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Number 402 - 18 April 2009
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Risks is the TUC's weekly online bulletin for safety reps and others, read each week by over 16,000 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
Union News
Unions highlight school violence risks
Teaching unions have warned that staff in the sector are facing a growing problem from assaults. NASUWT members discussed the issue of assaults on staff in special schools at their annual conference this week. Chris Keates, general secretary of NASUWT said: 'It is alarming and simply unacceptable that some employers and parents hold the view that if you work in a special school being assaulted, complained about or facing false allegations is part of the job. It is even more worrying that some teachers appear to have been conditioned into believing that is the case.' She added: 'Teachers, like all other workers, have the right to work in a safe and secure environment. There are no circumstances where abuse and violence are either acceptable or should be tolerated. The NASUWT is committed to identifying strategies that will support members in special schools and specialist settings and afford them the protection to which they are entitled.' At the NUT conference this week, one delegate said bouncers, ex-soldiers and former police officers are being employed by schools to provide 'crowd control' and to cover absent teachers' lessons. Andrew Baisley, a teacher at Haverstock school in Camden, north London, said: 'I know of bouncers being employed specifically because they are bouncers to cover lessons.' Baisley said some schools seemed to believe the job of supervising a lesson was about 'crowd control and childminding. If you're stern and loud, that's what's necessary to do the job,' he said. Recruitment agencies have separately advertised for people with marine, prison, security, police or firefighting backgrounds to become cover supervisors. Applicants do not need to have teaching qualifications to temporarily fill in for teachers. Survey results published last week by teaching union ATL revealed four in 10 school staff have faced verbal or physical aggression from a pupil's parent or guardian (Risks 401).
Schools pressure linked to mental illness
Schools are blighted by stress-induced mental illness and many teachers face burn-out before they retire, according to teaching union NUT. The union this week voted to launch a campaign to protect teachers' rights and reduce their workload. Delegates at the union's annual conference in Cardiff backed moves to demand a cut in working hours, guaranteed time to prepare lessons outside of the teaching timetable, and a cut in class sizes to 20 at most. NUT presented evidence documenting the impact of stress, including figures showing that teachers in England and Wales have an almost 40 per cent greater rate of suicide than the general population. The union also points to an Health and Safety Executive study that concluded teaching is the most stressful occupation in the UK, a finding that tallies with TUC's biennial safety reps' surveys. A report on occupational suicide, published last year by the trade union safety journal Hazards, documented a series of cases of teachers taking their own lives as a result of overwork and stress.
Unions call for helicopter safety action
Unions have demanded urgent action to improve helicopter safety. Pilots' union BALPA said it welcomed the Air Accident Investigation Branch's (AAIB) speedy initial response into the Super Puma crash (Risks 401), which found a 'catastrophic' gearbox failure had lead to the tragedy in which 16 died. The union said it is confident that the helicopter industry will implement the initial recommendations on the AS332L2 helicopter. However, BALPA general secretary Jim McAuslan said: 'BALPA believes that the industry needs to be ever-vigilant and can never take flight safety for granted. Whilst we welcome the establishment by the oil and gas industry of an accident task group in the wake of this particular tragedy it is comprised of 'invited guests' and really must be more widely drawn and independent.' He said the Scottish and Westminster governments must 'convene a high-level summit involving the broadest range of interests to thoroughly understand the safety regime in the North Sea helicopter industry and to identify whether there are risks to that regime.' The 14 passengers and two crew who died in the Super Puma were returning from BP's Miller platform on 1 April when their helicopter crashed in the sea, 14 miles off the coast of Aberdeenshire. The AAIB initial report recommended that 'additional inspections' be carried out on other Super Puma helicopters to ensure the airworthiness of the gearboxes after the crash. Offshore union RMT had earlier called for Super Pumas to be grounded until the precise cause of the crash was known.
