'Fatigue is preventable'

Unite delegate Maria Dickenson gave a powerful intervention in a debate on workplace fatigue at TUC Conference on Tuesday (September 15).

Seconding a motion on tackling workplace fatigue to protect workers and the public, Maria highlighted her experience as a Cardiff bus driver.

“Fatigue is not a weakness,” she said. “It is a workplace safety issue.”

Maria noted how Unite has campaigned on fatigue in the bus industry for years, and pointed to a recent survey of more than 2000 London bus drivers, almost half of whom had experienced a fatigue-related close call in the last year.

An overwhelming majority said they feared negative consequences if they reported being fatigued.

“That is not fatigue management,” Maria said. “That is a safety system that has failed.”

Maria went on to highlight strike action Unite members took at Bow bus garage over fatigue, including inadequate breaks and poor working conditions.

“This summer, bus drivers reported extreme temperatures, dehydration and fatigue,” she noted.

“But Unite members organised and campaigned – and this week we secured a commitment for air conditioning in all London bus driver cabs by May 2027,” she said to applause. “That victory shows that fatigue is preventable when we tackle its causes.”

Maria went on to criticise fatigue detection technology that may ostensibly be used to help workers, but in practice can be used as surveillance to discipline them.

“If technology detects an exhausted driver, don’t ask, ‘What’s wrong with the driver?’ Ask, ‘What’s wrong with the work that made that driver so exhausted?’”

Maria also highlighted equality issues that affect fatigue, such as women bus drivers struggling with menopause or perimenopause symptoms.

She added that men, too, face their own struggles, with, for example, hidden diseases such as prostate cancer.

“Poor shift patterns and inadequate recovery can compound those symptoms,” Maria said. “Our members tell us about 12-hour shifts, poor scheduling, inconsistent start times, inadequate breaks and insufficient recovery.

“In every job, fatigue management must recognise that and support workers – not penalise them,” she added. “Workplace fatigue can be solved by changing the work.”

Maria called for measures such as safe staffing, safe working hours, properly designed shifts and schedules, as well as proper breaks, welfare facilities and recovery time.

“And decent pay, so workers aren’t pressured into excessive overtime or rest-day working just to make ends meet,” she added.

Concluding her speech, Maria said, “We don’t solve fatigue with a wellbeing video. We don’t solve it with an app. No timetable, target or profit margin is more important than getting workers and the public home safely.

“Fatigue is foreseeable. Fatigue is preventable.”

The motion was carried

By Hajera Blagg

Photo by Mark Thomas