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Risksissue no 229 - 22 October 2005 |
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Editor: Rory O'Neill of Hazards magazine. Comments to the TUC at healthandsafety@tuc.org.uk. CONTENTS
Risks is the TUC's weekly online bulletin for safety reps and others, read each week by over 12,000 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 statement. UNION NEWSTUC concern at broken enforcement promiseThe TUC has expressed grave concern at a dramatic drop in official workplace health and safety enforcement activity. Latest figures show the numbers of Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecutions taken and enforcement notices issued have fallen dramatically, despite repeated assurances from HSC chair Bill Callaghan that this would not occur under HSE's '2010 and beyond' strategy (Risks 182). The new 'Offences and Penalties Report 2004/5' shows a 35 per cent fall in prosecutions of employers in the past three years and a 25 per cent drop in enforcement notices served in the last year. Local authorities are also taking less action, with a 50 per cent fall in prosecutions and a 75 per cent fall in enforcement notices over the last 10 years. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: 'If the UK is to get to grips with its extremely poor safety record, we have to see more inspectors out there visiting workplaces, more targeted prosecutions of offending employers and more use of enforcement notices.' He added: 'Without a doubt, enforcement is the single most effective tool the HSE has at its disposal for improving health and safety standards in UK companies and organisations. When the Health and Safety Commission launched its new strategy for improving workplace health and safety last year it promised that enforcement would still be a key part of this. Today's report shows that this is clearly not the case.' HSC chair Bill Callaghan, defending the strategy at a TUC conference in November 2004 (Risks 175), said it wasn't 'enforcement lite', adding he was 'saddened' at allegations 'that we are proposing a shift of resources away from inspection and enforcement [Risks 158]. Let me use this platform to say categorically that no such proposal has ever been presented to the Commission and if it had, I'm confident that it would have been rejected.'
Sound advice for teachersTeaching union NUT is warning that its members are suffering long-term hearing damage and voice loss because of the outdated, noisy classrooms in which they work. It says the majority of schools were built before 2003 when the Department of Education strengthened acoustic requirements which minimise noise levels. The union's 'Stop that noise campaign' was being launched ahead of European Health and Safety Week which starts on 24 October. As part of the week's noise-themed activities, NUT has produced a checklist for union safety reps and is encouraging them to carry out noise audits of their schools and give managers a list of changes that are needed. NUT says 'issues to focus on could include poor acoustic design, external influences - such as noise from building work, or traffic noise - or pupil noise.' Rhys Williams, the campaigns officer for NUT Cymru, said: 'A great deal of stress is caused by noise. Continual background noise can undermine health. We've had examples of teachers retiring from the profession early because they have tinnitus [a ringing or buzzing in the ears related to noise exposure].' He added commonsense measures could reduce the risks. 'There are things that schools can do to reduce this noise, such as laying carpets in classrooms and making sure louder subjects such as drama and PE are as far away as possible from other lessons.'
