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Risksissue no 70 - 7 September 2002 |
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Editor: Rory O'Neill of Hazards magazine. Comments to Owen Tudor. EUROPEAN WEEK OF HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK: 14-21 OCTOBER If you have information about what is happening locally or in your branch, send it to tuc@worksafe.org.uk CONTENTS
Risks is the TUC’s weekly online bulletin for safety reps and others, read each week by over 4,500 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. ACTIONEuropean week for health and safety - tell your matesThe TUC has published a downloadable powerpoint presentation on the web (also available in text so you can create your own) about the theme for this year’s week of events (14-21 October). Safety reps and others can use the presentation to explain the theme of the week - workplace stress - to union meetings and workplace safety committees. The presentation, developed by Worksafe for the TUC, sets out what can be done about stress, what to look out for in terms of symptoms, and what the causes of stress are. TUC General Secretary John Monks said: 'Safety reps all over Britain use European Week to raise health and safety with their employers and their workmates. Now they can use the TUC’s presentation to give an extra edge of professionalism to their activity. Stress often seems like too big an issue - but we can tackle the hassle!'
UNION NEWSCorporate responsibility theme for Workers’ Memorial DayThe TUC wants real corporate accountability and responsibility for workers’ health and safety to be the theme for Workers’ Memorial Day 2003. 'In the era of ‘Enronomics’ the spotlight is now on corporate social responsibility,' says TUC’s Owen Tudor. 'But corporates need to be responsible for more than just their finances, and accountable to more than just their shareholders. Those who endanger the lives and health of their workers must be answerable.' Tudor says the TUC approach is supported by organisations across the world. A report from the US bulletin Focus on the corporation says: 'Given what is now the apparent blatant corporate disregard for the law, even in areas where executives are most closely watched, what should we expect is occurring elsewhere? What's happening with consumer rip-offs, sales of unsafe products, endangerment of workers, pollution of the environment?' It concludes: 'Cracking down on corporate crime - the mantra of the moment - cannot be limited just to financial crime, already the most policed form of corporate wrongdoing.' British unions will discuss plans for Workers’ Memorial Day 2003 at the union health and safety specialists’ meeting on 19 September 2002.
RMT issues Tube fire safety warningRMT has told London Underground that it must demonstrate that it is taking steps to protect the safety of its workforce if fire brigade strikes take place. 'I am concerned that inferior appliances and poorly trained operatives will be used in place of the usual highly trained firefighters, and that this could put the safety of my members and the travelling public at risk,' RMT general secretary Bob Crow warned. The union leader has asked London Underground 'to carry out a risk assessment alongside our safety reps within the next seven days, to ascertain the risk to Tube staff and commuters, using the ALARP (As Low As Reasonably Practicable) rule. I have told LUL that I expect to receive their response by September 10, and that failure to take measures to defend the safety of my members will result in a dispute existing between the company and this union.' Medics stage prevention campaign for performersA medical charity backed by performers’ union Equity is to campaign for prevention of occupational health disorders in the industry. The British Performing Arts Medicine Trust (BPAMT), a medical charity part-funded by Equity, says injuries, aches and pains can have their origin in early bad practices. In response, BPAMT is preparing a programme of workshops for performing arts schools and colleges. The plan is for doctors, therapists, and technical experts to reinforce the message of teachers by explaining just what goes wrong and why, giving case histories and statistical evidence. It says they will try to underline that what might seem irrelevant when you are fit, young and bound for fame and fortune, might have disastrous repercussions — career-blighting consequences —when you are older. Equity members can get a free initial assessment from one of BPAMT’s expert physicians. ATL calls on teachers to stand against excess workloadSecretary of state for education Estelle Morris is expected to make major announcements in September about teachers’ workload, says teaching union ATL. It says the minister will make formal proposals on changes to teachers’ contracts and, possibly, other measures. An ATL briefing says: 'You should expect changes for the better in your workload, step by step, every term and every year. Press for change, quietly and reasonably. Get help and support from ATL when the issues get difficult. Your individual and collective contribution in pressing your school to take one good step at a time will help to build a significant wave of change.' It adds: 'With your colleagues this term, you should choose some practical steps to take - aiming to help your school to cut your workload.' When the proposals are published, ATL says it will produce a special bulletin for members giving information on them and ATL’s initial views. Union to investigate high suicide rate in constructionThe construction workers union UCATT is to investigate if suicide is a major problem for the industry after a survey put the sector at the top of the suicide list in East Kent. Sixteen per cent of all male suicide victims - 39 out of 220 - in East Kent between January 1995 and December 1999 worked in the construction industry, according to the five-year study by the then East Kent NHS Health Authority. This is about three times the expected rate. UCATT eastern regional secretary Brain Rye is leading the investigation to see if the high suicide rate of construction workers is a national problem. He said: 'Has this anything to do with the fact that 70 to 80 per cent of construction workers have never received holiday pay, resulting in no earnings over Christmas, no money after Christmas and little money coming in after poor winter weather? Add job insecurity and the pressure soon mounts.' In Japan work-related overwork and depression leading to suicide is a government compensated occupational condition, know as 'karojisatsu.'
