Tài liệu Women’s health & safety: A guide for UNISON safety representatives pptx

Designed and produced by UNISON Communications Unit. Published by UNISON, 1 Mabledon Place, London WC1H 9AJ.
CU/November 2001/12091/stock no 1982/30,000/Printer’s ref: 5708
Women’s
health &
safety
A guide for UNISON safety
representatives
Organising for
Health & Safety
For help when you need it
call UNISONdirect
Freephone 0800 5 97 97 50
For information visit
www.unison.org.uk
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Contents
3 Introduction
4 The Scale of the problem
5 Case study 1
7 The Law on Women’s Health and Safety
9 Case Study 2
16 Case Study 3
18 Case study 4
21 The Safety Representative’s Role
22 UNISON Survey
24 Further Advice and Information
2
Introduction
Almost nothing is known about the effects of work on women’s
health and safety. Yet nearly half of the UK workforce (72% of

UNISON members) are women, with a large number of these
working part-time or doing several part-time jobs. In many
sectors, such as cleaning, women are frequently exposed to harmful
chemicals, including solvents. These substances may affect fertility
and pregnancy, and can lead to miscarriages or premature births.
They also increase the risk of other diseases, such as dermatitis,
allergies, and even cancer.
Many women suffer from musculoskeletal disorders. They are
probably the most common work-related problem among women
workers. Musculoskeletal disorders are generally associated with
heavy lifting tasks, awkward postures, monotonous and repetitive
tasks and inadequate systems of work. Home care workers,
healthcare workers and catering staff, who are usually women,
often work in such conditions. Yet when employers carry out risk
assessments for such work, gender is very rarely considered.
Where women experience gynaecological or reproductive problems
and other possible work-related concerns, a link is hardly ever made
with their work. It is still the case today that women approaching
their GP are rarely asked about their work or work patterns.
It is clear that better information and far more research is needed
into the effects of work on women’s health and safety. UNISON
has produced this guide as a first step for safety representatives.
It can be used to ensure that employers consider women staff when
developing any health and safety initiatives, such as carrying out
risk assessments, planning new systems of work, work equipment
or personal protective equipment. It can also be used to start raising
awareness of women’s health and safety concerns among members.
Women’s health and safety
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It is generally perceived that the health and safety problems and
needs of women workers are identical to those of men. This is
clearly not true. Yet the HSE applies the same standard for both
women and men, both in terms of work methods and work
equipment. This has led to a number of health and safety problems
for women at work.
Case Study 1
Women working in a school kitchen were able to negotiate for
protective shoes, as there had been a large number of slips, trips
and falls injuries. However, the women found that the shoes were
a bad fit, were too broad, and the soles were very inflexible.
On reporting this to management, they were told that shoes had
been supplied, and therefore the employer’s responsibilities had
now been fulfilled. Any slips, trips or falls incidences that
occurred would now be deemed the women’s fault!
The UNISON safety representative argued that under the Personal
Protective Equipment Regulations protective clothing such as
shoes should be suitable for the risk and for the wearer, should be
maintained, provided free of charge and used only as a last resort.
As a result, the employer withdrew the original shoes and
provided more suitable ones after consultation with kitchen staff.
Women have also been left out of research into occupational ill
health. Researchers have tended to concentrate on problems
associated with heavy industries, usually dominated by men.
This caused by a perception that women’s work is safe, and that
only men do dirty, heavy, dangerous or stressful work. The
common view is that the work women do is light, easy and risk free.
But if we ask women members who work on computers all day
doing intensive data entry work; or those working as home carers,
The Scale of the Problem

