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Number 408 - 30 May 2009
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Risks is the TUC's weekly online bulletin for safety reps and others, read each week by over 17,000 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
Fire crews warn of staff cut dangers
Firefighters and the public will be put at risk if plans to cut the number of firefighters go ahead, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has warned. In North Yorkshire, one of the jobs slated to go is the firefighter who controls and records the entry of firefighters into burning buildings, a role introduced after several firefighter fatalities. Ian Watkins, North Yorkshire FBU brigade secretary, said: 'Controlling and recording when firefighters are going into burning buildings is critical to the safety of firefighters. The role was introduced after firefighters were killed and it cannot simply be removed without us having serious concerns.' FBU officers in Manchester say the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority plans further cuts to its local fire services from 1 July 2009. Since 2002 over 400 frontline firefighter posts have been axed in Greater Manchester, one in four of its frontline firefighters. Peter Taylor, FBU brigade secretary, said: 'These cuts put your firefighters at risk. They put families, homes and businesses at greater risk from fire.' Essex fire crews are planning to ballot for industrial action in response to proposed cuts. The unions says the first round of cuts include axing one in ten frontline firefighters. Paul Adams, Essex FBU acting brigade secretary, commented: 'The fact is that cuts compromise the safety of firefighters and the public alike and the Fire Authority needs to realise there is strong and growing opposition to the cuts they are planning.'
- FBU news releases on the North Yorkshire, Essex and Greater Manchester plans. Personnel Today.
Firm failed to listen to union
London Underground has paid 'substantial' compensation to a Tube driver after it ignored union complaints about dirty, hazardous train carriages. Derek Walters, 45, is facing surgery on his hand after his finger was slit open by a piece of broken glass left in a train cab. The ASLEF member thought the cut would heal, but after two weeks he went to hospital where he discovered the glass had cut through a nerve in the little finger of his right hand. The incident happened just weeks after ASLEF had complained about the standard of cleanliness in the drivers' cabs. The union says its concerns were ignored by bosses at London Underground Limited. London Underground denied liability throughout the claim but settled out of court just eight days before it was due to go to trial. Mr Walters said: 'What may seem like a silly accident has had a real effect on my life.' He added: 'What is even more frustrating is we had complained about the state of the drivers' cabs and nothing was done. I just hope by claiming compensation that they will finally do something to solve this problem.' ASLEF general secretary Keith Norman said the union is campaigning across the country to improve cab conditions. 'Train driving is a highly responsible job and to stay alert we need at least standards that are the norm in a modern car, like air conditioning and properly designed seats,' he said. 'It is ludicrous that drivers with responsibility for million-pound trains endure conditions you wouldn't tolerate in an old car.'
Skanska promises to stop blacklisting
Construction union UCATT has won a commitment from construction multinational Skanska that no form of blacklisting will be tolerated on their sites and that an investigation will be launched into their past conduct. In March it was revealed covert blacklisting organisation Consulting Association held information on over 3,000 construction workers, and over 40 major construction companies paid to access the blacklist. Much of the information on the database contained details of whether workers were members of trade unions and if they had raised health and safety concerns on previous sites. UCATT says whistleblowers who reported dangerous sites had found themselves barred from future jobs. Documents seen by the union reveal that in 2008 Skanska spent £28,122.60 on blacklist checks with the Consulting Association, on top of an annual subscription of £3,000. Each check cost £2.20, meaning that the company made 12,783 checks last year, at a rate of 35 a day. UCATT general secretary Alan Ritchie, who was on the Consulting Association's blacklist, said at a meeting earlier this month senior Skanska executives assured him all blacklisting on its sites had ceased and that an internal investigation had been launched into identifying who had authorised the blacklisting. Mr Ritchie commented: 'The people responsible should be brought to book. It is right that Skanska are putting their house in order. However, to fully restore the company's image and to reassure its workforce the findings of the company's investigation should be made public.' A statement from the company said: 'Skanska has taken the allegations of its involvement with the Consulting Association very seriously, and does not condone or support such behaviour, which is against the values and behaviours of the company.' It added: 'When the involvement of Skanska was brought to the management team's attention, we immediately launched an internal investigation into the matter. These investigations continue and Skanska will ensure that it identifies its involvement and will take action as necessary.'
