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Number 355 - 10 May 2008
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Risks is the TUC's weekly online bulletin for safety reps and others, read each week by over 15,000 subscribers and 1,500 on the TUC website. To receive this bulletin every week, click here. Past issues are available. This edition contains Useful links TUC courses for safety reps Disclaimer and Privacy
Editor: Rory O'Neill of Hazards magazine. Comments to the TUC at healthandsafety@tuc.org.uk
TUC SAFETY REPS' SURVEY 2008
Safety reps should have their say
When it comes to workplace safety, what you say counts. That's why TUC's annual safety reps' surveys are important. The 2008 survey - the seventh - will provide the TUC and individual unions with crucial information about safety reps, their experiences and their needs. 'We need this information so that the TUC and unions can do more to help safety reps, and so that safety reps' views and experiences are better reflected in public policy debates and the work of the Health and Safety Executive,' said TUC head of safety Hugh Robertson. 'We will publish the results, and use them to campaign for better safety standards at work - including more rights for safety reps.' The survey can be completed online and is quick and easy. Just answer as many questions as you can - but where they seem irrelevant to your experiences, ignore them. And make sure you tell TUC about any successes you have had in improving health and safety standards.
Union news
Roofing boss jailed for teen's death
The boss of a roofing firm was jailed for 10 months this week for the manslaughter of a teenage apprentice who plunged to his death in his first week at work. Daniel Dennis, 17, who had no safety training, died when he fell through an unguarded skylight in April 2003 (Risks 354). At Swansea Crown Court, 51-year-old Roy Clarke, who runs Bridgend-based North East Roofing, admitted Daniel's manslaughter through gross negligence. He was also ordered to pay £17,900 in costs. Mr Justice John Griffith Williams pointed out Clarke had twice been warned by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) before Daniel's death. The court heard Clarke and his wife Janet, also one of his employees, earned £70,000 from the firm last year. In an impact statement to the court, Daniel's brother Mark, 27, said he had considered suicide after the loss of his 'little brother'. His mother, Anthea, told the court: 'We were an ordinary family of five, after that we were a destroyed family of four.' The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) only agreed to bring the manslaughter charge after a GMB-backed Judicial Review forced it to reconsider an earlier decision not to proceed. The family was represented by Mick Antoniw, of Thompsons Solicitors, who said: 'Despite the initial failings of the CPS, justice has at long last been delivered. We can only pay tribute to the tenacity of the Dennis family who have fought for the past five years to ensure that their son's employer was held to account for his death.' The legal support was provided by GMB - Daniel's father, Peter, is a member of the union. He said: 'All we've ever wanted was for Daniel's boss to be held to account as a warning to other employers. We hope now that no parents ever have to go through what we have.' Allan Garley, regional secretary of the GMB South Western region, said: 'This sentence should be a warning to all employers who put profit ahead of safety. In this case the employer Roy Clarke probably thought he had got away with it. The GMB will continue to pursue employers whose negligence results in death or serious injury in the workplace.'
Vulnerable worker abuse a 'national scandal'
Two million workers in Britain are 'trapped in a continual round of low-paid and insecure work where mistreatment is the norm,' according to a new report. A TUC-convened commission found some employees being paid £1 an hour, some working 70 hours a week and others facing sexual abuse and hazardous workplaces. The Commission on Vulnerable Employment (CoVE), set up last year by the TUC, includes employers and independent experts as well as trade unionists. The Commissioners reported this week that they were shocked both by the extent of vulnerable work and that much of the poor treatment they found was perfectly legal. The Commission said the government, unions, employers and consumers must now all play a part in ending exploitation at work. The report concluded 'employment practices attacked as exploitative in the 19th century are still common today,' adding that the 'poor treatment at work that we have found should not be tolerated.' TUC general secretary and chair of the Commission, Brendan Barber, said: 'All the Commissioners - whatever their backgrounds - were shocked at just how vulnerable some workers are in today's Britain. Their treatment is a national scandal, and we need urgent action. But we have to cut thought the sterile debate that has turned any proposal to help even the most exploited people at work into a pro-union, anti-business old Labour move. Good employers have nothing to fear - and much to gain - from policies that stop them being undercut by bad employers who break the law or use loopholes to get round it.'