No one’s health should suffer because of the work they do. Yet
many working women regularly suffer health and safety accidents
and ill health at work. Many UNISON women members work in
areas where the risk of ill health or injury is high. For example
according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE’s) 1995 Self-
reported Work related Illness Survey (SWI):
■ At least 100,000 women a year suffer with back problems
because of work.
■ One in ten 24-34 year old women workers have been
physically attacked by a member of the public in the course
of their work. Rates for women are generally a third
higher than for men.
■ More than a quarter of women have to lift or move heavy
loads at work. Musculo-skeletal disorders associated with
heavy lifting, awkward postures, and repetitive tasks are by
far the most commonly reported work related illness.
■ Stress is the second most commonly reported condition
among working women, but the cause of the most concern.
■ One in five women said they were exposed to fumes, dust
or other harmful substances at work.
■ Twice as many females as males reported suffering from
work-related headache and eyestrain – an estimated 50,000
women workers. Over half of these workers attributed the
cause to the use of VDU’s.
■ The highest rate for work-related skin diseases were in jobs
like hairdressing and repetitive assembly – two highly
concentrated female occupations.
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Although women are less likely to be killed at work, they are more

likely than men to be affected by an occupational illness because of
the areas they work in. And the types of accidents women suffer
reflect the different tasks that they do. For example, women are
more likely to have an accident because they are tired.
Common complaints from women members include:
■ Stress caused by overwork and too many demands.
■ Headaches and eye strain after working on VDU’s.
■ Aches and pains in the neck, shoulders, arms or wrists.
■ Back pain.
■ Skin rashes, headaches, sore eyes or throat and breathing
problems.
■ Infections.
■ Accidents involving slips, trips and falls.
But none of these risks are inevitable. A properly managed
workplace should be healthy and safe for all staff – including
women.
The Law on Women’s Health and Safety
The general duty placed on employers to ensure the health, safety
and welfare of employees clearly includes women workers. Under
the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations
employers should carry out a suitable and sufficient assessment
of the risk to employees’ health and safety.
Where employees include women of childbearing age and the work
could involve risks specific to new and expectant mothers, the
employer must take specific account of this group. Employers who
do not carry out such an assessment could be in breach of the Sex
Discrimination Act.
lifting several clients each day without lifting aids, training
or information on the risks; or cleaning staff with dermatitis or
asthma caused by the cleaning fluids they use, they will all tell us

that their work is not light, not easy and certainly not risk free.
Different Risks
There are several reasons why women face different risks to those
experienced by men:
■ Women are physically different. On average women are
shorter, lighter and less muscular than men.
■ Women tend to work in specific areas, unlike men, who are
evenly spread across all occupational groups. Women tend
to work in the service industry, on jobs which involve
regular contact with people; caring or support jobs; or
work in computerised areas, such as call centres.
(Of course men doing these jobs face similar hazards).
■ Women get pregnant. Pregnant women, nursing mothers
or those who have recently given birth need special
protection from specific work hazards.
■ Women often have two roles – paid work, and home and
family responsibilities.
■ Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) or tools used by
women are designed for men. For example, many cleaners
are women, yet they are still expected to use floor buffing
machines which are heavy, and difficult to move.
■ Women experience the menopause. Going through the
menopause (often called ‘the change’) can be very difficult
for some women at work, and this should be recognised.
Common menopausal symptoms can include sleeplessness
causing tiredness; hormonal imbalances which may cause a
range of problems including temporary loss of balance, hot
flushes (a source of embarrassment for many women) and
heavy or irregular bleeding which can cause lethargy,
irritability and depression.

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There are a whole range of health and safety issues which can affect
women members at work. Many of these will relate to work-related
accidents and injuries, but some concerns relate to the conditions
women are expected to work in.
Case Study 2
The ladies’ toilet at a large hospital was supplied with an open
waste paper basket for discarding soiled sanitary towels. Men
usually empty these baskets.
As well as the indignity of such a situation, these baskets can
hardly be deemed suitable under the regulations.
Another hospital in the same region did not supply any sanitary
machines in the ladies’ toilets used by staff.
In this hospital, the UNISON Branch negotiated for the
installation of a sanitary towel machine.
Under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations
suitable means of disposal for sanitary dressings should be
provided in toilets used by women.
Here are some of the more common issues that may
be of concern:
Stress
Stress can result wherever the demands of the job do not match the
resources made available to the individual to do it, or where people
have no control over what they do, or how and when they do it.
When levels of stress are constant they can become unmanageable
and bring the risk of ill health.
For women, other factors may be involved. A number of studies
have found that stress can affect working women more than men.
But recognition of the differences between women and men’s health