Back pain strikes the officeSedentary jobs are causing back pain in over two-thirds of office staff, according to a union poll. The online survey of 1,905 British workers for physios' union CSP found 70 per cent say they have experienced pain in their back, neck or upper limbs as a result of sitting at their desk or workstation. And while physiotherapists recommend people take a break from their workstations every 20 minutes, the poll found most respondents are chained to their desks for 97 minutes or more at a time. Almost a quarter (23 per cent) do not get up for a quick break for three hours or more, while 5 per cent remain seated for over six hours. CSP's Sarah Bazin said: 'Back pain is still rife in the workplace, resulting in sickness absence and reduced performance. Many cases could easily be prevented, which would save money for businesses. Physiotherapists know that back pain and other work-related upper-limb disorders can become debilitating if left untreated. Physiotherapists are best placed to advise employees and employers on how they can be avoided.' According to Bazin: 'With more and more of us in sedentary occupations, it is vital that employers and the government prioritise the health of the workforce by investing in thorough risk assessments and swift access to rehabilitation services.' Public service union UNISON welcomed the CSP campaign. 'Living with pain should not be an option, especially when employers could take action to prevent it,' said national health and safety officer Hope Daley. Amicus members suspended for raising fire fearsA hospital trust has suspended two workers after they drew attention to fire safety hazards. Leeds Mental Health Trust health and safety rep Paul Cockcroft and fire safety officer Chris Hindle, both Amicus members, were sent home last week in a row over fire safety at three mental health hospitals in Leeds built under the controversial Private Finance Initiative. Speaking at a Leeds council health watchdog meeting last week, Chris Hindle slammed the Trust's handling of fire safety in the £47m scheme, saying it had 'wilfully conspired to suppress relevant information.' The hearing follows the publication of an independent fire safety report in May which highlighted 'serious deficiencies' in the design and construction of the Becklin centre, The Mount and the Newsam centre which treat hundreds of mental health patients. Trust health and safety rep Paul Cockcroft was also suspended, the day after being nominated to address the same council hearing. Karen Climpson, Amicus regional officer, said: 'Leeds Mental Health Trust have done everything they can to prevent two Amicus members from giving evidence at the scrutiny committee, culminating in their suspension from work.' She added: 'Both have raised serious professional concerns about design, material and safety standards of three PFI hospitals in Leeds Mental Health Trust which, for the wellbeing of patients and staff, need to be properly heard and examined.' Leeds council is to hold an in-depth enquiry into the safety fears. OTHER NEWSWorkers pay with their lives for deregulationWorkers are paying a high price for the constant government drive to 'deregulate' business, according to a new report. The Crime and Society Foundation's 'Criminal Obsessions' report says more than a thousand employees die in occupational fatalities each year, yet safety inspections are low and enforcement is lower still. Professor Steve Tombs of Liverpool John Moores University, author of the chapter on workplace deaths and injuries, said: 'Criminal law, if it were actually enforced can help reduce the scale of death, injury and disease caused by work. But this would take an enormous hike in resources and a radical shift in the regulators' mindset.' He added: 'The most effective improvements in health and safety at work have been, and will continue to be, secured by genuinely empowering those who face risks on a day-to-day basis - workers and their representatives.' Welcoming the report, TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: 'With around ten thousand people dying every year as a result of injuries sustained or diseases contracted whilst at work, the government needs to do more to take irresponsible employers to task for their lax approach to health and safety.' He added: 'Only when the UK has a new law of corporate killing combined with a law change making directors responsible for the health and safety of their employees and customers will employers start to take their safety responsibilities seriously. Bosses would do well to pay more attention to the warnings coming from unions and their workplace safety reps. It's no accident that workplaces with the best safety records are the ones with employers sensible enough to work hand in hand with unions.'
No manslaughter charges for Potters BarThere will be no manslaughter charges in connection with the Potters Bar rail crash that killed seven people and injured 70 in May 2002 (Risks 154). 'The CPS has advised that it does not provide a realistic prospect of conviction for an offence of gross negligence manslaughter against any individual or corporation,' said Crown Prosecution Service legal adviser Chris Newell. The ruling means there will be no possibility of staff from Railtrack, now Network Rail, and from Jarvis - the company responsible for maintenance on the stretch of track at Potters Bar - facing manslaughter charges. CPS said the case would be referred to the Health and Safety Executive to consider whether or not proceedings under safety law were appropriate. RMT general secretary Bob Crow commented: 'Once again justice has failed to be done because there is no proper corporate manslaughter law in place. Once again big business has been let off the hook to laugh up its sleeve at the heartache of the victims, their families and our members.' Keith Norman, general secretary of ASLEF, said: 'How is it possible that seven people die, and not a single person comes to court?' He added: 'Corporate manslaughter is a crime. It only differs from other crimes because it is not punished. This must be rectified as a matter of urgency.' Alan Ritchie, UCATT general secretary, commented: 'UCATT does not consider that a fine, which will ultimately be paid by the company's shareholders, is sufficient to make directors take their responsibilities for health and safety seriously.' Allan Sefton, director of rail safety at HSE, said a decision whether to bring charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act would be taken after the coroner's inquest.