'Gutless' blacklister sent to the Crown Court
Construction union UCATT has 'warmly welcomed' the decision to refer blacklister Ian Kerr to the Crown Court for sentencing. The private investigator, who did not attend this week's hearing at Macclesfield Magistrates Court, pleaded guilty to running an unlawful blacklisting service on building workers. Mr Kerr, 66, faces an unlimited fine or prison term for illegally operating a secret database of 3,200 workers, in breach of privacy laws, through an agency known as the Consulting Association. UCATT general secretary Alan Ritchie described Mr Kerr's failure to attend the hearing as 'gutless' and 'showing contempt for justice.' Mr Ritchie added: 'The magistrates' decision should be applauded. Mr Kerr set out to ruin construction workers' lives. He deserves the maximum possible sentence.' Building workers at the hearing applauded after the chair of the bench, Adrian Long, passed the case up to the crown court because his sentencing powers under the Data Protection Act were 'woefully inadequate'. Mick Gorrill, an assistant information commissioner, also welcomed the case's transfer to the crown court. 'Ian Kerr colluded with construction firms for many years flouting the Data Protection Act and ignoring thousands of people's privacy rights,' he said. The prosecution was brought by the Information Commissioner's Office. It is believed Kerr began investigating trade unionists and leftwing activists in the 1970s for the Economic League, a secretive, rightwing vetting organisation set up in 1919. Minutes from internal Economic League meetings in 1988 show that Kerr liaised with construction companies who were collectively known inside the league as the Service Group. They got greater help with vetting and covert intelligence-gathering on union activists, allegedly leftwing employees and workers who complained about safety or rights at work. The league was wound up in 1993 and at about that time, the information commissioner believes, Kerr took the league files on construction workers and set up the Consulting Association.
- UCATT news release. ICO news release [pdf]. The Guardian. Contract Journal.
Other news
Digger death company closed down
A haulage firm responsible for an incident that led to a woman's death has been put out of business by the Traffic Commissioner. A 30-tonne digger rolled off a transport lorry and hit a car killing passenger Christina Fraser, 24, on the A9 in Ross-shire in July 2006. Munro & Sons (Highland) Ltd admitted a breach of health and safety law. A public inquiry in March heard 28 prohibitions had been issued against the firm for safety breaches since 2005. These included defects that led to Ms Fraser's death as well as problems with brakes, oil leaks and loose wheel nuts. As well as withdrawing the company's operating licence, Traffic commissioner Joan Aitken disqualified former director Pamela Munro for two years. Driver Kenneth Finlayson, who was involved in an accident on the A9 last year and whose name appeared in a number of prohibitions, was disqualified for 12 months. Munro & Sons (Highland) Ltd admitted a breach of health and safety law and was fined last April. In January, appeal judges increased the firm's fine of £3,750 to £30,000 to "bring home" the consequences of the 2006 fatality (Risks 392).
£10k fine for untrained worker injury
Havering Council has been told to pay almost £20,000 in fines and costs after an untrained temporary worker was injured when he severed a main power cable. The StreetCare employee struck the 11,000 volt cable while using a hydraulic breaker. The worker, who was using the breaker to dig holes for the installation of a new bench, suffered flash burns and electric shock during the incident on 5 December 2007. Havering Council pleaded guilty at City of London Magistrates' Court to a criminal safety offence. It was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £9,810. Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector John Crookes said: 'This incident could have been fatal. London Borough of Havering failed to provide a safe system of work as a result of which a temporary council worker was injured.' A Havering Council spokesperson said: 'The safety of our staff is of utmost importance to us and we deeply regret any injury sustained by any employee. After this incident in 2007, we carried out a thorough investigation. As a result, we have reviewed our working practices and put in place a range of measures to improve staff safety in these situations.'