- TUC news releases on the CoVE report, vulnerable female workers, bogus self-employment in the construction industry and the shortage of employment rights advice. BBC News Online. The Observer.
- Commission on Vulnerable Employment (CoVE).
Gangmaster watchdog wants wider role
The leader of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) and the report of a TUC-convened Commission have both called for all sectors of the economy to be protected from gangmaster exploitation. Construction union UCATT has welcomed comments made by GLA chair Paul Whitehouse that all sectors of the British economy should be regulated by his organisation. UCATT says the construction sector has seen a huge increase in gangmasters and labour only employment agencies in recent years. At the moment the GLA only has the power to license gangmasters in the agriculture, food processing and shellfish collection sectors. Speaking on the BBC Radio 4's Today programme on 1 May, Paul Whitehouse said: 'I have absolutely no doubt the government passed the law in order for people not to be exploited. I can't see why if you work in one area you should be protected but not in another.' Alan Ritchie, general secretary of UCATT, commented: 'The government must act to extend the GLA's remit to first the construction industry and then all other sectors.' A recent survey undertaken by UCATT officials found gangmaster activity on 69.7 per cent of sites in London and the South East and on 28.2 per cent of construction sites throughout Britain. The TUC-convened Commission on Vulnerable Employment (CoVE) this week said the GLA regime should apply to other sectors where agencies use vulnerable workers, including care homes and construction. Commenting on the publication of the Commission report, GLA's Paul Whitehouse said if the government 'wish to extend our remit into other sectors, as the Commission recommends, our committed and enthusiastic staff are willing and ready to accept the challenge of reducing exploitation elsewhere.'
Prison Service refused stabbing protection
Prison staff should be provided with stab proof vests, their union has said. Commenting after a prison officer was stabbed at a Cheshire prison on 1 May, Colin Moses, the national chair of the Prison Officers' Association (POA), said the union's earlier warnings had fallen on deaf ears. 'Incidents like this re-emphasise the need for prison staff to be empowered,' he said after the stabbing at HMP Risley. 'It is clear that officers and other uniformed staff no longer feel they have full control of prisons and prisoners, and something needs to be done to put right this wrong. The professional men and women of the service undertake an extremely dangerous job which is not fully recognised by those in authority.' POA had previously told the Prison Service stab proof vests should be part of the prison uniform, he said. 'It is inconceivable in today's violent society the uniformed grades who look after those convicted of the most serious crimes are not given the same level of personal protection as that afforded to the police. Some staff fear so much for their own safety that they have purchased their own stab proof vest only to be told by the employer that it is not official uniform and cannot be worn.' Mr Moses added: 'I call on the Prison Service and Ministry of Justice to take immediate action to protect the health and safety of the professional men and women who work in our prisons.'
RMT fears Tyneside repeat of Tube 'farce'
Rail union RMT has said it will fight 'tooth and nail' to keep the Tyne and Wear Metro rail system 100 per cent public. It said government plans to part privatise maintenance work risked a repeat of the Metronet 'farce' that ended with the private Tube maintenance firm going to the wall after a series of safety and contract failures. Warning against the creation of a Metronet Mark II, RMT said it will fight 'all the way' if Nexus, Tyne and Wear's Passenger Transport Executive, tries to hand any part of Metro's maintenance to the private sector. The government has earmarked £600 million for an upgrade of the Metro network, but has stipulated that maintenance of new ticket machines, trains and infrastructure - all currently done in-house by Metro staff - must be subject to competitive tender. 'The corpse of Metronet is barely cold, yet the government is insisting that another highly successful Metro system is subjected to a process that could see its maintenance thrown to the privateers,' RMT general secretary Bob Crow said. 'They say that history's tragedies repeat themselves as farce, but this time there is not even any pretence that there will be any private sector investment.' He added that the move could 'end up with a Metro fragmented along the same disastrous lines that have caused such massive safety problems for the national rail network and London Underground.' According to the union leader: 'Rail privatisation, on the national network and on London Underground, has been a colossal, wasteful and dangerous failure, and it would be an act of criminal vandalism to put the country's last wholly publicly owned railway through the same mill.'