and safety is very limited in other health and safety legislation.
For example no account is taken of the double exposure women
face when using the same chemical at work and at home. This is
a potential problem for cleaning staff – the majority of whom
are women.
The exposure limits set out in the Control of Substances Hazardous
to Health (COSHH) Regulations are based solely on male bodies.
Exposure limits are set on the basis of an eight hour day and five
day week, which fails to recognise the differences in the way women
work. For example, many women work part-time or do several
part-time jobs in the same day. Individual risk assessments do not
take this into account.
Legislation which takes some account of women’s
health and safety include:
■ The Control of Lead at Work Regulations, which excludes
women of reproductive age from occupations involving
significant exposure to lead. The levels of exposure
allowed for women (and young people) are lower than
those for adult males. (Although male workers can also be
severely affected by exposure to lead).
■ The Ionising Radiation’s Regulations, which advise
employers to take account of the special risks to pregnant
and breastfeeding women.
However, these regulations restrict the exposure of women to
hazards by removing them from jobs rather than making the
workplace safe for all. And it means that women may be exposed
to hazards before they realise they are pregnant. This approach
also completely fails to recognise that reproductive hazards
can affect men.
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seems likely. In other words, stress should be treated like any other
hazard.”
Safety representatives will need to ensure that any stress prevention
policy takes account of women members and the factors that can
cause or make worse work-related stress.
RSI and WRULDS
Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) covers a wide range of injuries to
muscles, tendons and nerves. Usually hands, wrists, elbows or
shoulders are affected. Knees and feet can also suffer especially
where jobs involve a lot of kneeling or operating foot pedals. RSI is
the more common term for a set of disorders called Work Related
Upper Limb Disorders (WRULDS).
There are many different names for these painful injuries. They
include tenosynovitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis,
epicondylitis or “tennis elbow”, bursitis, and cellulitis or “beat
conditions”.
These conditions can be intensely painful. They can make even the
simplest manual tasks impossible. And the real tragedy is that they
can be prevented. No one should have to suffer an upper limb
disorder because of their work.
Nearly all types of work carry some risk of RSI. It has been linked
to the use of vibrating machines such as floor buffers used by
cleaners, and to office work such as using computers, and
keyboards, etc.
Women in general and older women in particular are at greater risk
than men of developing RSI because they often do the types of jobs
which involve repetitive tasks for long shifts or with no breaks.
Bad employers, poor work conditions and low wages force women
workers to miss their breaks, work long hours in poorly designed

workplaces and make them afraid to complain.
A report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) published
as long ago as 1992 noted that “the relationship between gender,
work and stress is complex and varied. Several factors seem to
increase the impact of stress on women”. These include the fact
that women are often paid less than men, many workplaces lack
policies that allow for family responsibilities, and the types of jobs
women do have built-in stress factors, such as high job demands
and low worker control over the job. A study in the US found that
over a ten-year period, women in jobs with high levels of strain but
little control were nearly three times more likely to develop heart
disease than a comparable group in other jobs.
In addition, women are more likely to face additional stresses in the
form of sex discrimination and harassment, bullying and violence.
According to a recent TUC survey of women safety representatives,
stress topped the list of priorities for women workers.
There are no specific laws dealing with stress. However, employers
do have a duty to ensure safe methods of working. Under the
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, employers
must assess the nature and scale of risks to health in the workplace
and ensure there are proper control measures in place. This applies
just as much to the risk of stress as to other workplace hazards.
In addition, the Working Time Regulations place limits on the
length of the working week, and also force all employers to give
paid holidays. These will help alleviate some of the worst causes of
stress; long hours and too few rest opportunities.
The HSE has produced guidance on stress at work. It makes no
specific mention of women, but states that “ill health resulting from
stress caused at work has to be treated the same as ill health due to
other physical causes”.