Shell safety fines top £1m in six monthsOil giant Shell has been fined £100,000 following an explosion inside a chemical tanker, bringing its total health and safety fines in the last six months to £1 million. The latest penalty for criminal breaches of safety law came after a tanker driver was knocked over in a blast, which happened as he was filling up at Shell Chemical UK's Stanlow complex. Chester Crown Court heard the firm had ignored its own safety advice relating to the handling of the volatile chemical toluene. And Shell's barrister admitted a series of mistakes meant the explosion was 'an accident waiting to happen.' Shell Chemicals UK pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety regulations. On top of the fine, it was ordered to pay nearly £20,000 costs. The company was fined £900,000 in April this year on charges relating to the deaths of two workers on a North Sea oil platform. Sean McCue and Keith Moncrieff died in a massive gas escape on the Brent Bravo platform (Risks 204). Usdaw 'horrified' at rising retail violenceRetail union Usdaw has said it is horrified at new figures showing a dramatic increase in violence directed at retail staff. The British Retail Consortium crime survey 2004, released this week, revealed the worst figures for over a decade, with physical violence against staff up by 14 per cent since 2003 and verbal abuse up by 35 per cent. 'These figures are very disturbing as it seems a small section of criminals and irresponsible consumers think shopworkers can be treated as physical and verbal punchbags,' said Usdaw general secretary John Hannett. 'We've been running a hugely successful Freedom From Fear campaign designed to combat these problems so it's frightening to think that the problem could be even worse without our efforts.' He added: 'Violent offenders have to get the message that shops have a zero tolerance policy for violence and we will continue to work with retailers, police, local authorities and consumer groups to make sure every store is as secure as possible. Our members can rest assured we will campaign for tougher measures, including the increased use of ASBOs and tougher sentencing, to protect them from thugs.'
MPs support Stockline factory blast inquiryA Commons motion demanding a public inquiry into the Stockline Plastics factory explosion in Glasgow is attracting strong support from MPs. The early day motion, sponsored by Glasgow North Labour MP Ann McKechin, attracted signatures from 84 MPs within three days of being published. Nine people died and 40 were injured in the blast at the ICL Stockline plant in the Maryhill district of the city on 11 May last year (Risks 158). Families, trades unions and academics have already called for an inquiry. The Crown is still considering its course of action, and could either decide to prosecute the company or its director or, if there was no evidence of wrong-doing, call a fatal accident inquiry. The Commons motion demands that the UK government calls on the Scottish Executive to hold an inquiry at the 'earliest appropriate time'. The motion adds 'this explosion was the worst industrial accident in Scotland for 20 years and has raised many questions about current health and safety regulation and enforcement throughout the United Kingdom.' The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) in August launched a petition supporting the call from victims' relatives for a public investigation (Risks 220). NI smoking ban ups pressure in EnglandUnions and campaigners have welcomed the announcement that Northern Ireland is to ban smoking, and said the move increases pressure on the government to follow suit in England. Northern Ireland health minister Shaun Woodward said this week that smoking will be ended in every workplace and enclosed public place in the province by April 2007. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said the welcome news 'means all workers in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales will soon be free from workplace smoke.' He added: 'If workers in the rest of the UK are to be protected from passive smoking, so should those in England.' GMB organiser Mick Ainsley criticised the government for 'dithering' in England and added: 'GMB will not stand by and allow the government to make workers in England second class.' UNISON national safety officer Hope Daley said: 'The government has promised action on public smoking which kills at least two people every working day. We want them to put their money where their mouth is and remove these restrictions as this would save lives and reduce the high levels of work-related ill health caused by public smoking.' Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) director Deborah Arnott said the Northern Ireland decision 'throws into stark relief the protracted dithering by the UK Cabinet about a decision for England. Over the next two years, enclosed public places in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will all become fully smokefree. Anything less for England would be a timid and unworkable bodge. It is past time for ministers to make up their minds - England must be smokefree too.'