Broken thumb caused by bad communication
A company changed the spec for a factory process - but didn't tell the worker doing the job, with painful consequences. GMB member Anthony Lacey, 59, was left in agony when his thumb was broken in two places in May 2007. The Camas UK Ltd engineer was off work for three months following the incident, which happened after new working practices were introduced at the building material supplier's Bardon Hall site. Mr Lacey was asked to replace the face plates on the firm's machinery. The face plates are used to protect the machinery and are held on by heavy magnets which are glued to a pad. It had been correct practice for the glue to be used around the circumference of the pad meaning full strength was needed to crowbar the pads off. But Mr Lacey hadn't been told the procedure had been changed to use glue at only the top and bottom. As a result when he tried to crow bar the pad off the magnet it came away more easily than he had been expecting, causing the magnet to fall on his thumb breaking it in two places. Camas UK admitted liability and settled a compensation claim out of court. The GMB member received a £6,000 payout. Andy Worth from the GMB said: 'It is unacceptable that Mr Lacey was not forewarned about the new method. This accident could easily have been avoided with proper procedures to tell employees about new working practices.' Laura Hadfield from Thompsons Solicitors, who acted for Mr Lacey on behalf of the union, said: 'This was a simple communication failure that had dramatic consequences for our client.'
Other news
Council fined after waste collector dies
A Scottish council has been fined after a waste collector was killed at work. Stephen Welsh, 35, an East Dunbartonshire Council employee, who was struck and fatally injured by a reversing waste recycling lorry. The incident happened on 23 January 2007 in Torrance. East Dunbartonshire Council was fined £13,500 at Glasgow Sheriff Court this week after pleading guilty to a breach of safety law. Mr Welsh, who was working as a waste recycling collector, was run over by the council's waste recycling lorry during a reversing manoeuvre.HSE inspector Jean Edgar commented after the case: 'Employers of waste collectors should ensure that their kerbside workers are fully trained to safely assist their drivers to reverse and avoid collision with pedestrians. A safe system of work should be drawn up setting out how communication and control between kerbside collectors and the driver can be reliably achieved.' The inspector added: 'I cannot stress enough, how challenging a work environment the streets of our towns and cities are for this important group of workers and how a simple mistake can have tragic consequences.'
HSE to publish some deaths information
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will now report work-related deaths on a monthly basis. The move, with will see HSE list work deaths once the related inquest has commenced, follows a Centre for Corporate Accountability (CCA) complaint to the Information Commissioner, who ruled last year that HSE must make this information available (Risks 366). The referral to the Commissioner came after CCA had exhausted the HSE Freedom of Information appeals process, following the refusal by HSE of an original February 2005 information request. The information will now be including in HSE chief executive Geoffrey Podger's monthly report to the HSE Board. The information will be posted on HSE's Freedom of Information webpages. Guidance on the information to be made available has been agreed for England and Wales and is under preparation in Scotland. HSE is however placing limitations on information about the related workplace. Its guidance says: 'Details of the victim's employer and/or who had control of the site at the time of death should be provided only when the relevant area inspector has confirmed that this information does not form part of the investigation.' Campaigners have already told HSE they think this restriction is unacceptable. Like the victim's name, the person's employer will already be in the public domain once the inquest has started. Another contentious area is investigations into workplace deaths led by the police, which will not be included in the HSE list and which will include workplace manslaughter cases.
Fine after man caught in machinery
A timber firm has been fined after a man was dragged into machinery while climbing over it to replace a part. Employees of FW Mason and Sons Ltd regularly climbed over the working machinery in order to refit belts which had slipped, Nottingham Magistrates' Court heard. But the practice was only stopped following the injury to Paul Huckle, whose trouser leg caught on a rotating gear, pulling him into the machine. The muscles, tendons and bone of Mr Huckle's left lower leg were damaged, requiring surgery, and he was not able to work for 11 weeks. District Judge John Stobart said: 'It appears that the machine we are dealing with here had a tendency to lose belts and the practice had grown up of these belts being replaced, or refitted, while the machine was still active.' The firm pleaded guilty to breaching safety rules and was fined £4,000 plus costs of £2,497.