It also says, “Employers should bear stress in mind when assessing
possible health hazards in their workplaces keeping an eye out for
developing problems and being prepared to act if harm to health
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Women are also less likely to be able to rest once they get home.
Instead of recovering they must often do the housework or look
after the children. And many of the movements at work are
repeated while doing housework.
Frequent rest breaks, slowing the pace of work and redesigning
equipment or tools all help to avoid strain injuries.
Employers have a duty to prevent RSI by conducting risk
assessments to identify the potential for RSI. This means that
employers must work out the risk factors associated with each job,
and if there is any possibility of RSI then that risk should be
avoided where possible, and minimised where not.
Safety reps will need to ensure that employers take
steps to prevent the risk of RSI to women workers by:
■ Changing work practices.
■ Providing suitable breaks, and ensuring that they are taken.
■ Adapting or replacing work equipment that is used by
women.
■ Providing proper information and training on the risk of
RSI.
A system for reporting and recording the symptoms of RSI should
also be in place, and safety representatives should ensure that
women are aware of when and how to use it.
Violence
Violence is a particular hazard for many members. But women are
more likely to work in areas where the risk of violence is high, such

as residential and home care, healthcare and community work.
Clients or visitors may attack workers in these occupations and they
may also be at risk on their way to or from client’s homes. In
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addition, many women members work alone and have no training
in how to deal with violent people. This increases the stress and
danger.
Survey results from the HSE show that 8% of women workers
reported being physically attacked by a member of the public in the
course of their work – rising to more than one in ten of 25-35 year
olds – and nearly 1 in 5 women workers had been threatened with
physical violence. In both cases the rates for women were up to 30
per cent higher than for men.
Black and Asian women workers are at greater risk. This is because
black women are far more likely than white women to be involved
in the health sector, and twice as many Pakistani and Bangladeshi
women work in sales than women in general; and also because they
may be the victims of racial violence.
Violence is not part of the job nor must it be dismissed as bad luck,
incompetence, or the result of individual personalities. And no
member should have to endure the threat of assault or abuse by
clients, service users or a member of the public, as a result of their
employment.
Every employer must assess the risk of violence in exactly the same
way as for any other hazard. Where the assessment shows a
possibility of work-related violence or abuse occurring, employers
must take action to remove or minimise that risk.
Violence at work is not acceptable or part of the contract of
employment. It is work-related, arising directly out of the member’s
job and the circumstances in which they have to work. For

example, an increasing number of women workers are expected to
work alone and this can increase the potential for work-related
violence.
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Under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH)
regulations, employers must assess the risks of hazardous substances
used at work. These regulations cover not only chemicals but also
all substances, which can have an effect on health.
Latex gloves used by nurses, home and residential care workers and
cleaners (the majority of whom are women) are made from natural
rubber and are a major cause of allergic contact dermatitis. Protein
in the latex is the cause of the allergy. Someone can use these gloves
for years and then suddenly develop an allergy. This means that
they could then get a reaction whenever they touch rubber. In
extreme cases the reaction can cause unconsciousness. Cheaper
gloves are usually more dangerous, but powdered latex gloves are
by far the most dangerous. They contain cornstarch, which binds to
the protein making it more easily absorbed. Also the dust, if
breathed in, can cause asthma. UNISON believes that these gloves
should never be used.
Employers must:
■ Assess the risk caused by all hazardous substances.
■ Decide what precautions are needed to protect workers and
the public.
■ Prevent exposure (for example by using a less harmful
chemical, or ensuring that where gloves are used they are
a last resort, fit for the purpose, and are not an additional
hazard). If prevention is not possible, they must adequately
control the exposure.