Care assistants face back breaking work
Healthcare assistants need better training if they are to escape career-ending injuries, the health service union UNISON has warned. The union alert came after a UNISON member suffered a serious back injury, forcing her to give up the job she loved. The unnamed worker from Felixstowe, Suffolk, who received an out-of-court payout for the injury, worked as a health care assistant for Suffolk Coastal PCT at Bartlett Hospital. The incident occurred as she was attending to a patient with another carer. They lifted the patient with the use of a handling belt and attempted to adjust the patient's clothes. While doing so, the patient fell onto the worker, causing the injury. She said: 'My injury could easily have been avoided if I'd had proper training. Looking back, we shouldn't have attempted the task without a third person present to adjust the patient's clothing.' UNISON regional secretary Greg Grant said: 'Better training is the key to reducing back injuries which are far too common in the NHS. The latest staff survey reported that 12 per cent of NHS staff had been injured in the past year because of moving and handling patients. Trusts cannot afford to lose good staff and they must ensure they get the training needed to do the job safely.'
Minister hears victims of retail abuse
A Cabinet minister has heard victims of workplace abuse put the case for better protection. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith met with members of Usdaw at the retail union's annual conference in Blackpool. The minister was at the conference to relaunch the Union's Freedom from Fear campaign. She also unveiled 'Voices from the frontline: revisited'. The new Usdaw report revealed two-thirds of shopworkers were verbally abused over the last 12 months, one-third were threatened in the last 12 months, and nearly one in 10 shopworkers has been a victim of physical violence during their career. Jacqui Smith commented: 'Retail crime is not a victimless crime. The government is working with Usdaw and retail employers to help lower the incidence of retail crime. Usdaw's pioneering Freedom from Fear campaign has really moved the issue up the political agenda, which shows how a trade union can effectively engage and protect its members.' The minister added: 'In the Home Office we have established the National Retail Crime Steering Group, which will provide retailers with new, innovative solutions to tackle retail crime. I am delighted that Usdaw has agreed to take a seat on the group, putting the union at the heart of policy making. Freedom from Fear is an important campaign that continues to move the agenda forward and will help all stakeholders to improve safety in stores and deliver respect for shopworkers.'
Other news
Death firm bosses evade justice
Bosses of a factory where a man was killed in an explosion have failed to appear at related court hearings, will not face any personal penalties and their firm may end up with only a token fine which the judge thinks might not be paid. The case, which could add weight to union arguments for explicit safety responsibilities on directors, involves the workplace death of Christopher Knoop. Mr Knoop, 50, was killed in December 2005 when fire ripped through North West Aerosols after a series of blasts. Three other workers received serious burns. But the company's directors failed to turn up for a 2 May plea and case management hearing at Liverpool Crown Court. Nobody from the firm has appeared at any previous hearings and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been told they will not attend. The firm has now gone into liquidation, but Simon Parrington, prosecuting, told the court that HSE wished to continue with the case. He said: 'It is a case which led to the death of a man and serious injuries to three others. They take the view that it is so serious it should result in someone receiving a conviction, if appropriate.' Despite being in the hands of the liquidator, the company has not yet been wound up and Mr Parrington said the case against it should therefore continue. However, Judge Graham Morrow QC spoke of his concern that even if convicted no fine would be paid. He said he may only be able to impose a nominal fine which could be upsetting for the victims and their families. Any substantial fine would probably remain unpaid. A trial is now due to take place on 2-3 June. At least one of the former directors has moved to Spain.
HSE pleads for industry leadership
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) chair Judith Hackitt has again called for top managers to take safety seriously. At an HSE 'Leading from the top - avoiding major incidents' event last week attended by 200 'industry leaders' from major hazards industries, Ms Hackitt said the initiative was an opportunity to share good practice and to learn from incidents such as those at Texas City, Buncefield and the Thorp plant in Sellafield. Ms Hackitt said: 'We have seen similarities in the messages, concerns, challenges and problems discussed today. It's clear that there is much to be gained by further collaborative action across the sectors but the success of the day lies in what takes place next. If nothing changes as a result of the discussions today - it will be more than a pity, it could well be a tragedy. We in HSE will continue to give high priority in working with you in the major hazards industries but we are calling upon you to take the lead. Tell us how we can best support you.' The leadership issue has become a political hot potato. HSE has admitted it is disappointed with the response of companies to its calls for voluntary action at boardroom level, including last year's joint Institute of Directors and HSE voluntary guide (Risks 354). A Select Committee report last month said there was a convincing case for legal safety duties on directors (Risks 353). Unions have called repeatedly for explicit duties on directors and senior managers.