OTHER NEWSWork deafness a public health menaceA study has found that tens of thousands risk becoming deaf because of noise at work - and the problem is worse than previously thought. A University of Southampton survey of 22,194 workers across Great Britain found that 2 per cent suffer severe hearing difficulties. The researchers say this suggests that as many as 179,000 people - 153,000 men and 26,000 women - across the country have similar problems, many more than previous studies have suggested. The risk of severe hearing difficulty and persistent tinnitus (noises or ringing in the ears) rose with years spent in a noisy job. The authors have predicted that the overall number of people whose hearing has been affected by their jobs could be even higher, as the study did not include people who are now retired. They add that most people are inclined to under-report problems with their hearing. Writing in the journal Occupational and environmental medicine, they said: "Our observations highlight the public health impact of occupational exposure to noise and the need for close attention to prevention measures."
Night shifts could increase accident risk at workDisturbed sleep and night shift work are related to falling asleep unintentionally at work and require special attention with respect to occupational safety, finds a study in Occupational and environmental medicine. Researchers in Sweden surveyed 5,589 individuals in 40 companies to investigate which variables related to work, lifestyle, or background increased the risk of unintentional sleep either during work hours, or during leisure time. They found that the risk of unintentional sleep at work was related to disturbed sleep, shift work, and higher socioeconomic group. From the point of view of accident prevention, the results suggest that night shift work in particular presents a danger of involuntary sleep and night work has been associated with increased accident risk, say the authors. Sleep related issues should be included in occupational health considerations, they conclude.
Exodus of 'worn out' staff from public jobsPublic services are heading for a staffing crisis caused by stress and disillusionment among millions of workers, the government's spending watchdog has warned. The Audit Commission said that staff in England and Wales who quit their jobs in education, health, local government, and other public services, complained that they felt unable to meet rising public expectations. The commission called for urgent action by government and public employers to make workers feel more valued and rewarded for the jobs they do. Its poll of former public workers found: 'People told us stress was the biggest single factor.' Asked why they were stressed, nearly 80 per cent blamed bureaucracy and paperwork, with 70 per cent highlighting lack of resources in the public services, excessive workload, and long hours. The commission said: 'The level of dissatisfaction among the people we spoke to is too high. This is particularly worrying when affordability means that raising pay to levels that will compensate for other dissatisfactions is not always a viable strategy.' Bullying is the worst problem in workplaceBullying has ousted pay as the top complaint of workers, according to a report. The survey by IRS Employment Review found almost half of complaints raised by workers this year were related to bullying. The July 2002 survey found top employee concerns were harassment/ bullying (45 per cent), discipline (27 per cent), and new working practices (23 per cent). An IRS spokesperson said: "Bullying now tops the list of complaints perhaps as a result of greater awareness of these issues and the increasing encouragement and support for employees raising these types of concerns. 'We are surprised by the prominence of this issue in light of the fact that several organisations operate separate bullying and harassment policies.' The TUC’s 1998 No excuse: Beat bullying at work campaign was one of the first UK initiatives to highlight the problem and offer advice and support to the victims. TUC organised a national series of bullying seminars last year. HSE advice on reporting health and safety incidentsThe Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued an updated leaflet giving employers advice on how to report health and safety incidents - and how to use the HSE's new incident contact centre. All employers have under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR) a legal duty to report work-related health and safety incidents, including deaths, major injuries, over-three-day injuries and a range of work-related diseases, dangerous occurrences and injuries to the public. HSE says the new incident contact centre (ICC) provides a single point of contact for all employers in England, Scotland and Wales to use, whatever their business. Reports can be made by telephone - the quickest and most straightforward method - or via the internet, e-mail, fax or post.