■ Ensure that control measures are used, maintained and
monitored.
■ Monitor exposure to the hazardous substances.
■ Carry out appropriate health surveillance.
■ Ensure employees are informed, trained and supervised.
Much of the risk of violence is predictable, often because previous
incidences have occurred, and so can be assessed, minimised or
prevented. But it may also be also predictable even where there are
no previous incidences. Employers have legal duties to prevent
violence to employees.
Safety representatives can ensure that:
■ Employers take account of the potentially increased risk of
violence to women when carrying out risk assessments.
■ Employers take account of women when developing
policies on violence to staff.
■ Women are encouraged to report and record all incidents
of violence, including threats and verbal abuse.
Hazardous Chemicals
Many women workers come into contact with hazardous substances
at work, for example chemicals used by cleaners.
If a woman worker became sensitised (allergic) to a cleaning fluid
used at work, she would no longer be able to use any products that
contain it at home either.
Problems caused by using hazardous chemicals include dermatitis,
asthma and reproductive disorders.
Pregnant women face additional hazards from some chemicals, such
as organic solvents.
Staff should be provided with suitable training and information
about any hazardous chemicals that they work with. Products
should also be labelled with information including the hazards of

the chemicals they contain, how to use them and the precautions
needed.
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The UNISON rep held a meeting with the cleaners to get their views
and then carried out her own inspection. She reported all the risks
she found to management in writing, asked them for their COSHH
assessments of the products and for a meeting to discuss the problems.
It turned out that no formal risk assessments of the products had
been carried out. It was agreed that management would as a first
step obtain all the manufacturers ‘safety data sheets’ for each product
as a starting point for carrying out proper risk assessments. Data
sheets include information about what is in the product, the hazards,
the control measures needed, storage requirements etc.
Among the improvements that UNISON agreed with management
were that only three main cleaning chemicals would be used, that
these would be colour coded and that all cleaners would be given
training in their use covering the risks from the products and the
precautions to be taken
Back Pain
At least 100,000 women suffer each year from back pain caused by
work. Back pain does not necessarily involve just a few days off
work. Any damage to the back or spine can make an everyday
activity either impossible or extremely painful, and can lead to
being incapacitated for weeks or even for life. Many women work
in occupations where manual handling injuries, leading to back
pain are a real concern. But manual handling injuries don’t just
happen to people moving heavy loads. Anyone can suffer a back
injury if they lift a load wrongly, or the weight shifts, or the lifting
is repeated regularly.

One of the most common causes of back injury to UNISON
members is lifting people. This is a major hazard for home care,
health care and residential care workers. Other UNISON members,
such as cleaning, catering, and administrative staff suffer back
injury as a result of repeated lifting of heavy objects.
Safety representatives can ensure that:
■ Employers take account of risks to women workers when
carrying out assessments under the COSHH Regulations.
■ Employers include all substances hazardous to health,
including the effects of latex and/or dust, in their assessments.
■ Information and training is provided, including information
from the safety data sheet which employers are required to
obtain from suppliers of the hazardous chemicals used.
■ Women members are encouraged to report and record any
incidents/accidents caused by the use of dangerous
substances.
Case Study 3
The following case study is an example of effective branch action,
which succeeded in gaining changes to the substances used by
cleaners.
Cleaners in a school were using a whole range of cleaning fluids –
lots of different products from lots of different manufacturers.
To make matters worse, the products were not even labelled so
cleaners did not know what to use in what circumstances, or
what safety precautions they needed to take. Using unlabelled
chemicals is very risky. Some chemicals must be diluted for safe
use; and certain chemicals must never be used together, such as
acids and bleach.
Some cleaners had noticed that some cleaning agents irritated
their skin if they were splashed with them. Some of the chemicals

smelt funny and gave them a headache.
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Under the Manual Handling Regulations employers must:
■ Avoid manual handling operations as far as is reasonably
practicable.
■ Assess any hazardous manual handling operations that
cannot be avoided.
■ Remove or reduce the risk of injury using risk assessment
as the basis for action.
■ Give full training to any employee who has to lift or move
any loads (including people).
There is no “safe weight” for lifting. Weight is only one
factor that needs to be considered. Others include:
■ The number of times the lifting and moving is repeated.
■ Type and size of the load.
■ Weight distribution.
■ The individual involved.
Among the factors that relate to individuals are age, weight, sex,
possible pregnancy, and any previous history of back pain.
Safety representatives should ensure that:
■ The risk of back injury to women workers is considered
when manual handling assessments or tasks are carried out.
■ Any inspections of the workplace seeks to identify
uncontrolled sources of back strain, and includes checking
that members are taking their rest breaks.
■ Adequate tools, equipment, training and information is
provided.
■ Reporting and recording arrangements are in place.
■ New and Expectant Mothers

