Beware behavioural safety campaign
Beware Behavioural Safety! Fix the hazards,
don’t blame the victims
Behavioural safety is the name given to a
variety of management programmes that focus on worker
behaviour. These programmes are typically sold to employers
by a consultant. Behavioural safety proponents believe that
80% to almost 100% of accidents are caused by unsafe acts by
workers. To prevent these unsafe acts management should target
specific behaviours and aim to change them by observing and
monitoring workers. It is important to note that workplace ill
health cannot be remedied by behavioural safety programmes.
Many behavioural safety programmes are
designed to undermine trade union activity on health and safety,
reduce the role of joint health & safety committees and shift
the blame for accidents and poor health & safety from
management to workers.
Unite opposes the use of any scheme that looks
to ‘blame the worker’. The main cause of injury and illness in the
workplace is in the failings of the management of health and
safety, not in the failings of workers.
Unite knows from our experience dealing with
safety in thousands of workplaces that hazards and unsafe
conditions cause injury and illness. When the hazards are properly
identified and fixed, injury and illness decrease.
What to look out for
- Reward schemes for no lost time accidents
(vouchers, bonus payment)
- Disciplinary action for involvement in an
accident
- Workers observation schemes being
implemented
- Reps encouraged to be involved with worker
observations and not being given time off to carry out safety rep
inspections
- Non reporting of accidents across the
organisation
- An increased focus on the use of
PPE
What is the answer?
- Full recognition of TU safety reps and full involvement with
safety management systems
- Robust risk assessment process that identifies and corrects
workplace hazards and unsafe conditions.
- Correct use of the hierarchy of controls to address
hazards
- Accident investigation that looks for the root causes of
accidents
- Workers rights to identify hazards without fear of
retaliation
- Right to refuse to carry out unsafe work
- Full reporting and recoding of all injuries, illnesses and near
misses
Safety reps need to be involved in all
decision making processes around health and safety so that they can
bring their expertise to any discussions on what is needed to
improve workplace health and safety. It is important that workers
and unions achieve the fundamental goals of the union – achieving
safer, healthier and more hazard-free jobs.
Workers and their
reps are the solution to workplace health and safety concerns, not
the problem.
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