Appeal for witnesses in asbestos death caseFormer work colleagues are being asked to come forward to help the widow of a Surrey man who died from mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer. Jocelyn 'Joe' Fisher died aged 72 in April 2000. He had worked for industrial oven manufacturer Woodall-Duckham Construction Co Ltd in Knightsbridge and later in Crawley, Sussex. His widow Ruth Fisher, said: 'Before he died, Joe agreed that I should claim compensation for his premature death from mesothelioma. However, I need to speak to other people who were there at the time so they might be able to report on the presence of asbestos and how it was handled… I am asking for people who worked at Woodhall-Duckham in the 1940s and 1950s to come forward to help us and other families, whether they knew Joe or not. 'Witnesses should contact Mrs Fisher’s solicitor, Guy Darlaston, at Irwin Mitchell Solicitors on 0870 1500 100. Asbestos find closes theatre indefinitelyThe Civic Theatre in Ayr is to remain closed indefinitely, and staff are likely to be given health checks, after crumbling asbestos was found under the stage. The 345-seat converted church, which is used by South Ayrshire Youth Theatre and numerous other community groups, was shut down in August to allow a full assessment of the problem. Both white (chrysotile) and brown (amosite) asbestos have been identified in the theatre. It is understood staff working at the council-run building are to be contacted for health screening. INTERNATIONALAustralia: New legal campaign for smoke free hospitality jobsClubs, pubs and casinos have been warned of a legal, consumer and worker backlash if they continue to deny smoke free areas to their workers and their customers. Australian bar and restaurant workers’ union LHMU has joined with health groups and is accusing the Australian Hotels Association and managers of smoky pubs of turning their backs on the millions of Australians with heart disease, diabetes, asthma and other conditions worsened by exposure to tobacco smoke toxins. LHMU, ASH and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre say they would be happy to talk to any union member in the hospitality industry who would be prepared to bring an action against their employer because of the passive smoke risks they face. "This would be a negligence action," Tim Ferrari, the LHMU Assistant National Secretary said. "The action would be on the basis of the risk of passive smoking." The group is backing a legal challenge by a Sydney man with heart problems, who says he can’t go to his local pub because of the tobacco smoke.