Worker dead in machine for dayA worker crushed to death in a machine lay undiscovered for 24 hours. An investigation has begun into the death of Michael Joyce at the Freudenberg Technical Products plant on north Tyneside. Mr Joyce, 51, was working alone on the noisy machine on Saturday 15 October. It is thought he died after climbing into the machine when it became jammed. His body was discovered the following morning. A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) spokesperson said the machine in which Mr Joyce died was a device to put rubber coatings on steel rings. HSE confirmed Mr Joyce had been found dead and said an inspector and specialist engineers would examine the machine and investigate if there had been any breach of the law. Mr Joyce's body was discovered after he had been reported missing by his family when he failed to return home from work. Safety steps bring £0.5m savingA company has saved over £500,000 in just two years by dramatically improving its safety performance, winning praise from the health and safety minister. Lord Hunt said Kirkby-based Yorkshire Copper Tube was 'leading the way with their excellent efforts to reduce injuries in the workplace.' He added: 'Slips and trips are the most common cause of major injuries at work - around a third of all reported - and simple cost effective measures can reduce these accidents, as the YCT management have demonstrated.' YCT safety and training manager Maria O'Malley said the company had worked with HSE boffins to introduce improvements. She added: 'In 2004 we had 13 reportable accidents as a result of slips and trips, but to date, for 2005, this figure has been reduced to three. In addition to reduced premiums, the reduction in accidents for this year has resulted in direct savings due to reduced absenteeism and increased productivity.' Bob Humphries, senior steward for Amicus at YCT said: 'Amicus members welcome the vast improvements made at YCT by all those concerned who have brought about major improvements in this area of health and safety and look forward to continued progress'. And Mick Murphy, TGWU senior steward at the firm, said: 'On a monthly basis the safety representatives and the managers carry out departmental safety inspections, we also operate a 'Hazard Reporting System' whereby any actual or potential hazards are reported and dealt with as soon as possible. Coupled together with 'toolbox' talks on the subject this not only makes our members aware of the potential dangers to themselves and/or their workmates, it also gives them an insight in to the cost that is incurred by the employer as a result of any accident at work.' Husband fights to prove asbestos killed his wifeStewart Littlemore has launched a desperate bid for help proving his wife was killed by deadly asbestos. Mr Littlemore is fighting to claim compensation after his wife Margaret died in July aged 54 of the asbestos cancer mesothelioma. He said: 'I wouldn't want anyone else to have to die in such pain the way Margaret did.' Mr Littlemore is certain his wife's death is linked to her job at Plessey Telecommunications in Sunderland, where she worked in the late 60s and early 70s, and is appealing to anybody who knew or worked with Margaret - or can confirm she was exposed to asbestos dust - to come forward and help his family win justice. He said: 'After Margaret's diagnosis, other people said that they believe asbestos was present in the Plessey factory. If anyone knows anything about asbestos at the factory I'd like them to get in touch.' Solicitor Lucy Hindmarch, from personal injury specialists Irwin Mitchell, said she is confident a case can be brought if a source of asbestos exposure is found. 'Margaret Littlemore was relatively young to be diagnosed with this illness and I'm appealing for witnesses to come forward to confirm that she was exposed to asbestos,' she said. 'There is some evidence to suggest that there was asbestos in the Plessey factory, and we believe it may have been used in the assembly process.'
