Health, Safety and Environment - International Labour Organization

Manual 3:HEALTH, SAFETY & ENVIRONMENTFOR WORKER HS&E REPRESENTATIVESWho are youresponsibleto?MembersAs a worker HS&E representative, your trade union members elect you andyour job is to represent them. Workers who are not union members will seethe benefits of your actions and may be more inclined to join the union.Union members have a responsibility to accept decisions of the majorityand to work within existing union policies.Trade UnionYour trade union appoints you and you need to work within existing unionpolicies. Of course, policies are constantly evolving and you have a role toplay in the formulation of future policies. You also need to work closelywith other union representatives.EmployerTo be able to improve health and safety for your members, you will need tobuild a working relationship with your employer. It is easier to achieveimprovements, if you can relate to management in a constructive way andbuild mutual respect. But, unions have a duty to challenge employers thatdo not protect the health and safety of workers and the environment.Roving safetyrepresentativesin agricultureSmall numbers of workers are often employed in many agriculturalundertakings scattered over wide geographical distances. Normalarrangements for health and safety representation can be difficult to apply.In some countries, for example in Sweden, a scheme based on externalworker representatives has been introduced. These roving or regionalrepresentatives visit agricultural undertakings in a given area. They arerepresentatives or delegates of workers who have access to and visitagricultural workplaces to represent the health and safety interests ofworkers (See Appendix 1).Skills There are a number of skills that you need as a worker HS&Erepresentative. You will probably have some of these skills already. Someof the skills that you can practise on this workshop/course are listed in theworksheet below.Identify: those skills you feel confident in those skills you would like to develop any additional skills that you would like to add74 Health, Safety and EnvironmentA Series of Trade Union EducationManuals for Agricultural Workers