase staff moral are estimated to have saved the employer over £36,000 in the first year alone. • Within Tesco, union safety representatives raised an issue of the width of one type of checkout which was causing health problems. This led to the belt being narrowed. In new stores a totally new type of checkout is used which was designed with union involvement from scratch and which helps to greatly reduce injuries and sick absence among checkout staff.

6. Health training in the CWU • Union H&S reps have access to a wide range of residential training courses to assist them in performing their role. This includes the following: • Health & Safety Joint Accreditation • Health & Safety Stage 1 • Health & Safety Stage 2 • Health & Safety Stage 3 • Health & Safety – The next steps • Occupational Health & Safety • Diploma in Occupational Health & Safety • Mental Health Awareness • Cancer in the Workplace • Disability Champions at Work

7. Breast Cancer Awareness Mental Health in the Workplace Cervical Cancer Awareness Depression Prostate Cancer Help for Smokers Leading a Healthy Lifestyle Healthsome Work Environments Men’s Health Binge Drinking Factsheet Stroke Factsheet Women’s Health Guide Dyslexia at Work Menopause Stress RSI CWU Health Publications

8. Health Collaboration in the CWU • The CWU has nationally agreed systematic policy statements of action on mental health with Royal Mail and BT who both recognise that stress is a real issue and that work-related stress is the root cause of a significant degree of mental ill health. These policies include: • Commitment to a healthy workforce, placing a high value on both physical and mental health. • Acknowledging that mental health problems have many causes, including stresses in the workplace. • Listing factors which may lead to increased stress in the organisation based on risk assessment. • Recognising that domestic factors (such as housing, family problems and bereavement) may add to levels of stress experienced by employees.

9. Health Collaboration in the CWU • Part of the approach is seeking to raise awareness about the issues and promoting a positive view of how the problems can be tackled by highlighting the procedures and support available and the benefits to individuals of improved mental wellbeing including; simply feeling better, improved relationships, higher levels of achievement at work, coping better with normal stress, increased protection against mental illness, better physical health, satisfactory quality of life, high morale and good self-esteem.

10. Working in Partnership in BT Work Fit • Work Fit is BT's vehicle for health promotion. Conceived in 2004 as a joint initiative with the BT unions, the Communications Workers' Union (CWU) and Connect, it aims to promote small behavioural changes that, if sustained, will have a long-term impact on health and wellbeing • The first campaign, which was launched in September 2005, was concerned with nutrition and exercise as a means of reducing obesity and associated diseases • Since the first campaign, Work Fit campaigns have been delivered throughout BT by management and the unions concerning a variety of health issues, such as Smoking, Cancer, Diabetes and Heart disease.

11. BT Work Fit – Positive Mentality • BT launched its Positive Mentality health promotion campaign in October 2006. It was a major programme, lasting 16 weeks, to tackle problems such as anxiety, depression and stress in its workforce. BT worked with unions to create the Work Fit - Positive Mentality campaign that provided practical guidance to its 108,000 employees across the globe on how to improve their mental health at work and at home. • The programme demonstrated how regular exercise, healthy eating, relaxation techniques and even the support of friends and family can help to ward off depression, stress and anxiety. It also aimed to educate staff to help reduce the stigma of mental illness and promote the range of support services the company provides.

12. BT Positive Mentality • 'Mind how you go/body and mind‘ was a 16 week programme with eight modules aimed at getting people thinking about their mental health and explaining what they can do to build positive changes into their life. This was done in partnership with the BT Unions, Sainsbury mental health group, MIND and local NHS mental health trusts. Each fortnight the campaign gave one of the 'positive steps' promoted by the World Mental Health Day campaign - advice that has been shown to help with symptoms of distress, as a well as preventing problems occurring or becoming overwhelming.There were 8 web based modules over a 16 week programmed period; each module had a quiz at the end of the fortnight. Those participating in the quiz, and achieving a level, was entered for a prize draw. • The campaign was enhanced by 30 road shows in BT work locations throughout the UK and Ireland, providing advice to workers in the workplace on mental health & wellbeing issues and access to MIND counsellors. • In addition senior managers and trade unionists spoke openly about their own experience with mental health illness via a variety of communication media available to staff in BT.

13. BT Work Fit The Outcome • 16,500 employees actively engaged with Work Fit 2005 throughout the campaign to look at nutrition and exercise. Evaluation 6 months later showed 75% of those who had taken part had maintained lifestyle improvements. • A year after Work Fit – Positive Mentality was launched in 2006, BT saw that stress claims had been dramatically reduced and medical retirement rates for mental illness was down by 80%. Also, workers who were off long-term with mental health issues returned to their own job at BT. Evaluation showed more than 50% of BT people had been influenced by the programme to make changes in their lifestyles. Sick absence for mental health related illness fell by 30%.

14. BT Passport Scheme • Original document designed by CWU H&S rep to support member in workplace with ongoing mental health condition in 2003 • Original document based on the NHS Care Programme Approach used to support patients with mental health illness after leaving hospital • Prior to use of this document the member had incurred lots of sick absence relating to the management at work for known mental health condition, periods of gardening leave, numerous and often unnecessary OHS appointments due to lack of knowledge of management on how to support the member– all the member wanted to do was to go to work and use their skills and ability for employer in a manner that would not make them ill.

15. BT Passport Scheme What is the BT passport? The BT Passport is a scheme to document the requirements of employees who have special needs that can sometimes impact on their working life. This arrangement has been negotiated by the CWU T&FSE Department. Who can have a BT Passport? Currently within BT there are the following Passports available: BT Disability Passport – available to employees with health conditions that the employee believes are covered by the DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) BT Health & Well Being Passport – available to employees with mental health conditions BT Carers Passport – available to employees who have specific caring responsibilities for someone else

16. BT Passport Scheme • What are the benefits of having a BT Passport? • It is a voluntary scheme that allows employees to ensure that any special needs that can impact on them in the workplace, either now or in the future, are documented. It ensures that any reasonable adjustments that are required are documented, so that if the line manager or job role changes in the future, the information is readily available. It therefore guarantees continuity of any arrangements that are required for the employee in the workplace. It allows the employee to explain in their own words their circumstances, the difficulties they experience in the workplace and discuss the help they require in the workplace. Hence, management are made aware and can support you.

17. BT Passport SchemeThe Outcomes • The original member the document was designed for has never had any gardening leave or sick absence for the mental health condition since. • The scheme is demonstrating significant reductions in sick absence for employees with long term conditions including ME and Fibromyalgia • The original scheme has now been adapted and rolled out successfully to other organisations where the CWU represents staff • BT has won numerous awards for this pioneering support scheme • The union rep who designed the original was invited to become the BT Retail Disability Champion by BT after the successful roll out of the scheme throughout BT

18. Conclusion • Where healthy workers are concerned there is no difference in the objectives of employers and trade unions – prevention is always better than cure • Employers have access to a valuable commodity via the trade unions…….H&S reps • Working together in partnership really does work and it is proven to work to the benefit of all

19. Any further information regarding any of the details contained in the presentation please contact:  Nicki Coughlin: nicola.coughlin1@btinternet.com