Trade
unions secured £305m in personal injury cases for more than 39,000 workers
during 2001, according to the latest figures by the TUC.
During
the year, union legal services took on 53,222 new cases, a 3 per cent increase
on the previous year. The study reveals that stress was a major issue,
accounting for 2,503 new cases.
TUC
general secretary-elect Brendan Barber urged employers to work closely with
unions to make workplaces safer.
He
said: "Union members would prefer an injury free workplace – and if the
worst happens, they would like to be back at work as fast as possible. When
that doesn’t happen, they can rely on their union to secure the fairest
compensation possible."
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The
report finds that over the past 10 years, employers have paid more than £3bn
meeting the cost of accidents at work.
