TUC sets out new health and safety recommendations
In its latest report, entitled ‘Time for Change’, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has listed 10 recommendations for improvements to be made to health and safety practices in UK workplaces.
The TUC wants the UK to take steps to improve its poor safety record, starting with introducing a new upper limit for maximum temperatures at work. The organisation’s recommendation is for maximum workplace temperatures to be set at 27°C for anyone carrying out strenuous tasks at work and 30°C for employees working indoors.
Other recommendations from the TUC include:
- Lower limits for dust in the workplace to be set
- Company directors should have a new legal duty to oversee health and safety training and practices within the business
- Regular safety inspections to keep employers on their toes
- All workplaces with 10 employees or more should be required to have a union safety representative
Commenting on the report and the need for the recommended changes to be made, the TUC’s general secretary Frances O’Grady said:
“Every year 20,000 people die needlessly because of an accident or illness caused by their jobs, and many thousands more are unable to work because of health problems which began at work.
“This isn’t just a national tragedy for the victims and their families, but is also a huge drain on the economy, costing the state billions of pounds a year.”