Posted By David Mains Robert, as far as I am aware there have been no amendments (this was confirmed last week during discussions with a HSE inspector). It could certainly do with a review and update though, as it was 1995.

Posted By Neil Pearson We also keep hearing about union reps who don't know what they're talking about. Who really wants to give these people the ability to issue improvement notices? The mind boggles...

Posted By Robert S Woods Thanks for the help. Having been a TU rep myself I would always ask TU tutors if what they were saying was the their own interpretation, the Unions position or the legal position on an issue. As most union reps will know, where a company does not have a decent H&S manager, you can get away with making the law up to suit the situation. This fact is sometimes exploited by TU Tutors feeding reps misinformation to further their own agendas.

Posted By Terry Smyth Good comments Peter and Robert Often commited safety reps know a lot more than an arrogant safety manager or advisor. They are generally the people that are working in the front line and can contribute greatly to a good health and safety culture within the workplace. TU education is a great foundation for prospective health and safety professionals, which members have found to be beneficial, leading to Tech SP status on successful completion of the TU certificate in Occupational Safety and Health, all free of charge to members!!!!!!!!!!!!! Any TU safety Reps out there, make good use of this facility! You are paying for it! Regards Terry

Posted By Jeff Watt I did my TUC part one course the same year as my Nebosh cert. TUC lecturer taught me next to zero practical safety but plenty about negotiation. My Nebosh lecturer was the college TU rep and taught me practical stuff I still use. Two committed trade unionists with two different approaches to teaching safety and two different target audiences I was a full time union rep for a year and have a lot of time for trade unions and how they seek to protect people. As a manger now, I come to H&S committees as an honest broker with fairness and employee protection in mind because of my present management responsibilities and my socialist past. I usually leave our H&S committees wondering how to join the Conservative party and will they take Visa payments to join, right now, over the phone. The moral? There are good and bad managers and safety reps. I am possibly both of them but I don't think so.

Posted By Neil Pearson My apologies, that was a bit pompous wasn't it? I didn't intend to make a sweeping statement about all union reps. It's definitely not just union reps who get things worng sometimes. But SOME of us, reps or advisors, have a tendency to spout "legal requirements" without having any idea what we're talking about. And we have heard a few of those cases recently relating to reps. I just worry about increased arguments and disruption based on a few bad apples who just cause trouble.

Posted By Gary Millen Bob, It is possible that the Rep is getting confused with OSHA reporting standards where any medical aid (subject to set criteria) is reportable. I am an advocate for having safety representatives in the workplace, having been one myself, in a previous life and seeing the value of having another set of eyes and ears on the ground, so to speak. I am, however, concerned that the local college that the Reps attend for their Union courses employs a tutor affectionately known by the Reps as Red Penny due to her obvious and well voiced "capitalist employer" views.