Two serious injuries lead to two small fines
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is reminding employers of their safety duties following two incidents in Mansfield where employees at the same company suffered serious injuries within weeks of each other. SDC Trailers Ltd was fined £3,300 and SDC Parts and Services Ltd was fined £2,600, with both also ordered to pay costs of £1,824.60. On 4 June 2007, an employee of SDC Parts and Services Ltd was injured whilst unloading a consignment of lorry wheel and tyre assemblies from a curtain-sided trailer. The trailer, which had been loaded by SDC Trailers Ltd, was being manually palletized when one fell from a stack and fractured the worker's knee. On 10 July 2007, another employee of SDC Parts and Services Ltd received crushing injuries when preparing to unload lorry tyres from a curtain-sided trailer, also loaded by SDC Trailers Ltd. As he released the curtain an unsecured stack of tyres fell from the trailer, pinning him against an adjacent vehicle and causing crush injuries. Prosecuting, HSE inspector Maureen Kingman, said: 'The unloading of trailers in which loads have not been properly secured places those involved at considerable risk. The outcome of these incidents - the injuries and the subsequent fine - reminds us that the results can be serious for people and for businesses that fail to comply with their health and safety duties.'
Firm fined £2,000 after serious injury
A lift manufacturing and maintenance company has been told to pay up £10,000 for breaking health and safety rules after an employee was seriously injured. The UK Lift Company was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £8,000 costs at Lincoln Magistrates' Court for failing to ensure the safety of its employees while working at height. It follows an incident where an employee fell more than six metres down a lift shaft, resulting in serious injuries. The prosecution arose from an incident at North Kesteven School in Lincolnshire last February when the company's assistant site manager, Michael Richards, fell six metres down the school's lift shaft while helping a lift engineer. He suffered a broken pelvis, other broken bones, fractures and ligament damage in the two storey fall. Prosecuting, HSE inspector Judith McNulty-Green said: 'The injuries Mr Richards suffered were very serious and this incident could have easily been avoided. Working at a lift landing with the landing door open is clearly unsafe, generating a foreseeable risk of a fall. This is made worse by the presence of other people, either assisting or unexpectedly entering the danger zone, particularly in a school where there are pupils in the vicinity.' She added: 'Risks of this nature must be managed by carrying out a suitable risk assessment and implementing and enforcing the necessary control measures. Those measures in this case would have ideally been locating the working platform on the second floor or installing barriers and signage.'
HSE had never visited blast death factory
A pie factory that was destroyed in an explosion last week, killing one worker, had never been inspected by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). David Cole, 37, from Halifax, died when the blast at Andrew Jones Pies brought down part of the roof and started a fire on 10 April. Another worker, 23-year-old Marcus Cartwright, suffered serious injuries to his back and throat and broken ribs. The blast occurred at around 5am, so only seven of the factory's 30 plus employees were on the premises. The other five workers suffered minor injuries. In response to questions from Hazards magazine, an HSE spokesperson confirmed the firm had been at the Huddersfield premises for five years, during which time it had never been visited by HSE. He said inspectors had visited its previous location but did not say when. The cause of the explosion, which is being investigated by police, fire officials and the HSE, appears to have been gas-related. The blast came as an inquiry report into the Stockline explosion in Glasgow, which killed nine and was caused by a gas leak, is being prepared for publication.
