Risksissue no 50 - 20 April 2002 |
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Editor: Rory O'Neill of Hazards magazine - new issue out now! Comments to Owen Tudor. CONTENTS
Risks is the TUC’s weekly online bulletin for safety reps and others, read each week by over 3,500 subscribers and 1,000 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. The TUC website lists future health and safety events in What’s On - new events are covered below. UNION NEWSDeaths at work rise: TUC demands Ministers honour promisesWorkplace deaths have increased for a second year, prompting the TUC to call on the government to act now to honour promises on safety crimes and safety laws. Responding to the second annual rise in worker deaths reported in the launch issue of the Centre for Corporate Accountability's newsletter, Corporate crime update, TUC general secretary John Monks said: "These figures are a stark reminder that, while many employers are working in partnership with unions to deliver world class health and safety, we need to get tough with people who break the law on health and safety. The government needs to give the Health and Safety Executive the tools to crack down on poor practice and bosses who put price before protection. It's time for Ministers to honour the promises they have made about new laws, new crimes and new funding." The TUC wants the government to follow through promises to introduce a new health and safety at work act with higher penalties for safety offences and with a new rehabilitation duty on employers; a new corporate killing law; and more resources for the HSE, which unions say still faces a £35m shortfall.
Unions prevent 40 workplace major injuries every dayUnions and union safety reps prevent 13,000 major injuries every year, 40 every day, according to new evidence of the "union effect" published in the latest edition of the TUC-backed Hazards magazine, out now. And a new Hazards magazine website gives detailed evidence of the union safety effect, including case studies of what unions have done in Britain and around the world and resources for safety reps to use. Rory O'Neill, editor of Hazards, says: "Organised workplaces are safer workplaces - because union safety reps have the know-how, skills, rights and influence to make sure they are safer." He added that newly developed union safety tools and strategies - including union inspection notices, worker safety advisers and body mapping - are extending the lifesaving union safety effect beyond union workplaces. TUC general secretary John Monks said: "Unions are halving the serious injury rate, which means that 40 workers every day escape a major injury because they have union protection. Our new 21st century safety reps now have the tools to make workplaces safer still."
Union joins campaign to tackle East End sweatshopsThe GMB union and the No Sweat campaign have teamed up with local people in London’s industrial East End to campaign for an end to sweatshop conditions in local factories. The campaign will be aimed at organising workers into a trade union and raising awareness among local people, politicians and the press of the conditions suffered by workers. Over 340 companies in the East End of London employ nearly 5,000 local people producing clothing for high street shops and local street market traders. The campaign says these workers are frequently afraid of joining trade unions, are made to work very long hours in the factory or at home, don’t know how much they will be paid week to week and suffer the threat of serious injury or bad health because of their working conditions.
TUC welcomes MEPs' 'toughest approach yet' to asbestosThe TUC has welcomed a European Parliament vote backing 'the toughest approach yet' on asbestos. TUC general secretary John Monks said: 'The European Parliament has taken a major step forward in proposing the toughest controls yet on asbestos. A public register of asbestos in public buildings has been a trade union demand for many years, and it is the best way to protect repair, removal and renovation workers from the fatal fibre. MEPs have also proposed tough but realistic controls on exposure to asbestos which will dramatically reduce the amount of the fatal fibre workers are at risk of breathing in.' The European Parliament's proposed exposure limits would reduce British exposure limits by between half and two-thirds, depending on the type of asbestos concerned. The decision was heavily influenced by British MEPs from both the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats. TGWU Scotland calls for justice for asbestos victimsThe Transport and General Workers' Union in Scotland has called for changes in the Scottish system of civil justice that has failed thousands of asbestos victims. Speaking at the Scottish TUC in Perth, TGWU delegate Gary Henderson said: "There are currently 50,000 people suffering the effects of exposure to asbestos at work. The TUC recently estimated that asbestos exposure would claim more than 10,000 deaths a year by 2020. However insurance companies, employers and asbestos manufacturers continue to drag their heels in paying victims their rightful compensation.' He added: "We need a proper court system, which can review procedures and powers of the Court of Session to ensure that the real issues between parties are identified. A system where delay is minimised and interim payments and jury trials are made available to victims."