Polish worker electrocuted on farm
A fruit farmer has been fined less than £10,000 after a Polish berry picker was killed by an 11,000 volt shock from an overhead cable. Gerard Faltynowski, 26, died when he struck the cable with part of a polytunnel's steel frame in July 2006. Farmer Peter Thomson had been warned about the danger just two weeks before the tragedy, but took no action. Thomson was fined £1,800, while the company, Thomas Thomson (Blairgowrie) Ltd, was fined £9,000. At Perth Sheriff Court, Thomson admitted failing to carry out an adequate risk assessment. The company he owns with his wife Melanie admitted failing to provide a safe system of work whereby the migrant worker was killed. The court was told that two weeks before the fatal incident a Scottish Hydro Electric employee had seen the workers putting the polytunnels up near the overhead lines and warned them of the dangers. Thomson told the electricity company worker that he had informed his staff of the hazard. Health and safety experts who assessed the work practices at the farm said a safe corridor should have been set up either side of the power cables. The court heard that if the proper minimum procedures had been implemented the Polish student would not have died. On the day of the fatality, a team of employees, including Mr Faltynowski and 11 other migrant workers, were working in a field, starting to erect the steel frame of a polytunnel. Following the fatal incident, the Health and Safety Executive issued a prohibition notice to stop work being carried out so close to low overhead power lines. HSE inspector Lawrence Murray said: 'Mr Faltynowski's tragic death was entirely preventable and arose from clear failures to assess and manage the risk of working close to or under overhead power lines. A suitable and sufficient risk assessment would have identified the danger and the necessary control measures, and a safe system of work would have ensured the safety of the employees.' He added: 'Despite receiving a warning from an electricity linesman who witnessed work being carried out under the lines just days before, the construction of the polytunnel's metal frames continued.'
Polish food workers 'exploited'
A gangmaster has been stripped of his licence after a seven week investigation identified a catalogue of safety and employment abuses. Jagjit Singh, who ran Saphire Trading in Southampton, is said to have created an 'atmosphere of fear and intimidation in the workplace.' The Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) said workers were subjected to 'systematic exploitation' which placed them at risk of injury or death. Abuses identified by GLA included failure to provide sick pay, housing workers in unsafe accommodation, requiring excessive and illegal working hours, failing to provide health and safety training and making workers provide their own protective clothing. A hearing was told that the workers, from Poland, were afraid to give evidence to the GLA inspector for fear of losing their jobs or accommodation. The GLA uses a points system to calculate the extent of breaches in its licence. A score of 30 counts as a fail, and Saphire Trading reached a total of 185 points. GLA chair Paul Whitehouse praised the courage of employees who helped with the investigation. 'It was for the bravery of the workers who suffered at the hands of Saphire Trading Ltd in coming forward and making statements to the GLA that helped us to get this result,' he said. 'Other workers who are in a similar situation should take note and contact us we will always treat information in confidence and protect their identity. Tell us where the problems are and we can do the rest.'
Rehab industry issues voluntary code
A new system of common standards has been unveiled with the aim of cleaning up the private rehabilitation industry. The UK Rehabilitation Council issued the guidelines, covering everything from cost to qualifications. The TUC, however, said proper regulation of the industry would be more effective than voluntary guidelines. The new voluntary standards are aimed at private health firms providing nursing, physiotherapy and counselling care to people injured in accidents and at work. The council, which represents the industry, said it was acting because of a minority of rogue firms. Private rehab firms have enjoyed a boom in recent years as insurance firms see them as a way of minimising their payouts. The providers are also used by employers and the government, which has used them to help incapacity benefit claimants get back into work. The standards are aimed at those paying for the service as well as their clients. They give advice on how to choose a provider and what level of care and support can be expected. This includes advice on cost, qualifications of staff and likely outcomes. Council chair Catherine McLoughlin said the move was necessary because a minority of firms 'have under-delivered and over-charged, so undermining the confidence in the whole concept.' Work minister Lord McKenzie welcomed the standards. He said: 'It is essential that those absent from work due to ill health or injury get the quality of care they need to ensure a well-managed return to work.' However, TUC head of safety Hugh Robertson said binding standards would be more effective. 'We hope that there will be a major increase in rehabilitation in coming years and while these guidelines are welcome, this is an industry that is crying out for regulation. The levels of service and standards are, to say the least, variable. Although the TUC is pleased that the industry has developed these guidelines we have doubts as to whether these voluntary measures will be really effective in driving up standards and keeping out some of the more dubious providers.'