Director told staff to rip out asbestos
Staff at a Telford firm were ordered by their boss to rip out asbestos with a crowbar and clean up with a vacuum cleaner. Roger Lavender, 37, the managing director of Secal Laser Ltd, was fined £6,666 and ordered to pay £11,039.88 in court costs and a £15 surcharge after admitting a safety offence. Shrewsbury Crown Court was told Lavender failed to ensure work with asbestos insulation boards was undertaken by a properly licensed firm. Survey reports from 2004 and 2007 clearly stated that removal of the asbestos from the factory would need to be carried out by a licensed asbestos company. Yet despite admitting knowledge of the 2004 survey, Roger Lavender authorised the unlicensed removal of the asbestos, instructing two of his employees to remove the boards. Judge Mark Eades said: 'It seems to me the primary culpability as far as you are concerned is you did not take the obvious steps you should have taken.' He added: 'The prosecution have said this cavalier approach was not done to save money or to save production time, but the risk to your employees was significant. We will never know to what extent your employees were exposed.' Speaking after the case, Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector Guy Dale said: 'Roger Lavender says that he read the 2004 asbestos survey and therefore should have been aware of the dangers of inhaling asbestos fibres if the material was disturbed. That asbestos survey made it clear that any removal of the material was dangerous and must be carried out by licensed specialists. However, Mr Lavender allowed his employees to be exposed to the serious risk of inhaling a 'Class 1 carcinogen' that can cause mesothelioma and lung cancer.' He added: 'Those responsible for employees ordinarily have a legal duty to protect their health and safety but in the case of asbestos they should know that any disturbance of such a dangerous material should only be tackled by licensed workers.'
Promotion 'bad for mental health'
Getting promoted at work may be bad for a person's mental health, a study suggests. Warwick University researchers used evidence from 1,000 workers who had been promoted into supervisory or management roles in the past five years. Researchers Chris Boyce and Professor Andrew Oswald questioned why people with higher job status seem to have better health. They drew upon the British Household Panel Survey and found no evidence of improved physical health after promotion - nor that self-assessed feelings of health declined. What they did find, however, was significantly greater mental strain. After a job promotion, there was on average a 10 per cent decrease in people's mental health. Those promoted at work also reported on average a 20 per cent fall in their visits to a GP following their promotion. University of Warwick researcher Chris Boyce said: 'Getting a promotion at work is not as great as many people think. Our research finds that the mental health of managers typically deteriorates after a job promotion, and in a way that goes beyond merely a short-term change. There are no indications of any health improvements for promoted people other than reduced attendance at GP surgeries, which may itself be something to worry about rather than celebrate.' The research will be presented at the Royal Economic Society's conference later this month.
- Warwick University news release. Do people become healthier after being promoted? [pdf].
- National Business Review. BBC News Online. The Independent. Scotsman.
Miners' knee now an official work disease
Miner's knee has received recognition as an official occupational disease in the UK. This 'prescription' under industrial disease benefits rules means that miners who pass a disability threshold, will be eligible for government payouts. Symptoms of the disease include pain, swelling, stiffness and reduced mobility. The move follows an August 2008 recommendation from the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council, the body advising the government on prescribed occupational diseases. Announcing the new measure, which is expected to come into effect in the summer, work and pensions secretary James Purnell said: 'It is right that this help should be available to coal miners who are suffering from this painful condition following years of hard work. This disease has made life very difficult for a large number of retired miners and forced others to end their working life earlier than planned, so I am pleased that we are now in a position that we will be able to offer them valuable financial assistance.' The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), which had campaigned for recognition of the condition, said up to 10,000 miners could now be eligible. NUM national secretary Chris Kitchen said: 'We've been fighting for compensation for a long time. Miners are twice as likely as the general population to develop this disease.' The same condition afflicts carpet and floor layers and other occupations where workers spend a substantial part of their lives on their knees.
- DWP news release. Osteoarthritis of the knee in coal miners, IIAC, August 2008 [pdf]. NUM news release. Daily Mirror.
Work deaths harm whole families
Do you remember who died at work? Worldwide, two million are killed by their jobs every year. Work-related diseases and injuries kill more than wars, more than road traffic accidents. And when somebody dies at work, they are never the only victim. This is the message of a new resource published by the trade union safety journal Hazards. It says work deaths harm whole families, whole communities. The magazine is working with global trade union organisations to promote the annual, 28 April, event (Risks 400). A new online report forms part of a package of new resources, and includes 10 case studies highlights the impact on those left behind after a worker is killed. Anthea Dennis, who lost her 17-year-old son Daniel in a workplace fall on his first week at work, says: 'I never appreciated how much pain you could be in. And it doesn't go away, you just learn to live with it.' Linzi Herbertson's husband, Andy, was killed aged 29 when he fell from an unsafe scaffold. 'I had to turn off his life support machine on our son's 8th birthday,' she says. 'The company were fined less than £10,000 and I was on my own with two young children.' Gordon Field, 58, was crushed to death by unsafe lifting gear - at a firm that made safe lifting equipment. His daughter, Sharon Norman, said his employer 'pleaded guilty but never said they were sorry. I feel someone must pay for this crime. I would have been satisfied if someone had just said sorry to me but nobody did.' Hazards has also launched a 28 April Facebook page featuring resources and messages from around the world.
