UCU: Workload, health and safety campaigns: workplace suicide

Motion

Motion text: In November 2015 the TUC carried out a survey of approximately 2000 UK employees, which showed that nearly a third of people (29%) have been bullied at work.

International studies indicate a steep rise in work suicides. Researchers link this to a deterioration of working conditions, unmanageable workloads, and increased job insecurity. Despite these findings, workplace suicide remains unrecognised in UK legislation, and is absent from official statistics. In the UK, work-related suicides are not officially monitored or recorded. Changes to legislation in the UK would follow good practice elsewhere. For example, in France, if an employee takes his or her own life in the workplace, it is investigated and it is incumbent on employers to demonstrate that the suicide was not work-related. Congress calls on UCU:

to lobby the government for changes to legislation on statistics for workplace deaths as part of the union’s campaigning activities on workload, and on health and safety
develop a campaign around workplace suicide and seek support from the TUC
to contribute to a process that will persuade legislators of the need for a record and investigation of workplace suicides.

Proposing body: Composite (Cardiff University, National executive committee)