(the S.M,A. Programme) by Geoff Coggan
Amongst the Papers already submitted for discussion at the forthcoming Yorkers' Control Seminar in Nottingham, is the following plan for an Occ~ ipational Health Service drawn up by the Socialist Medical Association:
ign for Occw Health S «here is now wide agreement in the Labour Movement on the necessity for such a service, What is now needed is a plan to implement it in progressive steps. The programme we put forward is detailed below. It is essential, if the impetus of the campaign is to be maintained, to ensure that the Government now commits itself to a firm time-table, If the Labour Government appears to be drageing its feet on what is, after all, a lfe and death matter, we shall forfeit the respect of the working people. 1) It would be valuable for the Government to announce its intention to inrroduce an 0.H.S. to promote understanding and to lead discussion. Above all, the purpose of legislation is to provide a framework within which voluntary effort and responsibility will be stimulated. Personal responsibility is essential for safety, but will come about only through involvement in running @ scheme such as we have outlined. 2) We also feel sure that the stimlus to productivity will be valuable and educative. The most technically advanced industry is in our experience most concerned with, and most advanced in, safety measures. Firms producing dangerous chemicals are more aware of toxic hazards, being large-scale and erploying automatic or semi-automatic processes, than the secondary users, generally less technically advanced. The 0.H.S. will save valuable skilled labour time, whether through prevention (22 million working days lost through accidents alone) or speedy and effective treatment. It is time to say we cannot afford not to have an 0.H.S. 3) The two immediate measures we consider primary are the setting up of group industrial health schemes, and legislation for safety delegates. (The principles of the latter are detailed in the second part of this paper) On group schemes, we suggest a start with 30 major industrial areas financed by the Government, with Government control and co-ordination. They would follow the pioneering work of Nuffield in Harlow, Slough, and so on, but with the advantage of having Government facilities and not being paternalistic. Frade Unions in these areas can then press their employers to join the scheme, and employers would finance the running (at 1s, a worker a week), ‘We have also suggested a levy if areas are designated and that support of the scheme be made compulsory. The existing group schemes required £20,000 to £40,000 each to set up, and thus we are only asking for £1 million initially chicken feed compared with the analogous Industrial Training Act. Once a start has been made, the following points will have to be dealt with: 4) Preparation of legislation to codify statutes and extend them to all workers. 5) Co-ordination of Government Departments, wirh an Inter-departmental Working Party to plan and implement in stages a full 0.H.S. 6) Kegional Committees under it, appropriately constituted. 7) Reassessment of penalties for infringement of regulations, and machinery for enforcing compliance (note the Road Traffic Acts provide for imprisonment for dangerous driving, the Factory Acts a maximum fine of £300) 8) Strengthening the Factory Inspectorate (it would be doubled for £13 million)
Safety Delegates in Industry Continued/
9) Creation of a separate medical inspectorate, with central and regional
organisation, to include a reformed appointed factory doctor system with
advisory powers, and to integrate all doctors in the field, including those
in private employ.
10) The use of existing and intended health centres to provide occupational
health cover and involve general practitioners. Harlow shows this can be
done. There are already many applicants for vacancies for the appointed
factory doctors. Moreover, it is essential to shift the emphasis in thinking
towards a preventive service, to use the full facilities of the National Heealth
Service for this, and thus in turn improve the preventive aspects of the N.H.S.
The Health Centre alone can combine clinical and preventive medicine.
11) Extension of designated industrial diseases, e.g. to occupational deafness
and chronic bronchitis.
12) The setting up of a central research and reference centre, and regional
research facilities.
13) Integration of the hospital service: (a) with a regionally organised
accident and casualty service to provide a special traumatic unit (the Birming-
ham Accident Hospital is internationally known), district general units with
consultant cover, and co-ordination of hospital G.P. and accident prevention
work, (b) Occupational hygiene laboratory services through group laboratories.
(c) Specialist advice for radiography, dermatology, chest diseases, etc.
14) Extension of training facilities for doctors, nurses and safety officers
in universities, medical schools and colleges of technology (i.e. Dundee).