Knitting workers win noise appeal
Noisy knitwear factories could face a big compensation bill after the Court of Appeal ruled they should have been taking measures to protect workers' hearing for over 30 years. The decision could lead to a flood of occupational deafness claims from workers in the industry. Up to 700 workers employed in the knitting industry are seeking damages for what they say is work-induced deafness. In the potentially crucial test case ruling, top judges awarded £3,334 in damages to one of them, Stephanie Baker. Lady Justice Smith, sitting at the Appeal Court with Lord Justice Jacob and Lord Justice Sedley, said that an 'average sized employer' should have been aware of the dangers posed by noise between 85 decibels and 90 decibels by 1976-77 and overturned the 2007 dismissal of Mrs Baker's claim. Lady Justice Smith added that employers should have taken action to protect employees by 1 January 1978. The ruling means that any knitting factory worker who can show that their deafness was caused by excessive workplace noise may have a valid damages claim. Firms involved in the case included Meridian Limited and Pretty Polly Ltd.
Sellafield workers exposed to radiation
Nuclear company Sellafield Limited is to be prosecuted for alleged breaches of health and safety law after two site workers were exposed to airborne radioactive contamination. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said two employees of a site contractor had been exposed to the radiation during the decontamination of an area of concrete floor in July 2007. It said: 'As a result of this exposure the two contractor employees received an internal dose of radiation.' Criminal proceedings have been commenced against Sellafield for failing to meet its duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act. The case will be heard at Whitehaven Magistrates' Court, in Cumbria, on 24 July. The maximum penalty the magistrates' court can impose is £20,000. The case can, however, be referred to a higher court for an unlimited fine. HSE said: 'The prosecution of Sellafield in relation to this incident is now a matter for the court. HSE are unable to comment further on the decision to prosecute.'
Paint spraying job killed man
A car paint sprayer died of pneumonia after long-term exposure to paint fumes, an inquest has ruled. David Mathis, 66, worked most of his life in the trade, especially for Hastings firm Hollingsworths. At an inquest last week into his death on 5 December last year, coroner Alan Craze recorded a verdict of death from industrial disease. The inquest had earlier heard a statement from Dr Stuart Barnes, the pathologist who carried out the post mortem examination. He said Mr Mathis had a long history of chronic obstructive airways (COAD) disease due to his work. The statement said: 'The deceased had several admissions to hospital in the last year before his death. There was a gradual deterioration of his condition and he had bronchopneumonia of the left lung. Death was due to exposure to industrial paint fumes.' Mr Mathis' son Paul said: 'Dad started as a car paint sprayer when he left school and worked most of his time for Hollingsworths. He had not smoked for 35 years.' 'A job to die for', a 2005 report from Hazards magazine, said hundreds of thousands of workers in the UK are suffering from work-related COAD caused by exposure to chemicals, dust and fumes, with several thousand dying each year as a result. Car paint sprayers are exposed to chemicals including diisocyanates, a potent cause of COAD.