Everest fined over work at heights
A home improvement company has been fined £6,000 after pleading guilty to breaching the work at heights regulations. Everest Ltd was prosecuted at Luton Magistrates' Court after the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found workers were repeatedly exposed to the risk of falling from height. In addition to the fine, Everest was also ordered to pay £15,963.25 costs. HSE inspector Norman Macritchie said: 'Employers must ensure that safe working practices are developed and followed. HSE inspectors will not tolerate negligence or poor safety standards on construction sites. Robust enforcement action may well be taken, especially where there is serious or repeated breach of legislation, or failure to control the lethal risks associated with work at height.' The prosecution arose following inspections on 14 July and 6 November 2006 when an HSE inspector passed neighbouring residential properties in Luton, where Everest Ltd was contracted to perform domestic roofline refurbishment. The work involved persons working at height from mobile tower scaffolds and associated work platforms, but the firm had not ensured there was protection to prevent them from falling. The HSE inspector took immediate enforcement action and served prohibition notices, stopping work on both sites. Everest Ltd was also recently fined £4,000 in another case taken by HSE, when a worker fell from a platform.
ICI did not warn of asbestos danger
An employee of chemicals giant ICI was exposed to asbestos dust at work for more than 20 years - but was never warned of the risks. Brian Raw, who died of the asbestos cancer mesothelioma in October 2007, was never given a mask or safety advice an inquest was told. Details of his exposure to the deadly dust were read to the inquest in a statement prepared by Mr Raw shortly before his death. He described his work as an engineering apprentice and then a quantity surveyor at ICI sites in Middlesbrough, Avonmouth and Wilmslow. He said he did not handle asbestos but other workers cut the material and prepared asbestos paste. 'Clouds of dust were given off as they emptied the sacks and also when they cut the pre-formed sections,' said Mr Raw, who started working for ICI in 1955. 'I was never supplied with any masks nor given any warnings about the dangers of asbestos dust. I wore ordinary clothes and a duffle coat when I was outside.' Assistant deputy coroner Jean Harkin concluded that Mr Raw died of mesothelioma caused by asbestos. No fibres were found in his body, but a pathologist explained to the inquest that the fibres could have been exhaled.
Campaigners fill the meso funding gap
Chris Dennis and her family have set up the Bob Tolley Mesothelioma Snowdrop Fund in her father's name after he died from the asbestos cancer. Chris said the family decided to set up the Snowdrop Fund, part of umbrella charity the Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Research Fund, so they can raise money for research into the disease. She said: 'We feel passionately that more needs to be done to find treatments for mesothelioma and eventually a cure.' Bob was exposed while working as a gas fitter on gas conversions in the 1970s. He was 67 when he died in September 2006. Chris Knighton, founder of the Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Research Fund, said, 'I am delighted Chris and her family have set up this fund in her dad's name. When I came up with the idea for Snowdrop Funds I wanted to give other people the opportunity to raise money in memory of a loved one who has died from mesothelioma.' A number of campaigns are raising money for mesothelioma research, the best known being the Mick Knighton fund and the June Hancock Mesothelioma Research Fund.
- Eastbourne Herald. Bob Tolley Mesothelioma Snowdrop Fund. Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Research Fund. June Hancock Mesothelioma Research Fund.
- Asbestos Victims Support Groups Forum.
