To: All Branches with Postal Members
Dear Colleagues
"Lighten the Load" - New CWU Safe Working on Delivery Guide Booklets:
Further to LTB 639/07 issued on 13 July, I am pleased to inform Branches that in response to the many positive enquiries regarding the new "CWU Safe Working on Delivery Guide" attached to LTB 639/07 in 'draft' form, it has been arranged for an extended "Booklet Version" of the guide to be printed and 10,000 copies will be despatched on Tuesday to all Postal Branches. A pdf file electronic version is attached for your information.
Due to the timing of the launch of the Safe Working on Delivery Guide some Royal Mail Managers have alleged incorrectly that the Safety guide is a 'work to rule guide'. This of course is complete nonsense. The Health and Safety Department has launched this new Safe Working on Delivery Guide as our contribution in support of the EU Commission's "Lighten The Load" campaign. A European wide campaign on musculoskeletal injuries, backed by the UK Government and Health and Safety Executive.
We are in difficult times presently with the current dispute but health and safety can not be side-stepped and Delivery Office Managers, working with CWU Health and Safety Representatives and Delivery staff is the best way of realising health and safety benefits all-round. We need everybody to play their part in keeping the walk logs complete and walk risk assessments up-to-date, and ensuring the information is used, to protect the workforce. We want our people to do their job properly and safely and not cut corners which create risks of injuries and long term health problems.
The Safety Guide and is based on:-
Royal Mail's own Safe Systems of Work,
Safety Guidance issued by the Royal Mail Operations Director,
HSE Enforcement Action - Improvement Notices,
The new nationally agreed HSE "LOPP" (large organisations partnership pilot) Health and Safety improvement Scheme, agreed and signed-up to by Royal Mail and the CWU (See below).
The 2007 EU Health and Safety Agency's "Lighten The Load" MSD campaign and EU Health and Safety Week (See below).
Royal Mail employs 0.7% of the UK population but is responsible for nearly 10% of the UK's musculoskeletal injuries each year and Royal Mail's track record on Safety is not good enough. In fact it is four times worse than the transport industry. Additionally, the HSE have been inspecting Delivery Offices across the country and they generally are not too impressed with the findings.
Within Royal Mail Letters, the majority of injuries to our people occur on delivery. The causes can be quite varied, but typically, manual handling is the biggest problem plus slips & trips, dog attacks, RTAs and cycling accidents are common causes. Musculoskeletal disorder injuries are the most common Work-related ill-health problem in the UK and the biggest cause of sick-absence.
The purpose of the new CWU 'Safe Working On Delivery Guide' is to help our members and their local CWU Safety Reps to ensure the risks to health and safety on Delivery work are properly controlled and to help achieve a reduction in accidents at work, stress and ill health within Royal Mail Letters Delivery so that fewer numbers of members get hurt as they go about their daily delivery. If it works then our members will not get hurt or made ill as often as they do now and the business benefits by having less people off work sick. To be successful in this, it is essential that the parties involved, Royal Mail Letters and the CWU work together in order to achieve these aims. Managers need to start listening to our Safety Reps and working with them, becoming problem solvers, deploying safety improvements, being compliant with the Law, deploying risk control measures and safe systems of work.
We trust therefore that Branches will put the guides to good use and campaign strongly around achieving understanding and compliance with the new guide.
"Lighten the load" European Health & Safety Campaign
As reported in LTB 534/07 issued on 18 June 2007, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work along with the UK's Health and Safety Executive have launched a European wide campaign on musculoskeletal injuries called "Lighten The Load" on 4 June in Brussels, during the week of CWU Conference and those present at Conference will recall the CWU commitment given to support the "Lighten the load" campaign, along with the HSE's "Better Backs" initiative, to tackle Musculoskeletal Disorder (MSDs) in the workplace, culminating in the European Week for Safety and Health at Work from 22 to 26 October 2007. The campaign is being backed by the European Parliament and Commission along with the UK Government, the HSE and all European states. The campaign designed to raise awareness of risks, to promote good practice solutions and help make Europe a safer and healthier place to work.
