Business backing pain campaign

Bury Business Environment Association (BEA) is believed to be the only North West organisation to be given the go-ahead by the Government to run the £38,000 project.

Only 20 "Back In Work" schemes were selected by Minister for Public Health Tessa Jowell out of an original 339 nationwide applications received.

"Back In Work" has been launched by the Government to benefit employers and employees by tackling back pain - seen as a major workplace health issue.

Bury BEA will spearhead a campaign locally to present a comprehensive package of measures to motivate, support and help provide solutions to prevent back pain in the workplace. Sufferers will be signposted to means of support and motivation will be by way of an extensive awareness-raising campaign with Bury's business sector.

A specialist project officer will be responsible for meeting the aims of the project, which includes on-site assistance for companies.

Other integral aspects involve general training events on manual handling and workplace assessment, seminars, guidance to businesses, mobile displays and "best practice" literature.

Bury BEA will work alongside two key partners - Bury Council's environmental health unit and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) - when the initiative is launched early next year.

Target businesses will be around 204 retail, food, construction and warehousing companies and those whose industrial operations result in significant back-pain absenteeism.

Bury BEA say their project will benefit around 2,000 people within these workplaces.

Mr Mike Kinsella, BEA manager, said: "We are really pleased to be one of the 20 organisations nationwide to be successful in achieving this project.

"The trick was in our close partnership with the council's environmental health unit and the HSE, apart from the quality of what we are trying to do."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.