FBU committee-d on health and safetyThe Fire Brigades Union is to form a national health and safety committee to tackle hazards to firefighters. In a policy statement introducing the new strategy, FBU general secretary Andy Gilchrist says: 'The last decade of the last millennium saw 27 of our members lose their lives at incidents. By any reckoning that is too high a price to have paid by any industry, but particularly one that is allegedly a uniformed and disciplined service… In short, our health, safety and welfare has not received the attention it has deserved. Working in the fire service is not a hazardous occupation; it only becomes so when our safety is ignored. The welfare, safety and health of our members must be our prime concern in every area of our negotiations with our employers, whether locally or nationally.' Ban bullying at the BBC, demands NUJThe BBC must tighten its procedures to stamp out the bullying culture that thrives in its newsrooms, the National Union of Journalists has said. The call came after union member Helen Reed won an Employment Tribunal case over her dismissal. The broadcast assistant at BBC Bristol was sacked after a running dispute over programme changes. She won £5,000 for unfair dismissal. NUJ deputy general secretary John Fray said: "Helen's case proves once again that the BBC's procedures fail to deliver fair treatment. They need to put their house in order." The union says it has been seriously concerned about spate of cases of bullying and harassment at the BBC. John Fray said: "Greg Dyke told all the staff to cut the crap. He must remind his managers to do just that and stop protecting the bullies. They've got to sort out their procedures for dealing with complaints about managers, or they'll just have more unhappy newsrooms and more cases going to court." TGWU welcomes new guidance to tackle crime on busesThe Transport and General Workers' Union has welcomed new government guidance on tackling crime on the buses. TGWU national organiser, Graham Stevenson, said "many of the measures that the government is advocating accord with the advice the TGWU has consistently offered' but added: 'Recent cases where the courts have handed out derisory fines for those who attack bus drivers do not sit well against robust prison sentences being made available to the courts for those who steal mobile phones." The TGWU’s own campaign is encouraging local action to deal with assaults on bus drivers. The initiative promotes local meetings involving local authorities, the police and bus operating companies alongside the TGWU. The union wants to ensure bus workers are offered protection against attack and support if they are victims.
Teacher wins manslaughter appealA British teacher convicted of manslaughter after a 13-year-old girl drowned on a school trip to France has won his appeal against conviction. A court in Boulogne had given the teacher, Mark Duckworth, a six-month suspended prison sentence after the girl, Gemma Carter, drowned while swimming in the sea in June 1999 (Risks 38). In a statement issued through the National Union of Teachers after the sentence was quoshed, Mr Duckworth thanked the union and added: "Throughout this ordeal my sympathies have been with Gemma's parents, who have suffered the loss of their daughter and have had to endure the lengthy period of this case." NUT general secretary, Doug McAvoy, said: "The union will be looking at the detail of this case and in particular the terms of the judges' decision to see whether or not its guidance to members should be clarified or expanded. There is a clear case for teachers being advised about the differing legal approaches taken in countries they may visit with school parties." Mr Duckworth will remain suspended from his job for another year while an inquest and an inquiry in England are held. OTHER NEWSSafety whistleblower makes legal historyA former train driver who won his case for unfair dismissal after speaking out about breaches of safety at the rail operator Connex has made legal history. Former safety rep Laurie Holden has been awarded a total of £55,000, including £18,000 in aggravated damages and injury to his feelings. He resigned from the rail firm three years ago suffering from stress. He says he complained to managers about safety problems, including claims that drivers worked too many hours (Risks 43). A series of disciplinary hearings eventually led to his resignation. The tribunal described a 12-month campaign to force him out as "wholly unacceptable". Mr Holden's solicitor, Paul Maynard, said legal history had been made as it was the first time an award had been made for aggravated damages and injury to feelings in an unfair dismissal case. Dumped needles pose health threatMore than 200 people were stabbed by discarded needles in the UK last year, a report says. Research by the Keep Britain Tidy campaign found that more than 20,000 used needles were found littering public places. The needles present a risk from potentially life-threatening diseases such as HIV and hepatitis. A total of 214 people, including 17 children, were stabbed or injured by the dangerous litter. A Sheffield cleaner reportedly found 2,000 needles in a public toilet in just 12 months and 93 per cent of North East councils found needles in parks and playing fields. In all, 239 councils (just over half) responded to the survey. Nearly 90 per cent had received reports of needles being found in their area in the last three years. Keep Britain Tidy said overall there has been an increase in the number of staff trained in moving needles, and equipment to do so. Unions GMB and UNISON have issued safety guidance to members on safety and 'sharps' injuries.
24-7 culture poses health risksThe 24-hour, round-the-clock culture could lead to widespread health problems, experts have warned. Sleep deprivation can lead to difficulties in regulating blood sugar levels, delegates to Royal Society of Medicine conference heard. It can also lead to difficulties in regulating blood sugar levels, and shift workers have started to complain about heart and stomach problems. Dr Derk-Jan Dijk of the University of Surrey said: "There is television, the internet and people who have secondary jobs or two parents who are working.' The overwork warning is reinforced in the latest issue of Hazards magazine, published this week. A 'get a life!' factsheet warns: 'Escalating pace and volume of work is adversely affecting our physical and mental health, leading to stress, strain, burnout and ill-health. It can drive us to drink and drugs and away from our families.' It adds: 'The government has known since 1916 that overwork doesn’t work, it just makes us sick.' The factsheet gives advice from the TUC and union organisations in Canada, the US and Australia on negotiating more humane ways to work.