In support of the campaign and recognising that lifting and handling is the main cause of injuries in Royal Mail, the Health and Safety Department has launched this new guide as our contribution to the EU campaign to help reduce musculoskeletal accidents and injuries in Royal Mail along with the other main hazards on delivery.
European Health & Safety Week 22 to 26 October 2007
The EU, European wide "Lighten The Load" campaign on musculoskeletal injuries will culminate in the European Health & Safety Week 22 to 26 October 2007. This year the HSC/HSE will support the TUC and Trade Unions National Inspection Day during 2007 European Week for Safety and Health at Work and have agreed to produce two leaflets aimed at Safety Representatives. Comprehensive information packs will again be available this year and once the Health, Safety & Environment Department has details on availability, this will be reported to Branches with packs distributed in due course.
HSE - Large organisations partnership pilot (LOPP) - Safety Improvement Plan
Royal Mail Group along with the CWU are now signed-up to participate in the HSE's Large Organisations Partnership Pilot (LOPP), which is a new initiative and will see the implementation of a nationwide Health and Safety Improvement Plan dealing with safety improvement and targets for reducing accidents and ill health days lost.
The project's objectives in Royal Mail involves the development and implementation of local Improvement and Engagement Plans which have been agreed at national level by the HSE with Royal Mail and the CWU. Safety Representatives from the CWU will liaise with local HSE and LA Inspectors as their knowledge of local factors will help ensure that interactions are properly targeted, and that LOPP addresses the issues that concern the workforce. Feedback received from Safety Representatives enables LOPP to monitor implementation and performance of the Safety Improvement plans thereby maximising impact. LOPP will involve further nation-wide inspections of Delivery Offices and other units by Health and Safety Executive and Local Authority Safety Inspectors to check on progress by Royal Mail management.
The 10 areas selected for Local Action Plans are:
1) Devon & Cornwall (EX, PL, TQ, TR)
2) Chester North Wales/Mid Shropshire (CH, LD, LL, SY, TF)
3) Home Counties West (HA, NW, SL, UB)
4) Essex (CM, CO, SS, IG, RM)
5) London East & North (E, N)
6) North West Midlands (DY, ST, WS, WV)
7) Central & South Midlands (CV, LE, NN)
8) South & East Yorkshire (DN, HU, LN, S)
9) Cheshire & Merseyside (CW, L, WA)
10) East of Scotland (DD, EH, FK, KY, PH, TD)
Paragraph 3.7 of the LOPP Engagement Plan specifically refers to the involvement and important role of Safety Representatives underpinning their role within Health and Safety compliance and Safety Representatives will be involved in Local Area LOPP Action Plans to be set out and involving HSE, Local Authorities, Royal Mail and CWU Area Safety Reps. Area Safety Reps in the above Areas are advised to make a co-ordinated approach to the HSE lead in the Area to ensure involvement in local deployment and joint working groups to discuss the Local Action Plans.
Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs)
Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are the most common work-related health problem in Europe, affecting millions of workers. Across the EU, 25% of workers report suffering from backache and 23% report muscular pains. Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are impairments of the bodily structures such as muscles, joints, tendons, ligaments and nerves, or localised blood circulation systems that are caused or aggravated primarily by the performance of work and by the effects of the immediate environment where the work is carried out. MSDs are caused mainly by manual handling, frequent bending and twisting, heavy physical work and whole-body vibration. The risk of MSDs can increase with the pace of work, low job satisfaction, high job demands and job stress. There is also a strong interrelation between nervous and muscular systems: MSDs affect other aspects of workers' health, and other health conditions can trigger MSDs. MSDs are the biggest cause of absence from work in practically all EU Member States.
Yours sincerely
Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer
this is the bit i like
Due to the timing of the launch of the Safe Working on Delivery Guide some Royal Mail Managers have alleged incorrectly that the Safety guide is a 'work to rule guide'