GUEST BLOG FROM CINDY BERMAN, INDEPENDENT ETHICAL TRADE ADVISER 

There is still much uncertainty as we prepare for a post-lockdown opening up of businesses. But there are some things we definitely do know about how to create a safe and healthy workplace.

1. BUILD TRUST 

Businesses need to demonstrate that they have a clear strategy to enable people to go back to work. They need to convince customers that they can purchase goods and services safely. They need to reassure investors, the government and the public that they can trust the business not just to weather the health and financial storm in the short-term, but in the future too.

Deloitte has an interesting article about Embedding Trust into Covid-19 Recovery . It cites research that shows trust is associated with stronger economic growth,² increased innovation,³ greater stability,⁴ and better health outcomes.⁵

As people return to work, they want to know if they can trust the business to safeguard their interests. They want to know if they can feel physically safe in the workplace. They also need to know that they can speak out without fear of reprisal. They need to know the likelihood of losing their job.

Employees in the business and workers down the supply chain also want to know that the company will communicate honestly about its commitments and be willing to hold itself to account for honouring those commitments.

 2. INVEST IN SUSTAINABLE HEALTH AND SAFETY SYSTEMS

Even before the coronavirus, the ILO estimated that some 2.3 million women and men around the world succumb to work-related accidents or diseases every year. This corresponds to over 6000 deaths every single day. Worldwide, there are around 340 million occupational accidents and 160 million victims of work-related illnesses annually. Despite these shocking statistics, there is gross under-reporting of occupational accidents and diseases, including fatal accidents. With COVID 19 the stakes are higher.

Investing in health and safety does cost money. We know that sprinkler systems are effective in putting out fires in 99% of cases - according to the Chief Fire Officers Association. They can be very expensive, but as the Grenfell Tower tragedy shows, it’s a price worth paying.

Richard Thaler won the Nobel Prize for economics in 2017. He did some interesting research for his PhD when he asked the question: How much is a human life worth and what is the value of saving a life? In the context of the workplace, he found there was a big gap between what managers would pay to prevent a 1 in 100,000 risk of death ($2,000) and what other people (like workers) would expect to be paid to run the risk of 1 in 100,000 risk of death (at least $500,000). He used behavioural economics to help public bodies and companies make better decisions, including where to invest their money. 

But safer and healthier workplaces don’t always cost big money. We could cut the number of occupational accidents and disease in our supply chains in half through the simple measure of allowing workers to elect their own workplace safety representatives.

As people return to work, businesses need to ensure that their own workforce and that of their suppliers are using Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that is fit for purpose. It should be checked with the workers, to see if it really is comfortable and suitable to use. If there are worker safety representatives, they should also be consulted on what PPE is used. Management needs to set an example by always wearing the same PPE. And there needs to be clear training for workers and management on how and when to wear it.

3. ENGAGE WITH TRADE UNIONS

There is compelling evidence that workplaces are safest where trade unions are present.  Health and safety in the workplace can be measured.  Many studies have shown how unions have made workers safer and businesses more effective and efficient through improvements that are in the mutual interests of both workers and management. Trust, loyalty and productivity are also improved when workers are assured that managers take measures to protect their safety.

Unions often spot risks at work long before management does. Unions highlighted the dangers of asbestos and campaigned for a ban many years before the government introduced one. Unions were the first to raise major concerns over levels of violence in the workplace, and RSI, and the effects of passive smoking. When unions first raised the issue of stress, employers and the media argued it was nonsense. It is now recognised that workplace stress affects millions of people.

One study by Dollard and Neser reviewed workplace practices in 31 industrialised countries and showed that “union density is the most important external determinant of workplace psychosocial safety climate, health and GDP”. It concluded “eroding unionism may not be good for worker health or the economy either”. 

In 2003 the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) ran a number of pilots where trade union appointed “Worker Safety Advisors” went into non-unionised organisations. The report into the pilot showed that over 75% of employers said they had made changes as a result and almost 70% of workers had seen an increase in the awareness of health and safety.

A report by the TUC has tracked some statistics on health and safety in the UK over the past fourteen years. In January 2007 the DTI (now BIS) published a report which concluded that safety representatives save society between £181m and £578m each year as a result of lost time reduction from occupational injuries and work-related illnesses. That equates to between 286,000 and 616,000 days. In 2016, figures from the Workplace Employment Relations Survey calculated that prevention of workplace injuries and work-related ill-health resulted in savings to government and employers of up to £725m a year.

In the UK, the Health and Safety at Work Act that came into force in 1974, recognised the importance of worker involvement. It stated that employers have a legal duty to consult with workers about health and safety and set up the current system of safety representatives.

Yet, despite the overwhelming evidence that worker safety representatives and consultation save lives and prevent injuries, many employers do not consult with their workforce. In the UK there has not been a single prosecution of a company that has failed to comply with this law.

The British Retail Consortium has worked with USDAW, the retail workers union, to develop Guidance on social distancing recommended implementation practices for non-food retail stores.

The Guidance developed by the ILO and WHO, a Framework for Safe and Healthy Workplaces, was developed as far back as 2010. That guidance remains relevant today. 

Building Back Better for businesses will take leadership that inspires trust. It will require investment in resilient systems and partnerships throughout the supply chain to foster more ethical and sustainable practices. And it means working with trade unions to create safer, healthier and happier workplaces for the long term.