Women workers often face an increased risk of back injury from
carrying out similar stooping, lifting, and carrying tasks at work and
at home.
Poor manual handling practices is one of a number of
causes of back injury at work. Other factors include:
■ Staff shortages.
■ Unsuitable and/or poorly maintained equipment.
■ Poor working environment.
■ Slippery floors.
■ Lack of training and information.
Case Study 4
At a local school one member of the school meals staff is required
to come into school early, before normal school opening, to set up
the kitchen for the day and start the early preparations. Part of
her duties involves bringing in the daily provisions order, which is
delivered and left outside the door. The order includes large sacks
of vegetables and crates of other foodstuff, which she lifts alone.
The school meals worker regularly suffers from back pain and
has taken sick leave on a number of occasions because of this.
Employers have a legal duty to prevent back injuries by
assessing manual handling tasks and reducing the risk of injury
by introducing new ways of working, equipment, and training
for staff. They must also take account of individual capabilities
and the needs of new or expectant mothers.
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risk assessments are carried out; and that where women are given
alternative work to avoid exposure to risks, this does not affect their
career prospects.
The Safety Representative’s Role

Under the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees
Regulations (SRSCR), UNISON’s safety representatives have a legal
right to consult with management over safety issues, represent
members, inspect workplaces and investigate problems. They also
have the right to receive all relevant information from management,
including any risk assessments that have been carried out on women
workers. By using these rights, safety reps can help to make the
work of women safer and healthier.
Safety representatives can find out whether women are experiencing
problems by talking to UNISON members on their regular
workplace inspections and by carrying out surveys. You will need
to explain that UNISON is trying to gather information on the
health and safety concerns of women and wants evidence of these
concerns to present to the employer. To ensure a response, surveys
should be very simple and to the point.
Safety representatives can also put women’s health
and safety needs higher on the agenda by:
■ Raising the health and safety problems women face at
work with employers.
■ Encouraging women to become safety representatives.
■ Mounting health and safety campaigns aimed at women.
■ Encouraging women to attend training courses.
■ Finding other ways of raising awareness of women’s health
and safety concerns.
Since 1994 there has been special protection for pregnant women
and new mothers at work. Employers must make sure that working
conditions will not put the health of expectant mothers or their
babies at risk. It is unlawful for employers to sack women because
they can’t do the same work as before because of pregnancy,
because they are breast feeding or because they have given birth

(including stillbirth) within the last six months (whether
breastfeeding or not).
Employers must:
■ Assess the risks in the workplace to the health and safety of
new and expectant mothers.
■ Ensure that they are not exposed to the risks identified by
the risk assessment.
If a risk remains after taking whatever preventative action is
reasonable, employers must change the worker’s hours or conditions
of work to avoid the risk,or offer alternative work. If neither is
possible, paid leave from work must be given for as long as is
necessary to protect the women workers health and safety. If
medically necessary, pregnant workers on night shift should be
offered day work or paid leave.
Risks to new and expectant mothers can include:
■ Passive smoking
■ Too high or low temperature
■ Prolonged standing or sitting
■ Excessive noise
■ Infections
■ Heavy loads.
Safety representatives will need to ensure that the health and safety
effects on new and expectant mothers are taken into account when
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■ Are all safety representatives given information about
women’s health and safety issues and concerns? And
are these taken up?
Safety representatives must try to keep in touch with women
members of UNISON. Many may work part-time or different shift

