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EUROPEAN REVIEW

ISSUE 9 - Page 8

Health and Safety - a mouse click away

HEALTH AND SAFETY IS becoming a more and more important part of trade union activity and concern at the workplace. Not surprisingly this is reflected on the world wide web. In this issue's 'sites of interest' the European Review looks at some leading health and safety web pages. The Trades Union Congress has recently started 'The TUC One Stop Safety & Health Shop For Trades Unionists'. Its home page prominently features a T.U.C. and EU logo and a large number of clickable links at the left hand side to different T.U.C. pages and other organisations such as the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Taking your mouse to 'About this site' brings up a list of aims which include substantially reducing the time that trades unionists spend searching for practical, up-to-date health and safety information specifically aimed at them, providing a valuable resource for safety representative training in the network of Trade Union Studies Centres and bringing H & S information in Europe closer to British trades unionists.

On the right hand side is a yellow box headed 'What's New' which had been updated two weeks before we looked at the page. Under this the links we found included the following: 'Hazards: Europe wide strain injuries campaign'; 'HSE: naming and shaming'; 'HSC: asbestos ban in force'; 'European Agency for Safety & Health: new web site'; 'News from America on ergonomics'; and 'UNISON: campaign to ban Lindane'. These links lead to text pages about the subjects indicated. Whilst this is a text heavy site which could perhaps make use of more icons, graphics and animations, it provides a very useful resource for those in the trade union movement concerned with health and safety. In contrast the HSE home page is very busy, featuring many graphics including a nasty-looking millennium bug and a revolving smiley/frowny face. One of its major links is 'Train accident at Ladbroke Grove Junction, 5 October 1999 (Paddington)' and this leads to a long page on HM Railway Inspectorate including accident figures and investigations of individual accidents. There are also links to 'What we do', 'Press Releases', 'Freedom of Information' and 'Current Events'. This is a large site which is essential for health and safety representatives.

The UNISON Health & Safety page animation

The London Hazards Centre is an organisation which seeks to 'run a free advice service for Londoners, aimed especially at workplace and community groups and health and safety representatives' as their 'What we do' page puts it. They publish a newletter which is carried under the 'Daily Hazard' link and the databases 'HazLit' and 'HazText' whose link asks for a password which can only be obtained by affiliates. Overall, a solid site with vital information for London union reps. UNISON is one of the U.K. trade unions with a substantial web site and their health and safety pages are accessible by all. An attractive montage of faces leads in to the main H & S home page which includes an excellent animation of a worker, carrying a large box, falling on some stairs. Links on the left of the page include 'maps of this website', which is a diagram with clickable colour bars including 'risk assessment', 'violence', 'bullying' and 'worker's memorial'.

Web pages mentioned in the above article include the following:

Home page of T.U.C. one stop H & S shop:	http://ds.dial.pipex.com/town/way/vl28
HSE naming & shaming link:	http://www.hse.gov.uk/prosecutions/
HSE home page:	http://www.hse.gov.uk/
HSE freedom of information page:	http://www.hse.gov.uk/publish/index.htm
London Hazards Centre home page:	http://www.lhc.org.uk
Daily Hazard page:	http://www.lhc.org.uk/join.htm
UNISON H & S home page:	http://www.unison.org.uk/safety

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