Activists from construction union UCATT will be taking part in activities throughout Britain as part of European Health and Safety Week, which runs from 25th-29th October.

The theme of this year's European Health and Safety Week is maintenance work and UCATT will be highlighting the dangers involved in routine and reactive maintenance. UCATT will be focussing on dangers associated with this type of work, including falls from heights and the risk of asbestos exposure.

Wednesday, 27th October, has been designated National Inspection Day where safety representatives are encouraged to undertake a safety inspection of their workplace.

Activities that UCATT are involved in or are supporting include:


In Scotland, a safety committee meeting is being held on the M74 Interlink project, additional health and safety training is taking place throughout the country and a drive to recruit more safety reps in the social housing sector is being conducted.

In Yorkshire and the Midlands, all UCATT safety reps in local authorities will be conducting inspections on Wednesday 27th. Joint site safety visits will take place between UCATT and Kiers in both Sheffield and Stoke.

In the Eastern Region regional officials will be conducting a series of safety talks for workers at Kier Harlow, Norse Commercial Services (Norwich and Yarmouth) and Saffron Housing Trust in South Norfolk. The talks will focus on working at height, risk assessments and ensuring work is conducted with the correct equipment.

In London a special one day course has been organised by Lewisham College for UCATT shop stewards, convenors and safety representatives, which will focus on how to improve safety in the workplace.

In Wales and the South West officials will spend the week visiting local authorities to raise awareness about safety for maintenance workers. In particular workers at Swansea, Bristol and Exeter will take part in sessions aimed at raising safety awareness.

(CD/GK)