- Work deaths harm whole families, Hazards online report, April 2009. TUC briefing and TUC Workers' Memorial Day webpage.
- Workers' Memorial Day * 28 April, Facebook page.
- International events and resources. More resources for reps. The Hazards Campaign can provide Workers' Memorial Day posters (free), forget-me-knot ribbons (£25/100) and bumper stickers (£1 each). Contact: Hazards Campaign, c/o GMHC, Windrush Millennium Centre, 70 Alexandra Road, Manchester, M16 7WD. Tel: 0161 636 7557. Email: mail@gmhazards.org.uk
International News
Australia: Unions demand nanotech law
The rapidly growing nanotechnology market requires urgent regulation to protect the health and safety of workers and consumers, Australia's unions have said. Unions are concerned at mounting evidence showing some nanomaterials are potentially hazardous yet the industry is growing without adequate worker protections. Currently there is no mandatory register in Australia of who is importing, manufacturing, supplying or selling nanomaterials and no obligation to label products. Research has shown that certain nanomaterials - carbon nanotubes - may act in similar ways to asbestos. Geoff Fary of the national union federation ACTU said: 'With animal tests showing some nanomaterials share the same characteristics and reactions as asbestos fibres, governments and business must not repeat the painful lessons of the past and allow another tragedy to occur. Existing laws and regulations were not designed with the unique properties of nanoscale materials in mind.' He added: 'Until we know more about nano materials, we should regulate as if it is dangerous to human health. It is the only safe option. Workers in manufacturing, retail, health, laboratories, textiles, and outdoor workers are potentially exposed to nanomaterials, and the list will grow as the industry grows.' Mr Fary said that introducing regulations by the end of 2009 was realistic. He said this would coincide with the introduction of Australia's new nationally harmonised health and safety laws that are scheduled in under a year.
- ACTU news release and factsheet [pdf]. ABC News and related audio report. Sydney Morning Herald. The Age.
Germany: Job fear leads to sick working
German workers have been taking less time off sick this year, as the financial crisis bites. Official statistics show that employees had on average taken 1.8 days off sick since the start of the year - or 3.26 per cent of their working time. This was five per cent less than the same period last year. Ten years ago, the rate was 4.4 per cent in the first quarter of the year. Women took more time off sick than men, with an average of 3.5 per cent absenteeism compared to the male rate of 3.06 per cent. Commenting on the numbers, Joachim Möller, director of the Institute for Jobmarket and Professions Research at the federal Jobs Agency, said: 'In times of economic crisis, employees have more concerns about losing their jobs. The sickness rates tend to sink in such times.' TUC earlier this year warned that 'presenteeism', the trend to go to work when unfit, had increased sharply in the UK (Risks 393).
Turkey: Jeans sandblasting banned after deaths
The Turkish government has banned the manual sandblasting of jeans and other clothing to prevent the development of incurable silicosis. The practice had been linked to 40 deaths, and can lead to rapid onset of the disease, with some teenagers known to be affected (Risks 226). A written government statement issued this month said the manual sandblasting of denim fabric was no longer allowed. In addition to the deaths, the process has so far led to hundreds of workers contracting the deadly lung disease silicosis. As manually sandblasted jeans and denim became popular among youth in Turkey and abroad, illegal and unregistered workshops popped up all over the country to capitalise upon the increasing demand. Commenting on research showing the fatal risks of silica inhalation, the health ministry statement said: 'As a result of this research and taking into consideration the decision of a scientific commission, international agreements and provisions of national legislation, the use of all materials containing sand, silica powder or silica crystals to blast any form of denim or other cloth has been forbidden.' It continued: 'Those who have worked in this occupation and do not have up-to-date medical records will be evaluated at the health establishment nearest to them and begin treatment immediately.'