Canada: Technology lets us take job stress homeCanada's employers are losing the productivity gains of the past decade because of the workload and stress that technology is piling on their workers, warns the author of a major study. A landmark federal study of 31,500 working Canadians has found technology is one of the key reasons that one in four Canadians is working more than 50 hours a week, and it accounts for nearly all the unpaid overtime worked at home, says Linda Duxbury, the Carleton University business professor who co-authored the study. "I think technology is a big piece of the longer working hours," said Ms. Duxbury. "People can now access their work and be accessible by work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so that's what the expectations of the job are. So technology seems to be an added stressor, but it also seems to be an added set of tasks." She argues technology is a prime culprit in driving up the incidence of stress, illness, burnout, absenteeism and all other costs eating into technology's productivity gains. France: 35-hour week scrapped by right wing governmentThe French right wing government has responded swiftly to the wishes of the business lobby and removed working hours limits. The move sounds the death knoll for the 35-hour week, the most daring social experiment of Lionel Jospin's Socialist cabinet. In a rushed-through decree, the prime minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, has authorised a sharp increase in overtime, which is interpreted as an implicit restoration of the 39-hour week instituted in 1981. The employers' federation Medef campaigned against hours limits, saying the move had undermined profits and made French labour too expensive. The employees most likely to be upset are white collar workers, who have benefited most from RTT (réduction du temps de travail). Staff obliged to stay at their posts beyond 35 hours usually took rest days instead of extra pay, causing a profound change in social habits. As Friday was the preferred day for récupération, long weekends became the rule for millions of workers, contributing to record profits for businesses such as DIY shops. Global: Cancer assessment body 'biased towards industry'The body that decides the cancer rating for workplace substances has been accused of bias towards industry. A series of written complaints this year from international experts on chemical standards accuse the International Agency for Cancer Research (IARC), an arm of the United Nation's World Health Organisation, of 'downgrading' assessments on industrial chemicals. A new webpage from US group the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) follows the controversy. NRDC says 'the agency's reputation has suffered under charges of conflicts of interest, bias toward the industries whose products it assesses, and questionable evaluation practices.' New Zealand: stronger safety law is neededNew Zealand’s unions say the country’s workplace deaths and injury 'crisis' demonstrates the need for an urgent reform of workplace safety laws. Latest official figures show the numbers of workplace deaths and injuries are rising, up to 92 people killed and 30,660 injured in workplace 'accidents' last year. "The new parliament needs to prioritise new workplace health and safety law, supporting a greater role for elected and trained health and safety reps," said Council of Trade Unions secretary Paul Paul Goulter. "Many more people are injured on the job than at home and the cost to the country, employers and workers is huge." Paul Goulter said on top of the death and injury figures the impact of work-related disease added up to a crisis which must be addressed with urgency. "The statistic of over 30,000 moderate or serious injuries must be addressed by those who are best placed to do so - workers themselves, through an increased role of health and safety reps," he said. New Zealand’s workplace fatality rate is many times that of most industrialised nations. South Africa: Asbestos miners promised compensationUK asbestos multinational Cape plc has promised to pay its former asbestos miners in South Africa compensation following a threat of fresh legal action. London-listed Cape said it hoped to pay the first instalment of an out-of-court settlement to miners suffering asbestos-related illnesses soon. However, Cape said it could not guarantee the payment would be made before a 14 September deadline set by the miners' lawyers. The company reached a deal in December to pay £21m to 7,500 South African miners for asbestos-related diseases they contracted in the 1970s (Risks 33). The first instalment of £11m was due at the end of June and the company has already had two extensions (Risks 60). The miners’ lawyer Richard Meeran on London’s Leigh, Day and Co had warned they would withdraw from the out-of-court settlement and initiate new legal proceedings that could break the company if Cape does not pay by 14 September. USA: 30m US workers face deafening noiseHearing loss is the most common occupational disease in the United States and the second-most reported occupational illness or injury, the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) says. Impaired communication, tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and lost worker productivity can all result from workplace-related hearing loss, it adds. More