The trade union effect on health, safety and well-being at work in the 21st century: Findings from a secondary analysis of ESENER

1
The trade union effect on health, safety and
well-being at work in the 21st century Findings
from a secondary analysis of ESENER
2
What this presentation is about

• Evidence of worker representation on OHS from the
  European Survey of Enterprises on New and
  Emerging Risks (ESENER)
• How it compares with what we already know and
  would expect to find
• Challenges for sustaining the trade union effect

3
ESENER in brief

• EU-wide (27 and Croatia, Norway, Switzerland and
  Turkey) establishment OHS survey on new and
  emergent risks (emphasis on psycho-social hazards
  of modern work organisation)
• Managers and workers representatives in
  workplaces of all sizes except micro-enterprises
• Nearly 36,000 telephone interviews with managers
  and worker representatives (over 7,000)

4
What we did

• Examined the ESENER data for features of support
  and effects of worker involvement in the
  management of OSH
• Used multivariate analyses to define a typology
  of establishments according to their
  characteristics determining worker involvement
• Compared with existing research findings to
  explain the context of features found to have
  greatest influence on enterprises involvement of
  workers and their representatives in OHS
  management

5
What ESENER report says about worker
representation on OHS generally

• Strong association between presence of
  arrangements for representation and measures of
  OHS management (Expected)
• High levels of perceptions of effectiveness of
  representation on operation of these measures
  (Expected)
• High level of involvement in OHS management
  measures such as risk assessment (Unexpected)
• Strong support for representatives re time off
  to undertake functions and from training
  (Unexpected)
• Some concerns about sufficient time/access to
  workers
• Need for more training re psychosocial
  risks/bullying/ discrimination or ergonomics

6
ESENER and worker representation and
consultation on OHS (cont)

• Our findings essentially describe what we might
  expect to
• find where pre-conditions for representation
  exist. That is
• Worker representation is more common in larger
  organisations and public sector.
• More likely where management prioritises OHS, and
  the views of workers
• Formal management of health and safety risks more
  likely (and perceived as more effective) in
  workplaces with worker representation high
  management commitment to OHS.

7
ESENER and worker representation and consultation
on OHS (cont.)

• Psychosocial risk management more likely in these
  workplaces.
• Also more likely to be effective where employees
  are involved. Latter is more likely where there
  is representation
• Confirms that management of both traditional and
  psychosocial health and safety risks, and its
  effectiveness, more likely in workplaces in which
  workers representatives are supported by trades
  unions (eg training), and sufficient resources
  (eg time).

8
Workplace representation a reminder of a
success story of more than two decades

• Hundreds of thousands of health and safety
  representatives
• Increased demand for participative approaches to
  OHS management at regulatory and workplace levels
• Greater engagement of inspectorate and OHS
  specialists
• Strong evidence of improved OHS performance where
  trade union supported safety representatives are
  involved

9
Why - what makes things work?

• Studies confirmed the support of
• Regulatory provisions
• Management commitment to better health and safety
  performance through participative arrangements
• Workplace worker organisation
• Support from trade unions outside workplaces
• Well-trained and well- informed representatives.

10
But..nowadays ..

• Increased unemployment
• Weaker trades unions
• Cut backs in government expenditure
• Attacks on wider employment rights
• Pay and pension cuts
• Work intensification/reorganisation and
  restructuring
• Issues of migration and informal/undocumented
  work
• Increasingly extreme features of a
  well-established neo-liberal political and
  economic agenda in Europe
• All make it more difficult to focus on OHS
  representation

11
For representation on OHS, challenges include .

• Reduced union presence
• Reduced regulatory inspection (in most countries
  and changes in others)
• Reduced professional capacity (eg occupational
  hygiene, safety engineering)
• New and emergent risks
• Psychosocial
• Restructuring hard-to-reach
• All militate against the sustainability of the
  trade union effect

12
What is to be done? Some questions for for
union policy and support

• How to provide continued support for worker
  health and safety representatives e.g. better
  time off and training?
• How can worker representation effectively address
  new and emerging risks?
• Development of wider understandings of
  occupational risks in the new economy
• How to encourage their role as change agents
  outside of traditional employment relationship?
• What is the role of representation on health and
  safety in trade union organising strategies?
• What can be learned from good practice what is
  transferable to other sectors and countries?