patterns, which may include early mornings or evenings. Special
efforts may, therefore, be needed to ensure contact is maintained.
Always report back to women staff on the results of any surveys
and any action taken. UNISON branches also have an important
part to play in ensuring that women know who to contact for
advice or help and where to find them. Branch Secretaries should
ensure that women are notified of and invited to attend branch
meetings and events.
Further information on the role of the safety representative is
available in the UNISON Health and Safety Representatives Guide.
UNISON has also produced a leaflet encouraging members to take
up the role of the safety representative and an A4 poster to help
with recruiting safety representatives.
UNISON Survey
UNISON wants more women to take up the role of the safety
representative. A recent survey of safety reps carried out by
UNISON shows that whilst the vast majority of UNISON members
are women (almost three-quarters of the membership), less than
40% are safety representatives.
Where female safety representatives exist, women members are more
likely to raise issues of concerns with them, particularly where the
concern is of a sensitive or personal nature. Female safety
representatives are also much more likely to raise issues relating to
women’s health and safety with employers. And the work of
women safety representatives may encourage other women members
to become safety representatives.
Safety Representatives Checklist:
Safety representatives should consider their answers to all of the
following questions, and what action can be taken to encourage
more women members to get involved.

■ Have safety representatives been appointed in areas
where mostly women work?
■ How many safety representatives are women?
■ What steps have been taken to encourage women to
take up the role of safety representatives?
■ Are meetings organised when part timers or women
with childcare responsibilities can attend?
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2524
Risk Assessment:A Guide for UNISON Safety Representatives
(A4 Booklet, stock number 1351).
“The Health and Safety Six Pack”:A Guide to the Six Pack set
of Health and Safety Regulations (A4 Book stock number 1660).
Repetitive Strain Injury: Guidance for Safety Representatives
and Members (A4 Pamphlet, stock number 1057).
Working Alone: Guidance for Safety Representatives
(A5 Book, stock number 1750).
Health and Safety Representatives Recruitment Poster
(A4, stock number 1681).
Health and Safety Representatives Recruitment Leaflet
(A4 Pamphlet, stock number 1682).
Does Your Work Make You Sick?
(A5 Recruitment Leaflet, stock number 722).
UNISON’s Health and Safety Representativess Guide
(A5 Book, stock number 1684).
Stress at work – A Guide for Safety Representatives
(A5 Pamphlet, stock number 1725)
Further Advice and Information
The concerns dealt with in the previous pages are only some of the
many hazards faced by women. There are many others.

Safety representatives will need to ensure that employers address the
health and safety concerns of women members. Safety
representatives will also want to ensure that employers include the
health and safety of women whenever health and safety strategies or
policies are discussed and developed. Focussing on the concerns of
women may encourage more women to take on the role as safety
representative, and may also help to attract new UNISON members.
UNISON has produced a range of guidance and information sheets
which safety representatives can use to tackle many of the health
and safety problems faced by women members at work. These are
available from UNISON’s Health and Safety Unit. We can email
copies of the information sheets. (Please specify which word
processing package you use, for example Microsoft Word 97).
Alternatively, you can get copies of our information sheets from
the UNISON website at
/>You can also write to us at the address below.
The following publications are available free (to UNISON members)
from the Communications Department, UNISON, 1 Mabledon
Place, London WC1H 9AJ. Please quote the stock number when
ordering.
12091 wh&s guide 30/11/01 12:34 pm Page 24
27
Caring for Cleaners – A Guide for Safety Representatives
(A5 Pamphlet, stock number 1183)
Ending Back Pain from Lifting – A guide for Safety
Representatives (A4 Booklet, stock number 1656)
Violence at Work – Negotiating Guide for Safety
Representatives (A4 Booklet, stock number 1346).
The TUC has produced health and safety information aimed at women,
and also publishes a comprehensive guide to health and safety called

“Hazards at Work”. Contact the:
TUC Publications Department,
Congress House,
Great Russell Street,
London WC1B 3LS.
Telephone 020 7636 4032.
Or check out their website at www.tuc.org.uk
26
If you have any specific health and safety queries, your Branch Health and
Safety Officer or Branch Secretary may be able to help. If they are
unable to answer the query, they may pass the query on to your regional
office or to the
Health and Safety Unit
UNISON
1 Mabledon Place,
London WC1H 9AJ.
Telephone 020 7551 1446,
Fax 020 7551 1766,
Email
Your Comments
UNISON welcomes comments on this booklet from Branch Health
and Safety Officers and Safety Representatives. Please write or
email the Health and Safety Unit at the above address.
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