Weed killers cause work cancers
Common weed killers have been linked to cancers in exposed workers. Women whose jobs regularly expose them to weed killers may have a higher-than-normal risk of a particular form of brain cancer, results of a US study suggest. Researchers writing in the American Journal of Epidemiology reported that among more than 1,400 US adults with and without brain cancer, women who had ever been exposed to herbicides at work had a two-fold higher risk of meningioma than women with no such exposure. Meningiomas are slow-growing tumours in the tissue covering the brain and spinal cord. Some earlier studies have linked both farming and heavy pesticide exposure to a higher risk of brain cancer. The new study showing the meningioma link found the risk tended to climb as the women's years of exposure increased. In a separate study, US researchers found that a chemical that comes from the pesticide DDT may raise a man's risk of developing testicular cancer. They found a clear link between testicular cancer and DDE, a breakdown product of DDT. Men with the highest levels of DDE were 70 per cent more likely to have developed testicular cancer than those with the lowest levels, according to the study published in May in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The findings suggested about 15 per cent of the testicular cancer cases in the men in the study could be attributed to DDE. The link was particularly strong with a type of testicular cancer known as seminoma, which involves the sperm-producing germ cells of the testicles. DDT is banned but has proved to be highly persistent in the environment.
- Claudine M Samanic and others. Occupational exposure to pesticides and risk of adult brain tumors, American Journal of Epidemiology, volume 167, pages 976-985, 2008 [abstract]. Reuters on the brain cancer risk.
- Katherine A McGlynn and others. Persistent organochlorine pesticides and risk of testicular germ cell tumors, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, volume 100, pages 663-671, 2008 [abstract]. Reuters on the testicular cancer risk.
- Global Unions zero cancer campaign.
International news
Bangladesh: Synthetic materials harm garment workers
Synthetic materials used in Bangladesh's massive ready-made garment (RMT) sector are causing widespread ill-health in the industry's workforce. Delegates attending a Doctors for Health and Environment roundtable last week heard that the impact of workplace hazards was compounded by poor pay, long working hours, a lack of water and sanitation facilities and inadequate rest and sleeping time. In a keynote paper, associate professor MH Salimullah Sayed of the National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine (NIPSOM) said about 2.2 million workers are employed in the country's garment industry. Of them, 65 per cent are women workers. He said workers in the industry suffered widespread work-related health problems, including musculoskeletal disorders, urinary tract infections and anaemia and nutritional problems. He called for improvements, including adequate toilets, allowing workers to drink water at work and occupational health and safety training programmes.
Iraq: Media killings highlight press peril
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has warned that the killing of a freelance reporter in a 4 May kidnap attempt reveals that the situation for media workers in Iraq remains as perilous as ever. Sarwa Abdul-Wahab, a lawyer who defended journalists and also worked as a reporter for a Kurdistan News Agency, was killed in Mosul in the north of Iraq when she resisted attempts by gunmen to bundle her into a car. The killing follows the assassination of a radio journalist on 25 April in the southern city of Basra and last weekend's attack on Hiro Ibrahim Ahmed, wife of Iraqi president Jalal Talabani, who is also a journalist. 'These brutal killings illustrate that talk of an easing security crisis in Iraq is misplaced optimism,' said Aidan White, IFJ general secretary. 'Journalism is as dangerous as ever, with targeted murders of reporters on the increase.' The IFJ says that its affiliate in Iraq, the Iraqi Union of Journalists, has counted more than 270 killings of journalists and media staff in Iraq since the invasion of the country in 2003. 'As long as political divisions and lawlessness persist journalists will be in the firing line,' said White. 'We need to see more action from the Iraqi authorities to find the killers and to protect journalists while they are working in the field.'
South Africa: The deadly price of gold
A spate of deaths in South African mines operated by Gold Fields Ltd have highlighted the industry's continuing failure to address its appalling fatality rate. At least 14 miners have been killed at the company's mines in the last two weeks, including nine on 1 May at South Deep Mine near Randfontein. Global mining unions' federation ICEM said the nine were killed in an 'inexcusable safety breach that saw a chain attached to an elevator cage snap, causing death when the cage plummeted 60 metres inside a mine shaft.' Eight of the nine were contract workers, including one woman. Those eight were employed by the subcontracting firm, Murray and Roberts. Two days earlier, on 29 April, three miners were killed and one seriously injured in a rock fall, this time inside another shaft of the South Deep complex. On the same day, a driller's assistant employed by Gold Fields was killed in a rock slide at the Twin Shafts mine. The fatalities led South Africa's second largest gold producer to suspend mining operations in the country, a move mandated by the Department of Energy and Minerals in order to secure a full review of safety procedures. However mining union NUM complained this week that management was putting pressure on workers to make an early return to work. Minister of Minerals and Energy, Buyelwa Sonjica, who met with NUM leaders and management at South Deep following the elevator collapse, was sharply critical of the company. 'I see it as gross negligence, which can only be due to lack of maintenance.' She called it 'inexcusable' and promised those responsible would be held accountable.