Lorry drivers 'working illegal hours'Thousands of lorry drivers are working dangerously and illegally long hours, according to a BBC Radio Five Live investigation. Research by the BBC, collated by five police forces, suggests that 15 per cent of lorry drivers on Britain's roads are spending too long behind the wheel. Driving time is supposed to be closely monitored by an instrument mounted on the dashboard called a tachograph. But a number of drivers who spoke to the BBC said they often falsify their records so they can work longer hours. The findings follow the launch of the government's new £750,000 campaign, "Think Don't Drive Tired". It claims 10 per cent of all accident are caused by tired motorists. International transport union federation ITF and UK transport union TGWU have a long running 'Fatigue kills' campaign for stricter controls on drivers’ working hours (Risks 24), however the transport industry has resisted the change. Chemical fire inquiry startsHealth and safety experts have been called in after a fire destroyed a chemical recycling plant, sending fumes and smoke across Tyneside. At the height of the fire on 12 April a half-mile exclusion zone was established forcing 500 people to leave their homes because of fears for their health. In a series of explosions at the Distillex plant, containers and drums were thrown into the air. All aircraft were diverted away from the area, Metro trains stopped running between Tynemouth and North Shields, and the Tyne Tunnel road link under the river was closed. More than 150 police officers were deployed to counter the traffic chaos and patrol the exclusion zones where hundreds of houses were empty. The Distillex factory employed 12 people and is thought to have contained between 40 and 50 different types of chemicals. The plant was at the centre of a similar alert in January when a cloud of toxic methylene chloride solvent was released. INTERNATIONALAustralia: Unions push for smoking bansTasmanian hospitality workers want smoking banned in the gaming areas of casinos, pubs and clubs. Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union secretary David O'Byrne said smoking in gaming areas was the No.1 issue among members in the hospitality industry. "Every worker has the right to go to work without their health being threatened," Mr O'Byrne said. By law, smoking is banned in office workplaces, work cars and some public spaces such as sports grounds. It is illegal to smoke where meals are served but bars serving snacks are exempt. Smoking is permitted in gaming rooms. Mr O'Byrne said research had found that hospitality workers were the group most exposed to environmental tobacco smoke and that 56 per cent of hospitality workers were exposed to environmental tobacco smoke during a typical day, compared with about eight per cent of other workers. Health and human services minister Judy Jackson said the government would consider extending smoking restrictions to gaming areas. Australia: Bosses in new low over workplace manslaughter lawAn Australian union body has condemned employers’ organisations for using dirty tricks in an attempt to undermine planned industrial manslaughter legislation. Leigh Hubbard of the Victorian Trades Hall Council attacked 'misinformation' in a full page newspaper advertisement placed by eight employers’ groups criticising The Crimes (Workplace Deaths and Serious Injury) Bill, due to be introduced in the state of Victoria. "When a driver on our roads kills or injures a person through gross negligence they are subject to the criminal law through the crime of culpable driving,' he said. 'Why should death or serious injury caused by gross negligence in our workplace be treated any differently to those on our roadways… This new Bill is designed to ensure that large employers can be tackled for deaths caused by gross negligence." He called on as many Victorian workers as possible to join Trades Hall and affiliated unions in a rally at Parliament House on 23 April, in support of this industrial manslaughter legislation. A similar law has been proposed in the state of Western Australia (Risks 48).
Global: More backing for Workers’ Memorial DayThousands of trade unionists will light candles later this month to remember those killed or injured at work. The international transport workers’ union federation ITF is the latest organisation to add its backing the seventh International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers - Workers’ Memorial Day - on 28 April. The worldwide event is called by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), is supported by the TUC and will be for the first time officially supported by the United Nation’s International Labour Organisation (ILO). Unions all over the world have organised street vigils, protests and ceremonies. ITF general secretary David Cockroft said: "Too many transport workers lose their lives at work because of inadequate safety regulations and employers' disregard for safety standards. We and our affiliates pledge to continue battling this ongoing scandal." This year's event has the theme 'Improving public health through stronger health and safety'.