15) Government-financed health education and safety propaganda, using the
mass media and co-ordinating the Ministry of Labour and voluntary organisations.
16) Progressive development of proposed wage-linked sickness benefit towards
a full sick pay cover scheme, and revision of injury benefit and disability
awards.
Safety Delegates
We lay great stress on the part workers will play in running the scheme through
the system of Safety Delegates. It is important for the Labour Movement to
discuss in detail the functions and rights of these delegates, and we set
below our suggestions:
1) A safety delegate shall be elected in every workplace to speak for the
workers on safety questions.
2) There shall be one delegate for each 25 workers.
3) In workplaces employing 50 or over, a joint safety committee must be set
up between management and safety delegates.
4) A safety delegate must have the right to pursue his duties during working
hours and to have time off to receive training without loss of pay, including
piecework and bonus payments which should be made up by employers from a
special fund. He must be protected from victimisation.
5) His statatory rights shall include: (a) Regular inspection of the works.
(b) Studying accident and health records. (c) To call in the medical officer
or inspector. (d) To be informed of, and to accompany them on, their visits.
(e) To receive their reports in writing. (f) To supervise safety education of
workers, and especially entrants and young workers. Over /
Safety Delegates in Industry Continued/ (g) To supervise dangerous processes. (h) To ensure compliance with regulatjons and the posting of safety regulations. (i) To compel stoppage of production pending the calling in of a higher authority from the 0.H.S. 6) The above safety delegate is envisaged as part-time. There shall alm be full-time delegates, to be called safety, health and welfare officers, where appropriate: e.g. in large enterprises employing thousands of workers, or when employed by group schemes. They would be paid by the 0.H.S. on the same principle as full-time shop stewards'convenors, at a rate comparable with or just above the craft rate, and elected for a period of, say 3 years. They will have more training than the part time delegates, and are to be regarded as part of the career structure and a potential recruiting source for the inspectorate, engineering and technical staff of. the 0.H.S. 7) The trade union appropriate to the industry, or a confederation of the unions involved, shall have the right: (a) To represent workers on safety by making a closed shop agreement with employers. (b) To negotiate by collective bargaining safety schemes, if as good or better than those provided by legislation.: (c) To appoint trade union officials to speak on safety in workplaces which are not trade union organised, or cannot supply a safety delegate, or by reason of fluctuating labour force (e.g. construction) cannot supply 4 safety delegate with adequate experience. The trade union would have to reach agreement with the workers on this representation. (d) To appoint a trade union official as the safety, health and welfare officer, by agreement. 8) The power of delegates and of Safety, Health and Welfare Officers to be parallel to, but separate from, the firm's safety officers, who are part of management; and management clearly retains responsibility in law for safety. 9) The delegate and Safety, Health and Welfare Officers shall be able, in the event of dispute with the workers over compliance with safety, to appeal for arbitration to the trade union 0.H.S. Appeals Committee. The S.H.& W. Officer shall have power to initiate prosecution, with their trade union backing them, in the same wy as the inspectorate. 11) The inspectorate shall have powers to enforce advice on safety, on threat of prosecution and subject to appeal to the 0O.H.S., irrespective of the letter of the law in Factory Acts, 12) Management in specified dangerous trades (e.g. construction, chemicals) to be required to have certificates of competence in safety, as in the mines now. 13) There should be special district courts with legal, trade union and employers' representation, to deal with prosecution and arbitrate in disputes (compare Rivers, Prevention of Pollution, Acts) 14) There mst be advice available to the delegate and Health, Safety and Welfare Officer not only by area, but also for specific problems and special processes where expert guidance is needed, not available from lower level inspectorate or safety officer/engineer. 15) The delegates, the Safety, Health and Welfare Officer, inspector, industrial nurse and medical officer, and the firms' safety officer, shall form a team and hold meetings to determine policy from time to time, as appropriate.
(Submitted by Geoff Richman, Hon, Assistant Sccretary, Socialist Medical Ass'n)