USA: Green jobs aren't necessarily safe jobs
The massive infusion of US government funds into projects that will create thousands of new 'green jobs' could create new risks for workers, a safety campaign has warned. The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) has welcomed the investment in green jobs, and has been active in the Blue Green Alliance, a coalition of green and union groups. But it says 'we are concerned that too little thought is going into the potential hazards of such jobs and too little attention is going towards the need for adequate safety and health training under these programmes.' It adds that hazards likely to be encountered in 'green jobs' include exposure to lead and asbestos in the course of energy efficiency retrofitting and weatherisation in older building, and respiratory hazards from exposure to fibreglass and other materials in re-insulation projects. It adds that other hazards could include exposure to moulds and silica, ergonomic hazards from the installation of large insulation panels and fall hazards in the installation of heavy energy-efficient windows and solar panels, or in the construction and maintenance of windmills. 'Many 'green jobs' programmes have the laudable goal of getting young and inexperienced workers into the workforce,' National COSH adds. 'Occupational safety and health experts have long known that it is these new workers who are most at risk for job injuries.' It says it will 'work to raise awareness about the importance of safety training in these new programmes and will strive to ensure that safety and health training be included in all new federally-funded programmes.'
Resources
Global trade and safety newsletter
Increasing numbers of workers around the world are employed by international companies, exploiting tax and regulatory exemptions to produce goods for export. Health and safety is frequently a casualty. The Maquiladora Health and Safety Support Network (MHSSN) newsletter - Border/Line Health & Safety - is the single best source on the issue. Maquiladora are foreign-owned production plants. MHSSN's work started with Mexican workers in the proliferation of factories just over the US border, but has expanded to coverage of the health and safety problems arising out of deregulated global trade worldwide.
- Border/Line Health and Safety [pdf]. Maquiladora Health and Safety Support Network (MHSSN).
Events and Courses
National Hazards conference, 10-12 July 2009
The National Hazards Conference, on the theme 'Making a better world of work possible', will take place in Manchester on 10-12 July 2009. The largest gathering of trade union safety reps in Europe, the conference will include the usual mix of top class speakers, workshops and socialising. Speakers this year including top US union safety official Nancy Lessin, who will look the green jobs agenda and how to make sure it is also a good, safe jobs agenda. Charley Richardson, who has worked with unions in North America and Europe, will look the impact on safety of the economic downturn and company restructuring, and how unions can respond.
- Making a better world of work possible, National Hazards conference, 10-12 July 2009, University of Manchester. Hazards 2009 conference application form [pdf]. The deadline for application is Friday 19 June. Sponsor the conference [pdf].
- Further details: Hazards Campaign, c/o Greater Manchester Hazards Centre, Windrush Millennium Centre, 70 Alexandra Road, Manchester, M16 7WD. Tel: 0161 636 7558.
Work stress conference, 21-22 November 2009
The UK National Work-Stress Network conference, which will run on 21-22 November, is a residential weekend event. It 'is open to health and safety representatives, shop stewards and union officers as well as those who have occupational health and safety at the core of their work.' The conference has a full programme of speakers covering the causes, effects, symptoms and costs of stress-related illness, management competencies and EU law. There will also be examples of successful legal and workplace challenges to workplace stress and bullying.
- Stress - the 21st century epidemic?, UK National Work-Stress Network conference, 21-22 November 2009, Hillscourt Conference Centre, Rednal, near Birmingham. Further details and booking form [pdf].
TUC courses for safety reps
COURSES FOR APRIL TO JUNE 2009
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 (5,100 words) issued 17 Apr 2009