USA: Senate Bill aims to right Bush’s job safety wrongsA new attempt to introduce an ergonomic safety law is being pushed in the US Senate. Democrat John Breaux and Republican Arlen Specter have proposed a new law that would require the Bush administration to issue a protective ergonomics standard within two years. The legislation is a response to Bush’s March 2001 decision to kill an ergonomics law introduced in the last days of the Clinton administration (Risks 47). The new bill includes provisions that make clear the standard must be protective and based upon effective employer practices that reduce injuries and control hazards, and comes less than two weeks after the Bush administration announced it would only introduce voluntary guidance on strain injuries, with no enforcement clout (Risks 48). John Sweeney, president of the 13 million strong union federation AFL-CIO said: 'The AFL-CIO and its unions have fought for more than a decade to protect workers from crippling injuries and we will continue that fight. We call on Congress to swiftly pass the Breaux-Specter bill so that American workers can finally have the protection that they deserve.' The US safety enforcement agency OSHA introduced the first voluntary guidance this week, covering nursing home risks. Democrats criticised the strategy in Senate hearings this week. RESOURCESNew guide to Britain's health and safety systemA new HSC guide to Britain's health and safety system explains: the role of the institutions; the legal framework; the policy process; enforcement issues; and control of risk at the workplace. Tony Lord, head of HSE's international branch, said: "This guide is designed to ensure that there is a clear understanding of our health and safety system and how it functions. This is important if we are to continue to be effective, in the European Union and beyond, in influencing and negotiating with other countries in the development of international standards and strategies for improving health and safety."
News just in from EuropeTUTB, the health and safety research arm of Europe’s trade union movement, has published more useful publications. The latest edition of the TUTB newsletter is now available English and French editions and covers: What the unions think of Europe’s safety strategy, new laws and standards, news and events and the initial findings of TUTB’s survey on women, work and health. TUTB has also released the latest in a series of publications on ergonomics and work. It says ergonomics cannot be tacked on after a machine has been built - it must be designed in right from the start. Risk estimation for musculoskeletal disorders in machinery design will "feed knowledge from the actual use of machines back to designers' and manufacturers' drawing boards. We mean to factor the end users' perspectives into the design process by showing how workplace knowledge can be channelled into the conceptual stage of machinery design."
EVENTSOnly newly announced events, events next week and very important events will be listed here in future. But there is a comprehensive listing of health and safety events on the TUC website - bookmark it for easy reference! Justice for asbestos victims? 22 AprilOn the 22 April asbestos victims from all over the North West of England will protest outside the offices in Manchester of the insurance litigation specialists, Halliwell Landau, and accuse them of defending corporate irresponsibility and championing insurance industry profits rather than justice. Tony Whitston, Greater Manchester Asbestos Victims Support Group, says: 'Halliwell Landau boast on television and in the press about their success in denying mesothelioma victims compensation. This is something they and insurance companies should be ashamed of and ordinary people are appalled at their delight in robbing dying mesothelioma victims of their compensation.' Asbestos victims, their families and asbestos victims support groups throughout the North West will gather outside Halliwell Landau’s Manchester Offices, Brown Street, off Market Street, at 11.30 on Monday 22 April to demand justice for asbestos victims.
Employment agencies action, 24 AprilThe Simon Jones Memorial Campaign is calling a national day of action 'against profiteering employment agencies' on Wednesday 24 April 2002, the fourth anniversary of Simon's death. The campaign says: 'We are asking supporters of our campaign across the country and internationally to mark the anniversary of Simon's death by demonstrating, in whatever way they see fit, at an employment agency in their area that profits from the casualisation that killed Simon.'
Workers' Memorial Day 2002, 28 AprilThere is a full list of the events we know about in a special new section of the TUC website. TUC is planning to highlight occupational health, including access to occupational health services, and rehabilitation (see our briefing). Ask your union for details of Workers’ Memorial Day events or organise your own. There is a Hazards magazine round up of Workers’ Memorial Day resources and if you are organising an event, let the TUC know by email. MSF Amicus section are encouraging their clergy members to spread the word through church newsletters, sermons and services on the day - a briefing is available including a prayer written specially for the day, and there is a non-religious dedication from Canada. TUC/CCA Conference on safety law enforcement, 8 JulyIn January 2002, a coalition of trade unions, safety groups and families, bereaved from work-related deaths and disasters, came together around a series of demands for reform on safety, law enforcement and corporate accountability. This conference will explore this and the Government's agenda for reform. Speakers include Mark Thomas from Channel 4’s Mark Thomas Project. Registration costs £25. Hazards 2002, National Hazards Conference, 6-8 SeptemberThe National Hazards Conference will be held in Manchester for the second year running. Further details from Greater Manchester Hazards Centre. There is a financial appeal to keep registration costs down, backed by the TUC. European Week of Health and Safety 2002, 14-21 OctoberNext year’s week will take place in Britain from 14 October, on the theme of stress. 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.TUC courses for safety repsCOURSES FOR APRIL TO JULY:Wales, Scotland, North West, Midlands, South East and East Anglia, South WestFor details of courses in the Northern, Yorkshire and Humberside regions, contact the TUC Regional Education OfficerDetails of ONLINE coursesSubscribe 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. |
Newsletter (4,600 words) issued 20 Apr 2002