The current vogue among employers for adopting behavioural programmes to address health and safety issues has been criticised by a leading trade union, which says they mainly seek to blame the worker rather than focusing on the failures of management.
Unite recently launched a campaign in the paper and packaging sector, where its officers have reported a particular prevalence of management initiatives focusing on worker behaviour.
The basic premise of behavioural safety programmes, says the union, is that the majority of workplace accidents are caused by unsafe acts by workers so, to prevent them, management should target specific behaviours and aim to change them by observing and monitoring staff.
But, it argues, too many companies introduce such programmes thinking they are the answer to all health and safety problems, when, in fact, they are mostly just expensive and ineffective. It also claims that many behavioural safety programmes are designed to undermine trade-union activity on health and safety, reduce the role of joint health and safety committees, and shift the blame for accidents from management to workers.
Unite’s national officer for the paper and corrugating industries, Peter Ellis, commented: “We know 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. In the meantime, it’s our members who face the workplace risks and, under behavioural safety, tend to get the blame as well.”
As “evidence” that management is implementing a behavioural-safety approach the union advises workers to look out for: reward schemes for no lost-time accidents, disciplinary action for involvement in an accident, worker observation schemes, non or under-reporting of incidents and accidents, and an increased focus on the use of PPE.
One of the main alternatives it proposes is better recognition and involvement of safety reps in the devising and implementation of safety management systems. Instead of focusing on worker behaviour, says the union, safety reps should be involved to help identify hazards and fix them. Added Peter Ellis: “Fix the hazards – don’t blame the victims. Workers and their reps are the solution to workplace health and safety concerns, not the problem.”
More information about the campaign, as well as posters and stickers, is available on the Unite website.
