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Wales Health & Safety Network meeting

9 April 2010

UCU Wales is setting up a Wales Health & Safety Network to encourage UCU members with an interest in health & safety to get involved and enable existing H&S reps to share knowledge, best practice and discuss any issues or concerns.

It is envisaged that the Health and Safety Network will consist of representatives from both the further and higher education sectors in Wales and will meet approximately three times a year.

To start things off, we are arranging an inaugural meeting of the network to take place from 10.30 AM - 3.30 PM (lunch included) on Saturday 17 April 2010 at The Holiday Inn, Cardiff Central (opp. Cardiff Castle).

The meeting will include a training session entitled 'Workload & Stress' which will be presented by John Bamford, UCU Health & Safety Officer.

For further information please contact Karen Williams in the UCU Wales office.

Health & Safety - Making a difference

Health and safety representatives can make a real difference to the working environment in colleges and universities. They help prevent workplace hazards, injuries and accidents by ensuring good safety processes are in place. The law requires employers to consult safety reps on any health and safety issue - from risk assessments to the introduction of open plan offices and 'hot desking', from excessive workloads to the prevention of bullying, from fire safety to the use and storage of chemicals. A lot of good work has already been carried out within Wales such as stress management surveys, and safety reps sitting on safety committees.

Health and safety representatives have functions given by law. If you are a trade union-appointed health and safety representative, your functions are set out in the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977.

Health & Safety Reps - Getting support

UCU produces an extensive range of fact sheets specifically for UCU Health and Safety reps as well as examples of good practice and useful tools. By meeting with other UCU safety reps from Welsh Colleges and Universities it is hoped that we can build upon this good work that is being undertaken within colleges and universities and make the institutions in which we work in a much safer and healthier place to work in for both us and our members.

Last updated: 16 March 2021