Untrained worker trapped by dumper
Employers are being warned to make sure staff are properly trained to use heavy workplace vehicles, after an Ascot company was prosecuted for a criminal safety breach. Ascot-based Shorts Group Ltd was fined last week at Maidenhead Magistrates Court following the incident on 21 May 2008 when a demolition labourer was injured. He was operating a skip-loading dumper on which he had received no formal training or instruction. The dumper overturned and the employee became trapped underneath, suffering serious injuries to his foot. Shorts Group Ltd pleaded guilty to safety offences and was fined £5,000 with costs of £1,772.80. Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector Karen Morris, commenting after the case, said: 'The company failed to provide this employee with suitable instruction, information and training and this was clearly a contributory factor to this incident.' She added: 'Site dumpers are involved in around a third of construction transport incidents, causing many deaths and serious injuries, particularly to drivers. Skip-loading dumpers in particular are known to be comparatively unstable machines and are known to overturn in certain circumstances. Given this, HSE has produced clear guidance on training and safe operation of site dumpers and we expect trained and competent operators at all times.'
- HSE news release and HSE Construction Information Sheet 52 - Safe use of site dumpers [pdf]. Maidenhead Advertiser.
Firm fined for forklift folly
A chance sighting of unsafe work practices has landed a Macclesfield company with a £6,000 fine. Eazyfone Ltd was also ordered at Macclesfield Magistrates' Court to pay £2,285 costs after pleading guilty to a criminal breach of safety law. Two Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors who were passing the company's offices on 4 March 2008 spotted an Easyfone employee attempting to fit a CCTV bracket to the side of a building, while raised on a pallet on the forks of a forklift truck. He was raised more than two metres to carry out the work. HSE inspector Deborah Walker said: 'It is clearly unsafe for anyone to carry out work at height by standing on a pallet raised on a forklift truck. The Eazyfone employee was lucky not to have fallen and been seriously injured or killed.' She added: 'This demonstrates the need for companies to carry out suitable and sufficient risk assessments to ensure that a safe system of work is in place. This should include providing training for employees, and carefully planning and supervising the work. The method that was used was badly thought out and unsafe. This case should remind employers of the importance of working safely at height.'
International News
Australia: Union wins drug test concessions
An Australian construction union has negotiated major concessions on a random drug testing policy introduced by oil giant Shell. CFMEU described the deal, which prohibits urine tests, as a 'significant decision in protecting employees' privacy and improving drug and alcohol testing standards throughout the workforce.' Legal officer Judy Gray, who ran the case on behalf of CFMEU members employed at Shell's Clyde Refinery and Gore Bay Terminal, said that the decision to introduce oral fluid testing rather than urine samples in random drug testing would end 'a widespread practice that is not only a violation of privacy but also not as accurate in detecting possible employee impairment in the workplace'. Shell had opposed the move, so the dispute was referred to an official arbitrator. The union won this case and, after Shell took it to appeal, also won the review. The Review Panel said the arbitrator in the original ruling 'made three critical findings. First, he found that a urine test can detect the use of drugs some days, rather than hours, beforehand ('the wide 'window of detection''). Secondly, he found that oral fluid testing detects recent use only and is therefore less likely to detect drug use in an employee's own time. Finally, he concluded that while neither test measures impairment, a positive oral fluid test is far more likely to indicate actual impairment than a positive urine test. In the circumstances His Honour decided that it would be unjust and unreasonable to permit random urine testing...' Edward Wray-Bliss, a lecturer at Sydney's University of Technology who has researched the topic internationally, described the verdict as 'enlightened'. He said: 'This is a very important decision for rolling back and giving that extra privacy that an employee should have in their own time.' He said lack of sleep and excessive workloads were more likely to be accident factors than drug use, adding: 'Drug testing - intervening into an employee's body, breaking that corporal boundary... at the moment the evidence for it is not there.'