Workers to pay the Asda price?Asda has come under fire for planning a 'strategic assault' on the working conditions of its staff, with a charity claiming planned changes would include potentially illegal health and safety measures. War on Want fears management proposals for a major shake-up in staff operations at the Lutterworth distribution centre in Leicestershire will be rolled out nationwide. It says Asda, owned by the Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, has drawn up a 'Chip Away Strategy 2005' aimed at reducing costs and increasing productivity. It says internal documents show the company wants to introduce 'single man loading' for jobs that involve lifting, even though Asda's own risk assessment says two people are needed for these tasks. It adds that the company also wants supervisors to 'lead by example' and 'take the credence out of breaks' by ending rest times early. The plans were revealed by War on Want alongside the launch of 'Asda Wal-Mart: The Alternative Report', co-sponsored by GMB, which claims the company keeps costs low by means of harsh working regimes in its supermarkets and depots as well as demanding ever reduced prices from suppliers in developing countries. An Asda spokesperson said the company did not intend to cut the breaks people were entitled to and said it would always follow health and safety rules when it came to lifting or other activities. 'We would not want to be in contravention of such rules which would open us up to lawsuits and everything,' he said. Asda's under pressure US parent company, Wal-Mart, this week promised to improve monitoring of labour and environmental standards at its international suppliers. Employer jailed for factory beatingsAn employer has been jailed for 14 years after nearly killing one of her pickle factory workers. Taru Patel, 55, was found guilty of grievous bodily harm with intent and false imprisonment, at Harrow Crown Court. She had kept the 44-year-old employee captive and injured her so severely fingers had to be amputated and she was left with rotting flesh across her lacerated back, the court heard. Large clumps of her hair were pulled out and there were cigarette burns on her feet and legs. She will suffer long-term disability, the court was told. The woman, who had been sent to England by her husband to make a better future for her family back in India, was kept a virtual prisoner in her tormentor's home for six weeks. At the start of the trial, the 42-year-old victim told the court Patel offered her a £3 an hour live-in job at the pickle factory she ran from her home. The court heard how the woman was starved of regular meals, sometimes working 14-hour days on bread and milk, and was forced to sleep on the floor. Passing sentence, the judge, Roger Sanders, said Patel had turned the woman into a 'virtual slave'. INTERNATIONAL NEWSAustralia: Government to savage safety lawsWorkplace safety laws have been added to an Australian government hit list for its business-led deregulation taskforce. Prime minister John Howard and treasurer Peter Costello this month revealed the plans to set up the taskforce to review and remove regulation in areas such as health and safety and the environment. The taskforce will suggest changes to regulations that are 'unnecessarily burdensome' and will look at options for business self-regulation. Unions NSW secretary John Robertson said the move proved the Howard government's only interests were aligned with those of big business. 'Not content with laws that will rip away all basic rights from workers, the business lobby is now trying to free itself of any obligations on safety as well,' Robertson said. The move comes on the heels of a new workplace relations package, which clamps down on the right of entry of unions to workplaces and the ability of workers to take industrial action. Unions have spoken out in defence of the right of to enter workplaces to undertake health and safety investigations (Risks 228). China: Jewellery workers lung payouts fightMigrant workers employed in China's jewellery trade are developing deadly silicosis, campaigners have warned. Campaigners say the workers come from poverty-stricken rural areas and have little knowledge of health and safety. So far 'about 100' have been found to have developed the disease working in poorly ventilated workshops on mainland China financed by Hong Kong companies. The campaigners say many more are affected, in what is an 'epidemic' of workplace lung disease. An alliance of groups including China Labour Bulletin, the Hong Kong Christian Industrial Committee (HKCIC), the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions and other groups has been helping some of the jewellery workers fight for compensation. HKCIC has recently launched an online campaign. The groups say the Guangdong occupational disease hospital is misdiagnosing known silicosis cases as non-work related illness. They add: 'This withholding of the proper diagnosis leaves the affected workers unable to pursue their compensation claims - whether through labour arbitration procedures or through court lawsuits - against the factories and companies responsible.'