USA: Dust law pending - but deaths came first
US legislators have taken the first steps towards a law to protect workers from dust explosions. The measure, though, comes after decades of inaction, hundreds of factory explosions and a shocking death toll. The House of Representatives voted 247 to 165 on 30 April to approve the Worker Protection Against Combustible Dust Explosion and Fires Act. The law, which still needs Senate approval, requires the official safety watchdog OSHA to issue an interim final combustible dust standard within 90 days and a final standard within 18 months. According to safety blog The Pump Handle: 'This legislation wouldn't be necessary if OSHA were doing its job. Combustible dust is a serious workplace hazard; according to the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), 281 combustible dust incidents between 1980 and 2005 killed 119 workers and injured 718.' Blogger Liz Borkowski added: 'In fact, the CSB recommended in 2006 that OSHA issue a new national regulatory standard designed to prevent combustible dust fires and explosions in general industry. OSHA failed to act, though, even as more combustible dust incidents occurred. Since CSB made its recommendation, there have been 67 combustible dust explosions that injured 75 workers and killed 14, including the February sugar dust explosion at the Imperial Sugar Company refinery in Port Wentworth, Georgia, which killed nine workers and injured many more.'
- The Pump Handle. US House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor, YouTube video of the debate and US combustible dust inaction timeline. Charleston Post and Courier.
USA: Democrats want tougher safety penalties
People can get more prison time for mail fraud than for violating safety standards that can kill workers, Democratic senators said last week as they called for tougher punishment for workplace fatalities and stricter enforcement from the federal safety watchdog OSHA. The maximum OSHA civil penalty for a safety violation is $70,000 (about £35,000) and the maximum prison sentence for a wilful violation of a safety standard that leads to a worker's death is six months, said Senator Edward Kennedy. In contrast, mail fraud can draw a top sentence of 30 years. 'If you improperly import an exotic bird, you can go to jail for two years. If you deal in counterfeit money, you're looking at 20 years,' said Senator Kennedy, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. 'But if you gamble with the lives of your employees and one of them is killed, you risk only six months in jail.' Peg Seminario, safety and health director of national union federation AFL-CIO, told the hearing that because of inadequate laws and enforcement, since the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act in 1970 the government has prosecuted only 68 cases of employers responsible for unsafe working conditions, with guilty executives serving a total of only 42 months in prison. By comparison, in fiscal year 2007 alone, there were 340 prosecutions by the government for violations of federal environmental laws, and 226 defendants were sentenced to a total of 64 years in prison. That, Seminario said, is more cases, more fines and more jail time than over OSHA's entire history.
- Kennedy report on OSHA [pdf]. St Louis Post-Dispatch. Las Vegas Sun.
Resources
HSE launches podcasts
If you'd like to listen to what the Health and Safety Executive has got to say, now you have got your chance. You can listen online, download or subscribe to the safety watchdog's new podcasts. The first, featuring an interview with HSE chair Judith Hackitt on the subject of director leadership, is available right now. A contribution from HSE chief executive Geoffrey Podger is not yet featured, but his Podgercast debut is keenly anticipated.
Events and Courses
TUC courses for safety reps
COURSES FOR APRIL TO JULY 2008
Useful Links
- Visit the TUC www.tuc.org.uk/h_and_s website pages on health and safety. See what's on offer from TUC Publications and What's On in health and safety.
- Subscribe to Hazards magazine, supported by the TUC as a key source of information for union safety reps.
- What's new in the HSC/E and the European Agency.
Newsletter (5,200 words) issued 9 May 2008