Canada: Iron ore workers map out ill-health
Former workers of a Canadian iron ore plant have got together to investigate how their jobs have damaged their health. A union-organised occupational disease clinic this month targeted former employees of the Inco Ltd sintering plant, their widows or other survivors. The mood was almost festive as retirees greeted former colleagues, all members of United Steelworkers Local 6500. But there was a darker tone to the gathering as person after person, several hooked up to portable oxygen tanks, talked with counsellors about the deadly diseases they suffer. The clinic was organised by JP Mrochek, a compensation officer for Local 6500, and others from the union. Mrochek said the clinic was one of six held by USW District 6 in Ontario. To a person, those interviewed said they did not attend as much to win compensation as to make workplaces healthier. An important component of the clinic was body mapping, in which information was gathered about clusters of diseases among plant workers. Nancy Hutchison, the health and safety coordinator for USW District 6, said the information will be valuable to researchers, scientists and physicians looking at the link between chemical exposure and occupational disease. 'We hope, we hope, that the ultimate benefit will be prevention down the road,' she said. Another goal is to gain fair compensation for victims of industrial disease or their survivors.
Global: Urgent action call on swine flu
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) is calling for government action to reduce the risk at work from 'swine flu'. ITUC general secretary Guy Ryder said: 'Trade unions are uniquely placed to help in the fight against this and other diseases through their close connections with their members at work.' He added: 'They have particular expertise from decades of work on occupational health and safety, including programmes on infectious disease, such as HIV-AIDS. Governments and employers need to work with trade unions to help make sure that the risk of transmission of this virus in workplaces is contained.' ITUC said one measure that can reduce the risk is encouraging people who feel sick to take time off work to avoid transmission in the workplace. 'However, millions of workers around the world have no entitlement to sick leave for themselves or to look after family members, in particular the lowest-paid whose families simply cannot afford to lose even a day's income,' it said. 'The reality for many workers is that they risk dismissal or other sanctions for simply taking a day off work due to illness. Without urgent action by governments to deal with this issue, measures to reduce transmission in the workplace are likely to be weak or ineffectual in the countries concerned.'
USA/Iraq: KBR gets bonuses for deadly work
The US Department of Defense paid former Halliburton subsidiary KBR more than $80 million (£50m) in bonuses for contracts to install electrical wiring in Iraq. The award payments were for work that resulted in the electrocution deaths of US soldiers, according to Department of Defense documents revealed last week in a US Senate hearing. More than $30 million in bonuses were paid months after the death of Sgt. Ryan Maseth, a highly decorated, 24-year-old Green Beret, who was electrocuted while taking a show at a US base in January 2008. His death, the result of improper grounding for a water pump, has been classified by the US Army Criminal Investigations Division (CID) as a 'negligent homicide.' Maseth's death had originally been labelled an accident. Bonuses were paid to KBR in 2007 and 2008, after CID investigators had officially expressed concerns about the quality of KBR's electrical work. For its part, KBR denies any culpability for the electrocution deaths. The information was revealed at a hearing of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee. According to the committee's chair, Sen. Byron Dorgan, the rewards KBR received under these contracts were supposed to be for work of the 'highest quality' with 'no deficiencies' or problems. Dorgan said KBR's work was 'shoddy' and 'unprofessional.' Some eighteen US soldiers have died since 2003 as a result of KBR's 'shoddy work,' according to Sen. Frank Lautenberg. Witnesses said many of the electricians undertaking the work were not qualified to the required standards, with under-pressure trainees sometimes signing off work.
Events and Courses
Hazards conference, 10-12 July, Manchester
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 at 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.
Healthy workplace conference, 20 November, London
SERTUC, the TUC body covering the south-east of England, is teaming up with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to host a 20 November health and safety conference in London on the theme of 'the healthy workplace.' It says the event will feature contributions from an Acas representative, a public health director and leading health and safety speakers.
- The Healthy Workplace, Friday 20 November 2009, TUC Congress House, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3LS.
TUC courses for safety reps
COURSES FOR APRIL TO JUNE 2009
Northern, North West, Southern & Eastern, Yorkshire & Humber, South West, Midlands, Scotland, Wales
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 29 May 2009
