Roving safety reps get £3m backing

Secretary of state for work and pensions Andrew Smith announced £1m a year backing for worker safety advisers (WSAs) yesterday at the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth.

The WSA Challenge Fund stands at £3m to be spent over a three-year period. The Health & Safety Commission (HSC) has been charged with developing proposals for the roll-out of the fund. Construction will be one of the three key target industries, the other two being the retail and voluntary sectors.

The fund's launch has been welcomed by both HSC chairman Bill Callaghan and UCATT general secretary George Brumwell.

Nine WSAs were trialled throughout the country over the past two years. The report into the trial showed the involvement of WSAs led to improvements in small non-unionised workplace's approaches to health and safety.