Europe: REACH would benefit health and the economyA planned Europe-wide law on chemical safety and testing would help avoid 50,000 cases of occupational respiratory diseases and 40,000 cases of occupational skin diseases from exposure to dangerous chemicals in Europe each year, according to a new report. And it says there would be a saving to the European Union's 25 member states of 3.5 billion euros (£2.4bn) over 10 years, from reduced sickness benefit payouts, improved health and lower absenteeism. The report, from the European TUC's safety research arm, HESA, was welcomed by the European Parliament's lead rapporteur on REACH, Guido Sacconi. He said: 'This important study gives a salutary reminder that while REACH may have a cost, benefits are also to be expected in terms of human health, especially that of workers, and that is one of the key aims of the reform.' Marc Sapir, head of the ETUC's research institute, said the potential benefits depended on the information the REACH system produces both on the hazards of chemicals, and on how the risks related to their uses are managed. He said: 'REACH is a first-class tool for generating and transmitting useful data on chemicals, but it will not get us very far if we don't ask producers for enough information.' ETUC is calling for the draft REACH proposals to be improved, with a requirement for more information on more substances and more compliance checks. The law is due to come into effect in 2007. The REACH proposals have received a mixed response from unions, many supportive but some concerned that additional costs to European companies could disadvantage them compared to their international competitors.
USA: Poultry processors warned about worker injury rateUS poultry processors have been put on notice that they had better take more care of their employees after a survey found a high rate of injuries among plant workers. The survey by academics at North Carolina's Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center 'found high rates of musculoskeletal injuries,' said researcher Sara Quandt. Many of the workers are immigrants from Mexico and Guatemala, the report said. Almost half of the workers reported pain in their hands or arms during the previous month and one in five of those workers was unable to work for at least a day in the previous year because of the pain. Face-to-face interviews with 200 poultry workers found that 119 workers, or 60 per cent, reported having one or more occupational injuries or illnesses in the past month. These included respiratory illnesses, skin irritations or injuries to body parts. The research team called for enforcement of existing occupational safety regulations and for ergonomics programmes. The researchers also recommended advocacy groups and community agencies work with poultry processing plants to improve workers' safety and health. A binding ergonomic rule was axed by the Bush government and replaced with take-it-or-leave-it guidance for the sector. RESOURCESGuide to prevention of workplace strainsA European collaboration on strain injuries prevention has resulted in the creation of an online guide. Global union federation UNI's European telecoms wing and ETNO, the employers' organisation for the sector, have worked together on a year-long European Commission financed project. The end result is a print and online guide specifically targeting hazards in the sector, which has a wide range of manual and white collar jobs. UNI and ETNO 'believe that this initiative to protect workers from musculoskeletal disorders has benefits for both the employee and the employer. This project is just one example of the results that the social dialogue process, facilitated by the European Commission, brings to the European telecommunications sector.' EVENTS AND COURSESTUC courses for safety repsCOURSES FOR SEPTEMBER TO DECEMBER 2005Midlands, Northern, North West, Scotland, South East, South West, Wales, Yorkshire and the Humber COURSES FOR JANUARY TO MARCH 2006European health and safety week, 24-28 October 2005
USEFUL LINKSVisit the TUC http://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.HSE Books, PO Box 1999, Sudbury, Suffolk CO10 2WA. Tel: 01787 881165; fax: 01787 313995. |
European Health and Safety Week is nearly here. The annual event, this year running from 24-28 October, has been given a noise theme for 2005. The TUC is urging union safety reps to get active and says the Wednesday of this annual event has been designated 'National Inspection Day' each year - this year, that's Wednesday 26 October - when all safety representatives are asked to inspect their workplace. To make the business of inspection that bit easier, TUC has produced a simple guide to inspections that includes forms and a checklist. There is also a National Inspection Day poster to download and use. TUC believes, of course, that inspections are not just for safety week, they are for all year round.Newsletter (5,400 words) issued 21 Oct 2005
