UNIONS, SAFETY COMMITTEES AND WORKPLACE INJURIES

This paper exploits the Workplace Industrial Relations Survey from 199 0 (WIRS3) to examine the determinants of workplace injuries for a samp le of manufacturing establishments in the UK. A key focus of this pape r is an assessment of the role played by union-appointed safety repres entatives and joint health and safety consultative committees in reduc ing the frequency of workplace accidents. We find that joint consultat ive committees, with all employee representatives appointed by unions, significantly reduce workplace injuries relative to those establishme nts where the management alone determine health and safety arrangement s. However, an important role is also found for those joint consultati ve committees where no employee representatives are appointed by union s.