than 30 million American workers are exposed to hazardous noise levels. ACOEM says those at risk include office workers, not just people who work in factories or other obviously noisy work environments. Even a ringing phone can register up to 80 decibels. "Occupational hearing loss can be prevented. But, we can't wait until employees' hearing deficiency begins to affect their quality of life - it is too late then to correct the problem," says ACOEM president Dr Edward J Bernacki. Union compensation campaigns in the UK led to pressure from insurers for lower workplace noise levels. Relatively few US workers receive payouts under far meaner workers’ compensation systems. USA: Inquest calls for homicide chargeThe Pittsburgh coroner in charge of an inquest into a 12 February convention centre construction fatality is recommending homicide charges against Dick Corp., the project's locally based steel erection subcontractor. The collapse at the David L Lawrence Convention Center killed ironworker (steel erector) Paul Corsi Jr. and injured two other workers. "The failures at every level of this project are so blatant and overwhelming that...errors and omissions on the part of Dick Corp. more than rise to the level of recklessness and grossly negligent conduct" under state law, says the report by Allegheny County Coroner Cyril H Wecht and Michael C George, presiding inquest attorney. "It is the conclusion that the manner of death of Paul Corsi Jr., which had been listed as accidental, be changed to homicide, and that [Dick Corp.] be held criminally liable." The report will be considered by District Attorney Stephen Zappala. In a statement, he said his office will conduct "a detailed and thorough review of the evidence associated with this case to determine what actions are appropriate and necessary." The company says it 'strongly disagrees' with the finding. RESOURCESUNISON Health and safety organiserThe latest issue of UNISON’s Health and safety organiser features articles on UNISON's National Inspection Day (for October’s Euro health and safety week), stress, schools health and safety policy, car jacking and mobile phones risks at petrol stations. The special feature is on Union Inspection Notices.
Unions, innovation and sustainable developmentInnovation, design and creativity come from people, says the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU) - so we need to invest in all workers and improve their work environment and quality of life to underpin constant innovation. A new NZCTU guide says how this can be done. 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! Health and safety fringe events at Congress, 9-12 SeptemberA health and safety debate will dominate Wednesday afternoon’s proceedings at the TUC conference, to run from 9-12 September in Blackpool (Risks 65). But there’s plenty going on away from the conference floor. There are three TUC Congress fringe events, free and open to all who have delegates or visitors’ credentials. RSI Association annual conference, 28 SeptemberSpeakers at the conference which is on a Saturday at TUC headquarters include: Dr Michael Hutson, consultant physician and president of the International Federation of Musculoskeletal Medicine; Trevor Shaw, head of the musculoskeletal, ergonomics and performance section in HSE’s Human Factors Unit; Richard Southorn, Employers’ Forum on Disability; and Owen Tudor, TUC health and safety specialist and Health and Safety Commissioner. For more details, see the RSI Association website. Workplace bullying and harassment workshop, 28 SeptemberThe Women's Committee of the South West TUC has organised a workplace bullying and harassment workshop in Plymouth on Saturday, 28 September. It wants to attract women from all walks of life who have concerns about these issues. The event is free, informal and friendly and is being held at The Guild Hall, Royal Parade, Plymouth from 10:00am to 3:30pm. Creche facilities will be provided if required. More information. Contact: Tanya Parker, telephone 0117 947 0521, fax 0117 947 0523. TUC/UK Work Stress Network Conference, 14 OctoberThe TUC will be holding a joint conference called Tackle the hassle: strategies for stopping stress and beating bullying with the UK National Stress Network on Monday, 14 October at TUC headquarters in London, to launch European Week for Health and Safety. Further details and a booking form are now available. European Week of Health and Safety 2002, 14-21 OctoberThis year’s week will take place in Britain from 14 October, on the theme of stress - there is a special page on the TUC website devoted to the week. Unions and union branches planning Euroweek activities should contact the TUC’s stress week co-ordination team at Worksafe, tel. 01535 664462, with details of what they are doing and what support they would like. More background: European Agency and HSE Euroweek webpages. Conference on Violence at Work, 2 DecemberHosted by the TUC, this conference will be run by the Government Inter-Departmental Committee on Violence to Staff. For further information contact Tom Mellish. 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 SEPTEMBER TO DECEMBER:Midlands, North, North West, Scotland, South East and East Anglia, South West, Wales, Yorkshire and HumbersideSubscribe 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 (4,700 words) issued 7 Sep 2002
