news EXTRA Rob wins top award!
Landworker is thrilled to announce that Unite national health and safety adviser Rob Miguel pictured above centre has won the prestigious Safety and Health Practitioner (SHP) award for Most Influential in 2024, writes Hajera Blagg.
Landworker caught up with Rob, who said he was “honoured and proud” to have won the award, but he emphasised the award was the culmination of a collective effort.
“More than anything, I’m proud for our union, because all the hard work of our reps is reflected in this award,” he said.
Rob’s interest in workplace health and safety developed early on, when he was an apprentice.
“I left school at 14 and I started an apprenticeship as an electrician and maintenance engineer.
“I may have been young and clueless, but I noticed from the outset we were breathing in dust with no protection; I noticed noise pollution and the accidents happening around me.
“I worked at a construction site where someone fell off a roof not far from where I was working.”
Being exposed to all this so early in his career, Rob soon decided he wanted to become a shop steward and health and safety rep.
Rob later went on to become a Unite officer and subsequently took on the position he has today as Unite’s national health and safety adviser. The breadth of his work is astonishing – much of it is highlighted in Rob’s nomination for the award.
But Rob highlighted some of his proudest moments, including the work he undertook, and his achievements, during the Covid pandemic.
Rob’s current projects include United Minds, an ambitious workplace mental health campaign. This provides reps with tools and materials to help them negotiate better management processes on mental health and stress in the workplace.
Although much of the health and safety landscape has improved since Rob was a young apprentice, progress in many areas has stalled.
“We still have far too many accidents including fatal accidents in the workplace. A conservative HSE estimate shows around 20,000 people die each year from work-related
24 uniteLANDWORKER Winter 2024
ill health –but this figure is grossly underestimated,” Rob said.
This is because deaths from cardiovascular disease caused by work-related stress and exposure to toxins, as well as work-related traffic accidents and suicides are not included in the official data.
“The figure is likely to be well over double HSE official figures,” he noted.
And so it is these three areas – musculoskeletal disorders, respiratory diseases, and mental health — where Rob’s focus currently lies in his dogged determination to improve our workplaces.
“They’re killing the most people, and causing the greatest amount of suffering,” Rob added.
Rob’s resolve is evident in the way he speaks – it’s no wonder he’s won the UK’s premier health and safety award.
Unite heartily congratulates him. FIND OUT MORE
To read the full story, visit
unitelive.org here:
https://bit.ly/4bzaXCh
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